those who have been to tahoe

[Jer]

so who has ridden or skiied at lake tahoe? im heading out there for the first time on jan. 2nd till the 7th. ill mainly be riding at heavenly and staying in south lake but id like to also hit up either squaw or kirkwood for a day. anyone got any opinions or general comments on any of the places mentioned?

Edited November 19, 2005 by Jer

[Papasteeze]

Hi Jer and welcome to PASR!!

 

My boys and I spent 6 days in tahoe at the end of January last year. General comments and questions????? I could write a book!!

 

I guess I would suggest to watch the weather reports and make sure that your "bluebird day" is at Heavenly. You gotta do Squaw Valley while there. South tahoe is Kirkwood and Sierra both epic yet equal in my opinion. North of the lake is Squaw, Northstar and Alpine meadows, in that order. Northstar's park was one of if not the best.

 

there are some kept secrets, we got a chance to ski the "chutes" at Mt Rose, because of the epic amount of snow. Check my albums for some pics of what to expect.

 

We have a regular member Dharrisburg who probably can offer some up to the minute advice prior to your leaving. stick around and post often or just jump in and join the melee(sp?)

Edited November 19, 2005 by Papasteeze

[Jer]

thanks for the welcome, but i have actually been on this board since the begining of last winter. i just dont post or visit too often since virtually nobody from the western part of the state is on here. maybe ill start a little more and maybe try to spread the word out my way.

 

anyways, i already have a 4 day lift ticket to heavenly since it was part of the package deal we got. im thinking ill ride there for three of the days and ride one other resort for a day. ive always had this thing for squaw since i first saw TB7 North of heaven. but lately ive been hearing so much good stuff about kirkwood that i might head there instead.

 

the weather so far in the tahoe area has been absolute crap ( stagnant high pressure with above norm temps and sunny for like the last two weeks straight) but im staying optomistic and hopefully they get a few nice dumps in december.

 

anyways, i cant wait for this trip. ive been riding for 10 seasons and this is my first chance ive ever had to ride out west.

[lurker]

I've ridden out west a couple times and for me the most amazing things the first time I went was, of course, the snow quality, but also the way the trees are spaced out and the bowls. Haha, once you get back from your trip you'll feel like you're completely out of control on the ice back here. Wide open bowls are so free and amazing, its a completely different feel. Hope you enjoy yourself out there.

[Zonked]

I've been there! Alpine meadows is one of my favorite places.. Heavenly was pretty cool too. Squaw is so weird. It was like wide open, it was such a different veiw from what we have on over here but it was awesome. Hope you have a good trip!!

[Jer]

thanks guys! im sure even if its "bad", it will be way better than anything around here.

[DHarrisburg]

Do yourself a favor and try to get out of South Shore. Sure, it's great if you want the whole "South Shore" experience (partying, skiing, casinos), but you should definately try to get to North/West Shore if possible. Squaw is awesome, but the day passes are a little out of control price-wise. Squaw is one of two mountains that I know of that have night riding. Northstar is a good balance of park and terrain, while Boreal is going to try to have the best park in the greater Tahoe area, and they've also got night riding. Alpine is a good option if you like to jump (they've always got the biggest jumps in Tahoe), and they've also got the terrain to back up their parks.

 

I'm sure you'll have tons of fun in South Shore. If you want to escape Nevada, make your way north. Also, if you like to check out ski towns, Tahoe City, Kings Beach, and Truckee are all pretty fun to tool around at night.

 

Now we just need some snow to get the season rolling

[Jer]

do you know of any easy ways to get from south lake to either alpine or squaw? we wont have a car while out there so getting around is going to be a bit of a pain. i know that there are some shuttle services from south lake to sierra and kirkwood, but im not sure about to the north shore.

 

i did see there was some type of ferry boat that goes from south shore to north shore, but i dont know if that seemed like a good plan of attack.

[DHarrisburg]

do you know of any easy ways to get from south lake to either alpine or squaw? we wont have a car while out there so getting around is going to be a bit of a pain. i know that there are some shuttle services from south lake to sierra and kirkwood, but im not sure about to the north shore.

 

i did see there was some type of ferry boat that goes from south shore to north shore, but i dont know if that seemed like a good plan of attack.

 

I think the TART (Tahoe Area Recreational Transit, hey, it's better than the Fresno Area Recreational Transit...) runs from South Shore all Squaw or Incline, which is really as far as you want to go (unless you want to go to Truckee).

[Papasteeze]

do you know of any easy ways to get from south lake to either alpine or squaw? we wont have a car while out there so getting around is going to be a bit of a pain. i know that there are some shuttle services from south lake to sierra and kirkwood, but im not sure about to the north shore.

 

i did see there was some type of ferry boat that goes from south shore to north shore, but i dont know if that seemed like a good plan of attack.

 

Get a car the night before head out early early to Squaw, Northstar or Alpine thats what I would do.

 

First on, Last off

[Jer]

whats the deal with car rentals out in CA? here in PA most places want you to be 25 and all of us are 23.

[Papasteeze]

whats the deal with car rentals out in CA? here in PA most places want you to be 25 and all of us are 23.

 

hmmmmm....... I dunno.... Book in advance, search around??

[ThinkSnow]

whats the deal with car rentals out in CA? here in PA most places want you to be 25 and all of us are 23.

 

I think most places will rent under 25, but you're gonna pay out the arse... that sucks.

[Alioops]

I lived in Tahoe for many many years. I prefer North Shore to South Shore due to the vibe. Getting to the North from the South on TART is a huge pain in the butt. Car rental would be key (although I am not sure about the age limit).

 

Squaw was my absolute favorite place to ski (but that could be because that is where I had my pass). Alpine was great, even Homewood was fun on powder days. Flatstar sucked (IMO).

 

Don't worry about the weather/snow. The big dumps usually come in late December/early January.

 

If you manage the car rental or are willing to take the trek on TART.....DO IT!! It is so worth it.