Squaw Valley USA

[RidgeRacer]

Day 2 begins...riding the Squaw creek lift. So far there is absolutely nobody out here...I'm sure that's different by the main base area. 33 and sunny. Word I got again is that granite chief is closed...unless I hike it which is not likely. Looking to explore a little more KT and sun bowl today.

[Timeless]

Shame the chief is closed, you'll have to come back later in the season and try it out for real.

[RidgeRacer]

Just got my ass kicked on GS bowl off K22 peak. The bowl was completely empty. Leave it to this fool from PA to jump in what was easily the steepest scariest thing I've ever skied. Made down most of it then hit a slick spot and down I slid. Had to hike up digging my boots in to get back up. The bowl wouldn't have been that bad if it was powder but it was hard pack and crust. Still fun though. Pic of GS below...

 

Just got my ass kicked on GS bowl off K22 peak. The bowl was completely empty. Leave it to this fool from PA to jump in what was easily the steepest scariest thing I've ever skied. Made down most of it then hit a slick spot and down I slid. Had to hike up digging my boots in to get back up. The bowl wouldn't have been that bad if it was powder but it was hard pack and crust. Still fun though. Pic of GS below...

[Timeless]

Just got my ass kicked on GS bowl off K22 peak. The bowl was completely empty. Leave it to this fool from PA to jump in what was easily the steepest scariest thing I've ever skied. Made down most of it then hit a slick spot and down I slid. Had to hike up digging my boots in to get back up. The bowl wouldn't have been that bad if it was powder but it was hard pack and crust. Still fun though. Pic of GS below...

 

Looks really crusty, needs some sun on it, come back later and kick it back.

[RidgeRacer]

Siberia bowl is where it's at. Easily the best run on the Mt. Lots of sugar perfect for high speed GS turns. Just skied siberia to the gold coast express. Took that back up to emigrant peak to Mt run to the base for a few thousand vertical feet. Riding the funitel back up now.

[RidgeRacer]

Just skied the sun bowl from the peak all the way down. There's plenty of crud on sun but so much easier to navigate since it's not ad steep as GS. It was actually really fun. I took to red.dog to snow king and skied resort run jumped into some trees down to the Squaw creek lift. Snow king alone is like a mountain in Vermont....winding trails and lots of trees. I was gonna call it a day but resort run was so good I'm skiing it again.

 

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed reading these posts. Squaw completely humbled me. This place is so steep and so huge. I thought about heading over to alpine meadows which is 10 minutes away but Squaw deserves more than 1 day...even with granite chief not open. I'll post more pics later...

[Johnny Law]

Can we set up like a sticky or something on posting pics in TR's ?

 

Every pic is this tiny ass thumb that I have to click and then its this full size giant ass shitty picture. Terrible

[RidgeRacer]

PA Ridge was this your first time skiing out west? Have you been affected by the Altitude? I know Squaw is on the low side compared to alot of Rocky Mountain resorts but still pretty high..

 

First time out west...no (been to AZ / grand canyon a few times). first time skiing out west...yes. unfortunately I didn't get to ski powder...I'm not complaining.

 

No altitude issues at all. Highest peak is around 9k.

Edited December 13, 2010 by PA Ridge Racer

[toast21602]

Can we set up like a sticky or something on posting pics in TR's ?

 

Every pic is this tiny ass thumb that I have to click and then its this full size giant ass shitty picture. Terrible

 

it's because of attached files. ones that are linked to other websites turn out just fine.... like this:

 

[RidgeRacer]

Can we set up like a sticky or something on posting pics in TR's ?

 

Every pic is this tiny ass thumb that I have to click and then its this full size giant ass shitty picture. Terrible

 

When I get home I'll put them on Photobucket. All I have right now is the phone.

[Timeless]

When I get home I'll put them on Photobucket. All I have right now is the phone.

 

Glad you had a good time at squaw, try alpine next time, I think you would really like it.

[toast21602]

<---I heart attachments...Atomic Jeff tryed to teach me once how to embed pictures..anyway I wish it was set up here like noshitzone where you attach pictures but they show up full size..

 

for the record I gave this thread a 5 star rating..because I enjoyed the real time reports from the lifts..something that is mad steezy about smartphones..how warm did it get there today? People on Teton Gravity were saying 50 degrees for Tahoe..

 

 

 

 

I go on ski trips out west for the terrain more than for the powder...the powder is nice but having a huge vast mountain with lifts going in every direction and no crowds is pretty steezy..you can't control the weather...probably half my trips out west have been dry or only a little bit of fresh..and you mentioned how people are more laid back and friendly...I have to agree with you there..a little slower pace of life..especially in ski towns..

