Snow in Tahoe?

[4RnrJ]

So I lived in Tahoe for 4 years. I hate to say this (it will piss many off), but I HATE Heavenly. It is probably one of the most overrated resorts in the USA, only passed up by Deer Valley.

Kirkwood and Sierra might be your best bets if you don't get any new snow. Kirkwood always seems to get big dumps, and Sierra stays fun even w/o snow.

Depending on conditions of course, my top are:
* Kirkwood
** the legend, the most snow, great steeps, great hiking, least crowds
** a pain in the a$$ to get to
* Squaw
** don't need anything here, squaw is a giant
** crowded and expensive though
* Northstar
** when everything is tracked up, you can find tree lines here
** family friendly
** only the new backside offers difficult terrain
* Sierra @ Tahoe
** One of the most snowboard friendly areas in the world, a bench at every lift
** No steeps though, unless you are always in the park, it can get boring here
* Alpine Meadows
** Great steeps, but tracked quick
** A locals favorite after a big dump, the first place to open up its top while others are still bombing for avalanches
...
* Heavenly
** Where to begin...
** Too many catwalks,
** Cant ride from Top to bottom w/o taking lifts to get DOWN..wtf?
** And the most crowded / expensive of all the resorts

[Swingshiftworker]

Dup entry deleted.

[Swingshiftworker]

4RnrJ previously said:

So I lived in Tahoe for 4 years. I hate to say this (it will piss many off), but I HATE Heavenly. It is probably one of the most overrated resorts in the USA, only passed up by Deer Valley.

Kirkwood and Sierra might be your best bets if you don't get any new snow. Kirkwood always seems to get big dumps, and Sierra stays fun even w/o snow.

<snip>

* Heavenly
** Where to begin...
** Too many catwalks,
** Cant ride from Top to bottom w/o taking lifts to get DOWN..wtf?
** And the most crowded / expensive of all the resorts

I won't put a hate on you, but, if you lived in Tahoe, how can you be so "wrong" about Heavenly?

FWIW, I don't like Kirkwood (too much trouble to get to and too difficult on the back side for me), Sierra at Tahoe (too crowded and only 1/2 the runs on the lower side are suited to me), Northstar (don't like having to take the single tram to the top), Squaw (I'm not good enough to ski there and it's too much about showing how much $$$ you've got) or Alpine (always seem to go there when the backside's been closed because of avalanche danger). IMHO, on the northside, Sugar Bowl and Tahoe Donner -- particularly Tahoe Donner where a lift ticket still only costs $34 (they held the line at $20-25 for a long time) are the best.

Heavenly, on the other hand is just right for me. I'm an advanced intermediate skier, who likes to go fast on groomed runs, and there's lots to choose from in that category for me. My favorite runs are Comet & Olympic on the NV side and Ridge and Liz's on the CA side. I start when the lifts open and am done by 11 when all the tourists and beginners show up, which is when it starts getting crowded. You can avoid the catwalks by simply skiing one side (NV or CA) during the day which keeps you off Von Schmidt and the Skyline Trails which are long catwalks only intended to get you from NV to CA and CA to NV, respectively.

As far as cost, you can by a mid-week season pass for $369 and the daily lift ticket costs $66 at Lucky or SaveMart. Squaw Valley is $73, Northstar is $72, Kirkwood is $69, Sierra is $65, Sugar Bowl is $60, Tahoe Donner is $34. So, Heavenly is NOT the most expensive resort in the Tahoe area. You're also wrong when you say that you can't ski down all the way from the top to the base. You can ski from the top of Dipper (via Crossover) or via Olympic all the way down to the base at Boulder or Stagecoach, which is at least 2-3 miles, without stopping. On the California side, if you're good enough, you can also ski all the way down from Sky to the California base via Ridge, Powderbowl, cut across Mambo to Round-a-bout and then down the Face and Gunbarrel or World Cup -- at least another 2-3 miles. Even with my rudimentary skills, I've skied to the base via the Face and World Cup (to the left of Gunbarrel) when it was groomed one rare day (but I'd never tackle it when it's al moguled up).

The other "good" thing about Heavenly are all the services available at the foot of the mountain in South Lake Tahoe. Lodging, restaurants, shopping, movies, live shows and, of course, gambling. None of the other resorts in CA or NV have anything that can compare w/it and, if you really want more of a challenge, you can ski Milky Way Bowl & Mott's Canyon, which are way beyond my interest or ability, but they're there if you're up to it.

[VoodooBrew]

I agree that Kirkwood is probably the best. These things are so subjective. I too can ski to the Heavenly base, although it's tiring. I like Alpine Meadows.

Now that I have a 3 year old who is going to (hopefully) learn to ski this year, I am going to check out the more kid friendly resorts. Northstar (which I didn't like so much when I didn't have a kid -- too many kids, LOL) has free lessons for you and your toddler with the purchase of a lift ticket. Dodge Ridge is the closest to the Bay Area, so we will start heading there as well; plus there is the big/organized Leland Meadows sled park nearby, in case he is not into skiing...

It's raining like crazy right now, so it must be dumping on Tahoe!!

[rich_4]

Since I've only been to Heavenly @ Tahoe I can't really offer opinions on anywhere else..but I haven't had any problems with Heavenly.

The catwalks are the only thing that get a little annoying if you try to switch sides regularly. But they only eat up like 10-15 minutes, and if you time things right you might not have to skate any.

If I get a chance I might check out Kirkwood, or some other places you listed, so thanks for the advice, always good to have from someone who knows the area.

But for now I'm gonna go with Heavenly. Mott Canyon is great for some serious fun, the wide fast groomers are great to get from one place to the other, theres parks scattered in different places (well..on the CA side), and the tree riding is excellent.

[Shawn's FJ]

I'm not a big Heavenly fan either. I like Kirkwood, but its an all day adventure. I like Alpine as well. I don't like squaw, its too cali for me, in a bad way. Its a great mtn though. I have been to Northstar, its ok. I haven't been there in a couple of years and they have been building a lot. They have a great park now, or so I have heard, if you are into that. I'm not. I have been going to Mt Rose alot. Its a good mountain, when the chutes are open, plenty of steep there. I like Sugarbowl alot too. It comes down to what you know really. You can have fun on any mtn, its better than work. I went to Mammoth last week, it was good. Alot of the resorts are getting crowded these days. I am sticking to mostly backcountry this year. Everyone have a safe season.

[RNEGV]

I don't think you'll have to worry about the lack of snow after this week.