South Lake Tahoe Info ( Presidents Weekend)

[JohnGD33]

My Wife and I are headed out to South lake tahoe for presidents weekend and would like to hear about some experiences. I would like to ski heavenly at least one day becasue we are very close to the resort. Any information about other resorts or place to have a good time would be greatly appreciate.

 

[Talisman]

Other ski areas in South Lake Tahoe: Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe. North Lake has a lot of ski areas but most are haul from South Lake. As an FYI discount Heavenly tickets are available at some area grocery stores.

 

[thetrailboss]

I need similar advice...going the first week of March. Going to be staying near Squaw Valley.

 

[dmc]

Kirkwood is the shizzle... Dont miss it... Probably my favorite at Tahoe...

Sierra and Homewood(west shore) are nice...
North shore has Squallywood and Alpine which are just great places... Also Nothstar is good when the others are on windhold - great trees - not a lot of alpine stuff..

I'd stay away from Diamond Peak - not a big fan... Bores me...

If you have a car and the conditions are good... Check out Sugarbowl - it's a drive but it's a really cool compact area with INSANE terrain...

And hit mount Rose on the way to the lake.... It's pretty sweet...

 

[selski]

There is bus service from most hotels to many of the resorts around the lake. I wasn't thrilled with Heavenly when I went. It felt a little like Killington with lots of short lifts covering areas of terrain if I remember correctly. It has been a while since I have been there.

 

[Smellytele]

I was out in North Lake Tahoe last Feb with my family (2 adults 3 boys) and another family (2 adults 2 boys). We stayed in Truckee. Skied Squaw (Twice), Alpine, Mt Rose, and SugarBowl. Squaw was incredible with no real crowds. My youngest who turned six when we were out there was skiing almost everything except a couple of runs of KT22 (Rock Garden and 75 Chute). They had some great blue square bowls such as Shirley and Siberia. Hogsback is a great bump run. The day we skied Mt Rose it was raining at all the other resorts and snowed all day at Mt Rose. It has the highest base elevation of all of them. The chutes were awesome! Alpine Meadows had some really great runs as well such as High Yellow Gully, Wolverine and Beaver bowls. Check out the Alpine club at Alpine you can same some mula if you ski on club days.
Unfortunately when we went to Sugarbowl we got 10 inches of very wet Seirra Cement! We were soaked but the guys and the 3 older kids still had fun. We did the snowbomb cards and got some great deals. Enjoy! It is a great place to be. Oh also went to watch the dew tour a Northstar - what a zoo and I was glad we didn't ski there. Heard some other people proclaim the same thing about northstar - not as extreme as the others in the area either.

 

[ta&idaho]

JohnGD33:
Heavenly will be really crowded on the main lifts President's day weekend. Park in the Boulder parking lot on the Nevada side and avoid the four busiest lifts (Comet and Dipper in Nevada; Canyon and especially Sky in California) to stay away from the crowds. The Mott lift accesses some fun terrain; explore Killibrew Canyon for less-tracked snow. North Bowl is the most underrated lift on the mountain, in my opinion. Stagecoach offers long, slushy (it drops way down in elevation) cruisers with significantly less crowds than the four main lifts. The trees coming down from the traverse from California to Nevada can be outstanding, although getting there requires riding the crowded Sky lift.

Sierra will also be crowded that weekend, but it has a fun vibe. Its probably worth driving to Kirkwood or around the lake (beautiful drive) to somewhere on the North Shore over the slightly shorter drive over the summit to Sierra.

Kirkwood is sick. Worth the drive.

Trailboss:
Squaw, then Alpine, then Mt Rose (especialy as a Reno airport transit day) or somewhere on the South Shore. I'd personally skip Sugar Bowl unless you're flying in or out of Sacramento or somewhere in the Bay Area. Northstar isn't worth it, in my opinion. The back side and Lookout mountain are better than the "Flatstar" reputation, but they don't compare to some of the other options. In a true windhold situation, my personal favorite is Homewood on the west shore. Killer views and fun trees, with a really chill old school vibe.

By this point in the season, you can both pretty much guarantee that you'll either have great weather, great snow, or both. Have fun!

 

[Talisman]

OK, for North Lake Tahoe here are a couple of tips. If it is windy and snowing skip Alpine Meadows and Squaw and head to North Star. Yes, I know North Star is called "Flat Star" and it is a long carry from the parking lot to the lifts, but i would rather ski the trees on the back side of North Star or Look Out Mt than be at Squaw skiing off of the Red Dog lift when everything else is on wind hold. North Star discount tickets are easy to score.

