Tahoe

[RMacSki]

Hey friends.

Honestly, i'm not keeping up with this board like I used to. Not sure who's still here and who isn't. Either way, I'm going to make one of my annual posts that I used to rely on this community for. Every year, my family takes a ski trip for our vacation. It's on me to decide where. I always try to pick something new and interesting but there are challenges.

I must balance the best skiing with the abundance of nightlife and shopping for the wives in the family. Historically, we have done well. This year, I have Tahoe in my sights. I've never been, and I think there is a decent town for everyone to be happy.

I've been looking hard at Squaw but the lodging is almost non-existent for sleeping 6+. It's looking like Heavenly. Has anyone had good experience there? Heavenly vs. Northstar vs Kirkwood comments are appreciated. I would like to know the must ski or must do runs along the lines of Corbet's in Jackson Hole for the area.

Thanks in advance. Hoping some of the old blood is still here to help me out, and welcoming anyone new that has some insight.

Cheers.

[RMacSki]

well it seem's Sunday night football and beers have helped me forget that I've already made this post...

http://www.skisoutheast.com/messageboar ... 18#p645418

More intel is appreciated!

[skigeorgia]

I live in Auburn, CA (hour and 20 from the north shore) but I just moved here so I haven't skied any of the areas yet but I've asked around a lot and visited the base areas this summer. DO NOT go to Heavenly or Northstar. Just your typical overcrowded and overhyped tourist traps. Squaw|Alpine gives you anything from your easy groomer to something hard yet fun on KT-22 or scary stuff on the Palisades... should be able to find lodging in Truckee, easy 10-15 drive. I've heard Kirkwood is fantastic in terms of snow quality and terrain. The Wall is a must do. Can't go wrong with either of the two honestly. I'll throw another ski area out there- Mount Rose Ski Tahoe. More of a locals area but best snow quality in the region due to elevation and has the Chutes, regonized as one of if not the steepest and longest expert runs in the lower 48. For that you'd stay in Reno, 20ish minutes away. Trust me Reno is a great place, cheap lodging too

[RMacSki]

thanks skigeorgia.

The fam is always bent on not having to drive in to town to park/ski. That's pushing us away from Squaw a bit in terms of available lodging. I really wanted to do Squaw, but will have to just drive up there a day if we end up on the South Side.

Heard the same about Kirkwood. Will definitely be doing a day there as well.

[davidski]

Hey RMac, I chime in mostly to say hi, the problem of skiing balanced with highend shopping and nightlife is not my strong suit. Have you considered Sun Valley, I say that because much of it's cache is as high end destination, not my preference but it sounds like an incredible mountain, full of history. It's high on my list of go to's, along with it's country cousin and BC gem Brundage.

I know you have done some good destination trips with your family .. the responsibility is awesome, I hope they buy you drinks

[marzski]

From a skiing perspective, I like north Tahoe a lot more and south Tahoe. Lots of condo lodging options in Tahoe City. Means 20-30 min for skiing but that's for Squaw/Alpine, Northstar, and the local areas Homewood and Diamond Peak. Homewood has great views of the lake. The drive from Heavenly to Squaw could take 1.5 hours one way because the road on the west side thru Emerald is often closed in the winter. That section is steep and narrow with quite a few hairpin turns. Have heard Sierra-at-Tahoe can be fun for a family.

What type of the terrain does the family like? What are you doing for lift tickets? The prices for Epic passes and Ikon passes just went up. Although those multi-resort passes are usually only worth it when it's possible to get in 10-14 days at included locations.

[marzski]

Hey RMac, I chime in mostly to say hi, the problem of skiing balanced with highend shopping and nightlife is not my strong suit. Have you considered Sun Valley, I say that because much of it's cache is as high end destination, not my preference but it sounds like an incredible mountain, full of history. It's high on my list of go to's, along with it's country cousin and BC gem Brundage.

I know you have done some good destination trips with your family .. the responsibility is awesome, I hope they buy you drinks

Sun Valley is only high end if you stay in the expensive and fancy resort lodging. There are less plenty of expensive places to stay in Ketchum that are on the free bus line. My friends and I stayed at the Best Western that's at the last stop before the main Sun Valley base for a few nights. Made use of the MCP one trip before heading to Alta and Aspen. Had a good time. Town is good fun and easy to walk. In fact, we walked to dinner a couple times instead of having to deal with parking.

The Sun Valley lodges were the model for the Snowbasin lodges. Think country club. But very relaxed atmosphere. The seniors who are regulars are in line 20 min before the lifts run, and are gone by 11:00 when the groomers are starting to get a little slick.

My approach to SV was to fly to SLC and drive. Took 4 hours one-way since we had clear skies and roads. Flight into SLC landed around 11:00 so getting to Ketchum by dinner time was pretty easy.

SV has great snowmaking and grooming. The main mountain has no green terrain, at least nothing that would like greens at Alta or JH. The groomers are long, really long. There are trees and open bowls. People don't go to SV for powder because it's just too rare. But don't have to worry about skiing in low visibility due to fog.

[marzski]

I'll throw another ski area out there- Mount Rose Ski Tahoe. More of a locals area but best snow quality in the region due to elevation and has the Chutes, regonized as one of if not the steepest and longest expert runs in the lower 48. For that you'd stay in Reno, 20ish minutes away. Trust me Reno is a great place, cheap lodging too

Mt Rose is good fun for all levels. It's at relatively high elevation so actually is one of the fast to open and last to close. Pretty easy to ski a full day at Rose and then take a red-eye flight back east. The airport is only about 40 min away.

[marzski]

Northstar is like Snowshoe. The "village" is not a real town. But has everything you need for a comfortable vacation. I liked the terrain as an intermediate back in the 1990s. There are trees that are nicely spaced for people who are just starting to enjoy powder in the trees a few days after a storm. But definitely no super challenging terrain. Short drive to Tahoe City, but can be a little hairy if snowing hard.

Tahoe City is cute. Maybe 6 blocks long in terms of retail and restaurants. Heavenly is far bigger but it's a casino town.

[RMacSki]

I do like casinos...

Good to hear from all of you. Appreciate the input.

I did infact buy the Epic Local again this year because a good friend just moved to Denver and bought the same. I'll be doing a weekend or two with him so in terms of cost, the family doing Vail owned in Tahoe makes sense.

It's the usual deal of finding my own experience from the mountain, whilst keeping them happy at the base and on the groomers.