# What ski resort in lake tahoe



## StrattonRider (Sep 16, 2012)

A while back when i skied i went to Heavenly Mountain. I remember it being a fun mountain. There is this one trail where you can have one half of you in California while the other half was in Nevada.Being like 9 i thought it was the greatest thing. I was not into parks then, but looking at the website it looks like there are some pretty great jumps and rails.


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## kctahoe (Nov 14, 2010)

I say squaw or alpine on the north shore, or if your going south shore hit up kirkwood or Sierra.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Never been to Kirkwood, but others rave about it.

Sierra is fun. Not as gnarly as the other resorts perhaps.

Squaw and Alpine are both great. Passes work at either too.


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## gstboy (May 1, 2012)

kctahoe said:


> I say squaw or alpine on the north shore, or if your going south shore hit up kirkwood or Sierra.


I'll be there for the first time at the same time. I heard Kirkwood gets the most snow out of all the places but is farthest away from Tahoe? For steeps would you say squaw has the best blacks and double blacks?


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

gstboy said:


> I'll be there for the first time at the same time. I heard Kirkwood gets the most snow out of all the places but is farthest away from Tahoe? For steeps would you say squaw has the best blacks and double blacks?


Do you know where you're staying? That will usually dictate where you board.

It's roughly an hour north to south, in good weather.


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## Skinny Bam (Sep 7, 2012)

Heavenly is dope, really big, LOTS of tree options...park was closed when I went cuz they got dumped on but what I could see looked great. Super close to south lake hotels too, can hop on a shuttle.

Sierra is really legit too, not as many tree options as Heavenly but very good lines back there/natural jumps when theres enough snow. Parks should be good, they do a decent amount of filming there. Can get a shuttle here but I would advise against because you will wanna go earlier.

I was pumped for Kirkwood but got turned away because half our crew slept in too late so make sure you get there early! And yes if your staying in south lake Kirkwood is a decent amount farther than the above 2, dont think there is a shuttle to the wood either. 

Last place I hit was a little mt. called Diamond Peak, very small. Only reason we went because it was close to the airport on our last day. Very few runs but sick views and while the park only had like 5 rails/boxes they did have two 40-50ft jumps that were nice.

I hear Northstar has a real sick park


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Kirkwood gets the most snow fall in the region, in addition to be a pretty kick ass resort. The holidays overall is not a great time conditions wise for California resorts. Though it varies by season. Sometimes you get lucky and it just nukes around that time, other times you are lucky if the white ribbon of death is covered top to bottom.


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## kctahoe (Nov 14, 2010)

gstboy said:


> I'll be there for the first time at the same time. I heard Kirkwood gets the most snow out of all the places but is farthest away from Tahoe? For steeps would you say squaw has the best blacks and double blacks?


Depending on where your staying, yeah I would go to squaw for the steeper more advanced terrain. Kirkwood usually gets the most snow in the area, but alpine wich is close to squaw also seems to get a lot of snow.


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## gstboy (May 1, 2012)

Skinny Bam said:


> Heavenly is dope, really big, LOTS of tree options...park was closed when I went cuz they got dumped on but what I could see looked great. Super close to south lake hotels too, can hop on a shuttle.
> 
> Sierra is really legit too, not as many tree options as Heavenly but very good lines back there/natural jumps when theres enough snow. Parks should be good, they do a decent amount of filming there. Can get a shuttle here but I would advise against because you will wanna go earlier.
> 
> ...



Just found out we are staying at the embassy suites at the base of Heavenly so looks like I'll be boarding there. Sounds like fun, is squaw pretty close by?


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

Kirkwood is great for side country and just powder. Never too crowded because it's not close to other resorts, 2 parks, one for beginners one with big jumps. Many many tree runs and bowls. Slow old chairlifts. be sure you have AWD and good AS/ winter tires if 88 is snowed in. More than few times CALTRANS takes a while to open it before opening after it snows.


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## Skinny Bam (Sep 7, 2012)

gstboy said:


> Just found out we are staying at the embassy suites at the base of Heavenly so looks like I'll be boarding there. Sounds like fun, is squaw pretty close by?


Nice nice ya I think thats pretty close to where we stayed, we were at Mont Bleu. Basically like a little Vegas at night so lots of fun if thats what your looking for. And you can prob spend at least 3 days at heavenly without getting bored.