Sugar Bowl is really worth a visit if you are staying in North Lake as it has good terrain and snow.

Mt Rose is a lot of fun and another place where getting cheap lift tickets is easy.

I haven't skied Homewood as the force fields of Alpine and Squaw are too great to drive by.

 

[drewfidelic]

As everyone else has said, Kirkwood is teh awesome. And Squaw is also definitely worth visiting-- it's huge and has sick terrain.

Heavenly has some nice terrain, but it can feel like you spend more time shuffling from one part of the area to another than skiing. But it's definitely worth skiing-- especially if you're staying nearby.
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[nycskier]

I lived out there last season & will be back for Presidents week too!

I skied close to 50 days at Heavenly last season and my 1 advice you be to avoid skiiing on the trails! Go off piste! The whole mountain is pretty much available to ski in the trees so there is no good reason to be on a trail. When you get out there try to meet up with a local or someone who knows the mountain well and follow them!

I used to joke that I spent half my time at Heavenly following people to learn where to go and the other half showing people where to go!

Definatley go to Kirkwood it is awesome! If you go to North Lake ski Squaw! Nuff sed!

If you fly in from San Fran or Sacremento and take route 50 up stop off at Sierra at Tahoe. It is a fun mountain has some nice trees to ski in too.

If you are looking for nice places to eat with a view (since you are going with the Mrs.) Checkout the steakhouse on the top of Harvey's (At 19 Kitchen) has great steaks (at steakhouse prices), the resturant at the Golf Club is also really nice if you can get there early enough to watch the sun set over the Lake.

For cheap eats get breakfast at Lakeside Inn. Their prime rib omelette is insane! although you might not be able to move let alone ski after eating it.

If you drop down to the Carson Valley and want good places to eat I would recommend JT's Basque resturant in Garderville and Adele's in Carson City.

 

[ta&idaho]

I skied close to 50 days at Heavenly last season and my 1 advice you be to avoid skiiing on the trails! Go off piste! The whole mountain is pretty much available to ski in the trees so there is no good reason to be on a trail. When you get out there try to meet up with a local or someone who knows the mountain well and follow them!

I used to joke that I spent half my time at Heavenly following people to learn where to go and the other half showing people where to go!

Great advice, especially if there's enough snow down low to ski Fire Break.

 

[JohnGD33]

Thanks for the info!!!

At Heavenly Are Mott and killbrew beyond the gates(becon required)? I have a good amount of backcounty exp but my wife does not. Trees are what I love and looking at the map it looks like there are a lot. What shopping markets sell discount tickets to heavenly?

How far is Kirkwood from Heavenly? We do have a truck but my inlaws will prob take it for the day while we are skiing.


:beer:

 

[ta&idaho]

At Heavenly Are Mott and killbrew beyond the gates(becon required)? I have a good amount of backcounty exp but my wife does not. Trees are what I love and looking at the map it looks like there are a lot. What shopping markets sell discount tickets to heavenly?

Gate-controlled, yes. Beacon required, no. Mott is a single canyon that funnels to a lift. Killebrew is the next canyon up, more opportunities to get in trouble, but still nothing crazy.

Good question about the discounted tickets. My understanding had been that you had to go to grocery stores (Safeway, Albertson's) down in the flatlands to score the cheapest tickets. At a minimum, ski shops should have mild discounts.

Heavenly has trees galore, and those away from the major lifts stay fresh surprisingly long.

How far is Kirkwood from Heavenly? We do have a truck but my inlaws will prob take it for the day while we are skiing.

30-45 minutes. I think Kirkwood has a once-a-day shuttle, but you'll want to check.

 

[dmc]

Gate-controlled, yes. Beacon required, no. Mott is a single canyon that funnels to a lift. Killebrew is the next canyon up, more opportunities to get in trouble, but still nothing crazy.

Heavenly has trees galore, and those away from the major lifts stay fresh surprisingly long.



30-45 minutes. I think Kirkwood has a once-a-day shuttle, but you'll want to check.

Mott is the shizzle... Soent 90% of my time there..

Getting to Kirkwood can get dicey... Best to check before setting out...

Man i want to go to the Hoe now...