Tahoe area resorts. Bunch of 'em. This is our backyard. Take a peak, and see where you want to go when you get here. This is our little no B.S. brochure. Not really PR stuff, just good insider information to make your days that much better:
This information will be updated on a weekly basis as conditions change and certain areas on the mountains become open and good to ski. Look at this page as the local's scoop on what's good at the various mountains right now...
To get a feel for our local resorts, read through the following snippets geared for skiers of different levels, click on the "Today's Conditions" button to get the latest snow report in a pop-up window, or click on the resort logo to go to their site and get slathered in their own PR goo.
(But don't go there to wade through slow-loading pages just to get the ski report
when it's only one click away here, and for all the resorts too.)
If you've been paying attention at all over the last ten years, you've no doubt seen willing hucksters leaping from the precipices of Squaw. Long known locally as Squallywood, this is where the hot skiers show up to show off. Great steeps and bumps, and almost all killer lines are gravity fed from the lifts. If you're looking for a little solitude (Squaw can get mighty crowded, especially on weekends), head for Broken Arrow, Silverado, Red Dog Ridge, or hike to Mainline Pocket or Granite Chief Peak.
Squaw does have some great cruisers for those who know how to navigate the huge trail complex to look for long runs. The upper mountain generally has better snow, so head to Solitude and Shirley Lake, or play in the big bowl from Emigrant over to Headwall. A hidden gem is the whole area on the Squaw Creek side off the resort chair.
The best part about being a beginner at Squaw is that you have access to the top of the mountain, where the snow is best and the views are sublime. Head up the Funitel or the Cable Car and explore all the upper runs in the big bowl up top, and even over to Solitude. The only problem with heading up, is eventually you need to come down Mountain Run, and it can get very crowded, especially at the end of the day.
Alpine is more of a nook-and-cranny mountain, and shows her charms to those who are willing to go a bit out of the way to find them. Take a short hike out to Beaver or Estelle bowls for some great steeps, or over High Traverse to Sherwood or the High Yellow/Keyhole areas. You can certainly get in over your head here, so pay attention. If you don't want to hike to find the goods, one of the best hidden stashes is Expert Shortcut/Art's Knob off Sherwood Chair, and some of the best, steep chair-fed lines in Tahoe can be found off Scott Chair.
Alpine has plenty of good cruising, and isn't as crowded as it's big neighbor, Squaw Valley. The Summit chair offers quick access to the full mountains vertical, and you can explore like crazy off there. Head to the back side for some wide-open runs on Sherwood, or play in the trees of Scott and Lakeview.
As a beginner at Alpine, you don't have to put up with being buzzed by good skiers flying by at high speeds, except on Hot Wheels/Weasel. Other than that, most beginner areas are out of the way where you can get on your feet without fear of being knocked back off, and they have a top-notch beginner school too.
Though it's a bit of a drive from the North Shore, searching out Kirkwood's legendary steep and deep is well worth the extra car time. Most of the lifts run you up to ridgelines with cornices, steeps, and glades, plenty of places for you to get into trouble. Head to Thunder Saddle for some great untracked, and rip a bump line down underneath The Wall Chair if you feel lucky.
A great cruiser mountain, Kirkwood's lower slopes open up at the perfect pitch for letting 'em run. The terrain off the backside (actually far, far left over the ridge), however, is a bit tame and not really steep enough to keep you interested. If you're feeling brave, take a ride up the Cornice Chair and explore Sentinel Bowl. Stay off The Wall Chair though, because the skull-and-crossbones sign at the bottom is pretty real.
Head over yonder, pardner, and get the perfect slow cruising pitches you've been looking for off Sunrise, Iron Horse and Caples Crest Chairs. There are great beginner areas on either flank of the mountain, including a newer area near the resort entrance specifically designed to get those skiing legs working and foster exploration at an easier level.
Heavenly is the quintessential cruiser mountain. If you like to go really fast, this is a good place to do it, except on weekends when Heavenly can be overrun by the hordes staying in all those hotels and motels on South Shore. With the development of Mott and Killebrew Canyons, Heavenly opened up some pretty serious terrain, and it's always had a very serious vertical.
Cruise, cruise, cruise till patrol takes my ticket awayyyyy.... Wide open boulevards draped over two states and more than 3,000 vertical feet. This place is big, and smooth, and fun. Explore in the trees, or just soak in the view from the top of the tram.
Don't be afraid of Heavenly when you roll into the California side parking lot. There's plenty of easy terrain up there too. Just head up the tram, or start out your day on the Nevada side, where there's plenty of open terrain at just the right pitch to get you going.
Northstar isn't exactly an expert skier's paradise, lacking the steeps and ungroomed terrain that really sets your hair on fire. But there is some great skiing to be had in the trees on the backside, the bumps under the backside chair, and they are widely known to have the best terrain parks (and LOTS of them) on the North Shore.
This is definitely a blue skier's paradise, with wide-open boulevard runs at just the right slope to let your new shaped skis fly. Plenty of short pitches to test your new skills in the bumps or trees, without getting in over your head.
