tahoe booked .... where should we ski

[gmcunni]

i can't compare it to others as i only skied 1 day but i found Alpine Meadows to be amazing. it was late season, sunny warm day and i put it in my top 5 days ever.

i had neglected to use sunscreen and i took the red eye home after skiing that day. the people at the airport kept asking me if i was ok because the sunburn on my face was horrible!

 

[bobbutts]

I would def hit up Sierra-at-Tohoe.. Has some amazing tree's and some sick hidden caves in the middle of the trees. Wish I could tell you how to get to them only been in them once. or one of them once. Did Sierra, Kirkwood and 8 days at heavenly when I was there 2 years ago with record snow year. Number 1 or two for most snowfall all three were great..

Agree, these three are all easily accessible from South Lake and I don't think you will be disappointed with any of them. You have a short trip, so maybe save Alpine/Squaw for your next time.

 

[bobbutts]

IMO Northstar aka Flatstar sucks, especially considering the local competition.. It reminds me of Okemo or Bretton Woods

 

[abovetreeline]

squaw is a must, and kirkwood is nice too

 

[Philpug]

Yup, avoid Northstar.

If you have only 4 days, Kirkwood, Squaw, Alpine and if you are staying at Heavenly, Snoseek will show you around. Let us know when it gets closer, maybe we will meet you.

 

[abovetreeline]

Yup, avoid Northstar.

If you have only 4 days, Kirkwood, Squaw, Alpine and if you are staying at Heavenly, Snoseek will show you around. Let us know when it gets closer, maybe we will meet you.

When I went for a few day trip, my buddy had a house right next to northstar, that was where we went, it was ok... the other places are definitely better tho

 

[snoseek]

You know when its storming, all the mtns in the area are either closed or on windhold or very limited terrain I'll ski at Northstar and be happy to do so. There is good steep terrain on lokout and the backside that works for me and phil and lots of other people that actually ski here daily know. No its not Squaw or Kirkwood but there are definitely days where I'm glad Northstar exist. The fact that everyone around is too core to ski there makes lookout even sweeter! I'm secure in my ability....

You know there's really no point in trying to plan where you're going to ski now. You should really just wait till the time comes and look at the weather/conditions and go from there. Know that if you plan on going from south to north you will likely need a car.

 

[abc]

they're all good, each for different reason.

In terms of exeprt terrain, Squaw and Kirkwood are on top. However, staying in the south shore, Squaw can be a hellish long drive if the road over Emerald Bay is closed. Also, if the wind is blowing, don't bother. The best terrain will be inaccessible. Kirkwood is also a precarious drive in bad weather. Like Squaw, it's wide open on the top. So if visibility is poor, it can get a bit scary (I nearly dropped into some cliff band)

Heavenly also has a lot of good terrain but it kind of sprawling so isn't the easiest to navigate around. If weather is good, go for Squaw and Kirkwood.

Aside from Heavenly, Sierra-at-Tahoe is the easiest to get to from the south shore. It's sheltered and has lots of tree area. So on a whiteout day, it's the place to go to. Northstar has similar character, but is the farther from south shore. So I wouldn't bother.

Mt Rose is special because it has the highest base. So even if you get a mixing event in other mountain, Rose might end up with all snow.

Homewood is a good mountain by east coast standard, but doesn't stand out in Tahoe. What it's good for is on a Saturday right after a storm, when Squaw is jammed to the parking lot, there will be but only 50 cars in Homewoods parking lot and no lines! If the snow line is at lake level, Homewood will have just as much fresh powder as all other mountains but no competition.

Alpine is a good mountain in its own right, but only if you're based out of north shore and want a change from Squaw.

With 10 mountains and only 4 days, you're going to miss most of them no matter what. Best keep your options open and let the weather be your guide.

 

[Smellytele]

when it was r@#$ing at most of mthe other areas it was snowing at Mt rose which had the highest base.

 

[skiNEwhere]

I've only skied squaw. I got a private instructor to help me out with my technique in the bowls, and I asked him about Heavenly, and he sad "the tourists at Heavenly are simply passengers on their skis." Sounded like he had a little animosity towards the clientele that ski's there, not so much the terrain.

From what snoseek is saying, Heavenly does have good terrain, you just need to know where to find it. And you can gamble too if that is your thing. I don't know the exact percentage, but something like 25% of Heavenly is in Nevada, and the other 75% in California. I'll probably ski it sometime next year since Heavenly is owned by Vail and covered on their Epic Pass.

A nickel's worth of advice for Squaw, when a sign says "cliff area" it can mean there is a 5 foot cliff you can ski around, to a 40 foot cliff that you can't, and you have to huck. I found this out the hard way when I got stuck below the tram

 

[gladerider]

Never skied the south side. I hit up Squaw - speaks for itself, Alpine Meadows (which had some nice bowls), Mt. Rose - loved the chutes, I also went to Sugarbowl on a Sierra cement day so can't grade it well. If I was in the south I would have hit Kirkwood.

+1 on the chuttes @ mt rose

 

[dmc]

Also - Sugarbowl is awesome if you have the time to take a drive...
http://www.sugarbowl.com/home

 

[Anklebiter]

I'll be heading to Tahoe the a week after you (March 8th-15th). PM me as it gets closer. I may have 3 extra voucher from the Tahoe Six Pack. From what I'm told Northstar is the place to go, when everyone else is on wind hold.

 

[abovetreeline]

You know when its storming, all the mtns in the area are either closed or on windhold or very limited terrain I'll ski at Northstar and be happy to do so. There is good steep terrain on lokout and the backside that works for me and phil and lots of other people that actually ski here daily know. No its not Squaw or Kirkwood but there are definitely days where I'm glad Northstar exist. The fact that everyone around is too core to ski there makes lookout even sweeter! I'm secure in my ability....

You know there's really no point in trying to plan where you're going to ski now. You should really just wait till the time comes and look at the weather/conditions and go from there. Know that if you plan on going from south to north you will likely need a car.

agreed, lookout and the backside have some decent stuff, like you said though, still not comparable to Squaw or Kirkwood

 

[mriceyman]

question for you tahoe guys.. will the freeride world tour deal have any impact on open terrain when it is going on?

 

[snoseek]

question for you tahoe guys.. will the freeride world tour deal have any impact on open terrain when it is going on?

You're talking about Kirkwood right?

If so then last year they closed of a small part of eagle bowl but its not a big deal at all. It takes place in the cirque which is permantly closed terrain. I don't recall it pulling in a huge crowd also but maybe I'm mistaken. You can actually get a good view of it from the flat area at the bottom

 

[mriceyman]

Ya probably should have said Kirkwood... that doesn't sound too bad... should be cool to watch for little bit.

 

[snoseek]

Ya probably should have said Kirkwood... that doesn't sound too bad... should be cool to watch for little bit.

Kirkwood is a big play ground with progressive terrain, the kind of place that can push almost anyone into some fun lines. There will be no shortage of terrain and the base is set (has been). Now you just need some fresh, or sun

 

[mriceyman]

Is it better for us that tahoe is in a dry period now? Does it usually equate to a bigger february? I hope that snow is a plenty lol and yes kirkwood looks awesome.

 

[snoseek]

http://opensnow.com/dailysnow/tahoe


Most people follow this guys weather. He is very good