 

i've never had a trip out west where i didn't get dumped on, except may trips to whistler although we did get 10 inches one of those times. most trips that have taken out there it has snowed pretty much nonstop. i think that's why people always ask me if i want to go

[Erin808]

Siberia to reverse traverse is worth the short hike. You can't hike up to access Granite Cheif terrain since the rocks aren't covered enough yet but you can traverse far, far skiiers left from the top of Shirley. If you stay high you will get all the way around to granite cheif terrain just lower.

 

Oh wait, was today your last day there? Glad you are enjoying yourself!!

[AtomicSkier]

So if I was to fly into Reno for a quick trip (2 or 3 days)...where should I ski? Where should I stay? I know PhillyCore has always suggested Squaw to me. Tahoe area is an area I really know nothing about.

[RidgeRacer]

Siberia to reverse traverse is worth the short hike. You can't hike up to access Granite Cheif terrain since the rocks aren't covered enough yet but you can traverse far, far skiiers left from the top of Shirley. If you stay high you will get all the way around to granite cheif terrain just lower.

 

Oh wait, was today your last day there? Glad you are enjoying yourself!!

 

I thought about it but since I was skiing solo it may have been a stupid move.

[RidgeRacer]

So if I was to fly into Reno for a quick trip (2 or 3 days)...where should I ski? Where should I stay? I know PhillyCore has always suggested Squaw to me. Tahoe area is an area I really know nothing about.

 

The tahoe locals (Erin08 and timeless) could give you the low down but just based on what I've seen...there's a resort called Mt rose that can easily be seen from reno. From what I understand that's the local area for reno residents I think but its a pretty big mt. The others closest to reno are Squaw and alpine...each are about an hour. I also saw signs for a smaller area called pioneer.

[Erin808]

If you have 2-3 full days then I would head to Squaw or Alpine. Squaw is better but Alpine stays fresh longer and is less crowded. If you have 2-3 including travel days then just stay in Reno and hit up Rose one day. Rose is decent but most of the terrain is pretty easy. They opened this area called the Chutes a few years back that's pretty rad and steep. There are several other mountains that I wouldn't bother with on a short trip. I also wouldn't bother trying to head to South Lake, aside from KWood its not worth it and Kwood is far.

[phillycore]

Best snow in Tahoe. Kirkwood. Best terrain Squaw Valley. Everything else is second best.

[Johnny Law]

Rose is nice because it's a little higher so if you close on the rain/snow line sometimes you can get by at Rose also they have sweet gates and it tends to be less crowded than the other places.

 

East bowl, Lowball, Cutthroat, Fuse, Charge and Nightmare are all awesome and nearby past the radio towers on Mt. Rose highway is Bronco or Donkey chutes which are pretty gnar.

 

Tallac depending on your skills and time of year is the tits and a pretty standard route.

[RidgeRacer]

It was a downpour this morning in the lower elevations...supposedly snow in the higher. The roads around truckee were sketchy...anyway flight to Denver was delayed. Spending the night there...awesome.

[RidgeRacer]

Flew into San Fran. Then SF to reno. Home was supposed to be reno to Denver earlier this morning then Denver to Newark. Unfortunately I couldn't find a direct flight to reno from Newark or philly

 

Skiing would have probably sucked today. It was raining pretty hard. The snow is supposedly coming this week though.

Edited December 14, 2010 by PA Ridge Racer

[AtomicSkier]

Flew into San Fran. Then SF to reno. Home was supposed to be reno to Denver earlier this morning then Denver to Newark. Unfortunately I couldn't find a direct flight to reno from Newark or philly

 

Skiing would have probably sucked today. It was raining pretty hard. The snow is supposedly coming this week though.

 

Are you stuck in DEN? Is there no availablity on later flights? Still plenty of time to get home. If you're suck in RNO, you definitely could have had them rebook you to SFO, and then SFO to EWR. I'd still try to do that.

 

UA6835 at 5:26pm RNO to SFO. Take the 9:50pm or 10:30pm redeyes back to EWR.

[JFskiDan]

It was a downpour this morning in the lower elevations...supposedly snow in the higher. The roads around truckee were sketchy...anyway flight to Denver was delayed. Spending the night there...awesome.

 

sometimes the fun just never ends!

[RidgeRacer]

A jeff...they tried to do exactly that but we figured we can get an early start tomorrow from Denver and still get home at a decent time.

[RidgeRacer]

eat somewhere...maybe the place we're at will have a pool. really want to go skiing though.