An awesome school, and great beginner terrain at the lower part of the mountain make learning to ski at Northstar very enjoyable. There is one drawback, however, to the lower terrain - not the greatest early, late, or wet storm conditions because of the lower elevation. But don't worry, you can probably handle the stuff up higher anyway. Go explore
Though certainly smaller than some of the major players listed above, Diamond Peak has one distinct advantage for experts who know - When it dumps, nobody comes out to ski Diamond Peak, and there's no avalanche danger/closures. You can have run after run of untracked before you cross anyone else's, and duck into the woods. Great exploring terrain in Solitude Canyon (go in up top, don't traverse in over all the wind drifts), and nook-and-cranny stashes can keep you happy for days, especially during a storm. The new high-speed chair means the long, chilling ride is a thing of the past.
A great mountain for cruisers, the views off Crystal Ridge add to the blessing. Most of the runs off the lower mountain are rather short, so if you're looking to let your quads burn a bit, go up the Crystal Quad and try the Ridge, Flume, or Lightning/Thunder if you feel frisky.
Diamond Peak has an outstanding beginner program, but often limits students to the extreme flats on Schoolhouse. If you're on the athletic side, or have skied before, bribe your instructor to go up the Red Fox chair, and you'll probably learn faster and have a lot more fun.
Mt. Rose is truly one of the hidden gems in Tahoe. Great terrain, excellent snow (especially when the storm is a bit on the wet side everywhere else), and a big backside bowl that takes forever to track out. Go explore the trees of Washoe/Zephyr, and in between the runs on the Slide Side. Now that the chutes are finally open, Rose is truly a big hitter in the steeps department, with plenty to keep those quads burnin'.
Rose has plenty of good groomed terrain for intermediates too, as long as you don't mind things a bit on the steeper side. The runs on the Rose side definitely have some pitch, unless you go way around to Lakeview, otherwise, the low lifts are really flat terrain. Maybe this is the day for you to take it up a notch and ski the Slide Side.
Great snow, great instruction at a laid-back resort. It doesn't get much better than this, and Rose has some pretty good long runs along the bottom to keep you going and getting better, instead of just riding the chair. Great kids area too, snowplay or skiing/riding
Another hidden gem, Sugarbowl promises all the challenging terrain of the bigger resorts, but in a smaller package. Bite sized, you could say. The snow is generally fabulous, and deep because of Sugarbowl's location on the Pacific Crest, so go find some good stuff off the far skier's left of the Silver Belt/Lincoln Chair, or take the NEW Disney chair and hike over the top for some runs down East Bowl. AAAAHHH. If you time it right, the super-steep 52s might even open...
For the more mellow skiers and riders, Sugarbowl offers plenty of smooth, sinewy tracks from top to bottom. The longest runs are off Silver Belt/Lincoln, but if you just want to rack up some quick vertical, the high speed quads on the Judah side are hard to beat. Between the runs are plenty of treed stashes to explore if you feel up to it, but keep an eye out where you're going, a wrong turn can quickly take you into some serious terrain, especially off Silver Belt.
Sugarbowl has probably one of the most perfect beginner area, for a couple of reasons: It's lift served, not tow-rope. It has a decent pitch without being too flat. It's short, and right in front of the lodge for laughs and easy access, and there's no car traffic on this side, so it really seems like you're out in the woods, or in an old-world kind of place. Go yourself and see.
Homewood
Homewood isn't exactly known for its steep or really challenging terrain, but there's some there if you're willing to explore. The trees over the front crest are a blast, steep and tight. Way over on the far left is a ridge that drops onto a small lake, giving excellent turns down a relatively clean face, but a bit of a walk out. There are plenty of stashes lurking in the trees, so go find 'em. But beware, on a big dump day, sometimes the pitch isn't steep enough on the main runs and you end up straight lining it.
Homewood hides most of its terrain from the road, and you'll find it's actually quite an extensive mountain once you get up top. (Homewood is actually Tahoe's 6th largest resort) Plenty of good cruising along the ridgelines, and shorter steep sections into the gullies. This is a good mountain to explore for intermediates. Get off the beaten track if you want to, just wear your goggles.
This is another mountain where much of the good beginner terrain is actually at the top. Take advantage of the better snow and views and head up there to cruise around. Most would recommend sticking around the upper right side of the mountain, once you've mastered the bunny slopes down in front of the lodge.
Sierra's expert terrain is all about trees and terrain parks. When we get a big dump, and most of the resorts are digging out or throwing charges, the mellower terrain at Sierra means skiers and riders are already doing top-to-bottom tree runs in chest deep fluff. If it's a helluva storm day and you're on South Shore, this might be the best bet.
I haven't really been to Sierra in a while, so someone's going to have to help me out with the next two categories here. Anyone who skis there a lot, or has been there in the last two days, please drop us an email so I can keep this thing accurate. Thanks
Ditto here. Little help?
Donner has the budget goods. That's all there is to it. You want decent terrain, close to the Bay Area, for cheap. Grab a ticket and head on up, there's plenty of little steep areas, good backside cruising and little rock bands to play on.
A great cruiser mountain too, Donner is a big dome with plenty of room to space out and get some good runs in, although they might not be the longest runs in Tahoe. But it's still plenty fun, especially the far back slopes against Boreal that bake to perfect corn in the spring.
I don't know if this is a very good place to learn to ski, but I would imagine it is. There's good low, mellow terrain and some easy exploring on the blue runs for beginners who are getting the hang of it.