Squaw is not really close, I mean not far but at least compared to the other resorts its farther. Your on the southeast side and Squaw is on the Northwest side, prob about 1 hour 15 mins. Kirkwood is about an hour.

I would check out Sierra too Its like 30 mins away and you can take a shuttle to the mountain


Oh and I forgot, be prepared to pay like 120 for your lift ticket at Heavenly unless you buy in advance


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## gstboy (May 1, 2012)

We only got 2 days so will probably stay at Heavenly at least will be able to basically ski in and out of the hotel. 

$120? is that really the going rate or did you get ripped off big time for your passes? There's no local boardshops or costco where we can get a 2 for 1 or something?


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## kctahoe (Nov 14, 2010)

Lift tickets aren't really $120. Probley closer to $80-90


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## Skinny Bam (Sep 7, 2012)

gstboy said:


> We only got 2 days so will probably stay at Heavenly at least will be able to basically ski in and out of the hotel.
> 
> $120? is that really the going rate or did you get ripped off big time for your passes? There's no local boardshops or costco where we can get a 2 for 1 or something?


If its holiday rates its gonna be close to that, I was there presidents day weekend

But im sure you can buy in advance off the website, i couldnt because we werent sure what mountains we were hitting ahead of time


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## ShredLife (Feb 6, 2010)

Official Heavenly® Vacation Planner | Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Heavenly Lift Tickets - Lake Tahoe Discount Ski Lift Tickets | SkiHeavenly.com


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## gstboy (May 1, 2012)

ShredLife said:


> Official Heavenly® Vacation Planner | Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Heavenly Lift Tickets - Lake Tahoe Discount Ski Lift Tickets | SkiHeavenly.com


:thumbsup: thanks!


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## EatMyTracers (Sep 26, 2012)

Well gstboy is jacking my thread but I think I am going to go to heavenly.


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## gstboy (May 1, 2012)

Lol sorry for the TJ. At least we figured out where to go and with everyone's input seems like every resort in Tahoe is covered in this one thread.


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## stevetim (Dec 26, 2007)

Kirkwood. If they have cover, don't pass up a trip to Kirkwood.


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## swissarmybottle (Jan 16, 2012)

as a boarder, not too big a fan of heavenly... the longer runs require you to travel across the entire mountain (too many congested catwalks filled with noobs)... plus, for some odd reason, this resort's gondolas close very often due to heavy winds.

all that aside, I'd say it's a good "warm-up" location for tahoe.

Between the Vail owned tahoe resorts, Northstar and Kirkwood are definitely my favorites. Here's my ratings of them:

accessibility
#1. northstar
#2. heavenly
#3. kirkwood

park
#1. northstar
#2. heavenly
#3. kirkwood

snowfall
#1. kirkwood
#2. northstar/heavenly

tree runs
#1. kirkwood
#2. northstar/heavenly

Wish I could say more about the rest of the tahoe resorts, but those are the only 3 i typically go to


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## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

Heavenly is only good for the absolutely amazing views. You have the desert on one side of you, the lake on the other. It is incredible. There are some really long runs and steep tree runs, but it's not really good for snowboarders. However, you can't beat the convenience if you're staying in South Lake. The gondola is right there on the street, just walk from your hotel and hop on. Very, very touristy.

Kirkwood is absolutely the tits. Rarely crowded. I have a t-shirt from there that says "If the mountain crowded, find another run until he's gone." That's really true. Especially on the back side, The Wave (shaped like a giant wave, natch), I've taken top to bottom runs many times with NO ONE nearby. It starts on this massive ridge and ends up with several options through nice wooded trails. Beautiful. But man, if it's windy (which it always seems to be at Kirkwood) it can be crazy up top. Still, best variety of terrain, from insane chutes to big open bowls and deep woods. My favorite place at Tahoe.

I'd suggest looking into a Snow Bomb card. It costs about $60, but usually comes with one pre-paid ticket to somewhere at Tahoe, then pretty steep discounts to the other mountains, plus a couple of "free" tune-ups. If you're there for any length of time, it usually pays for itself.

The Tahoe City area has Homewood...tiny by comparison, but the nicest views of the lake you'll ever see, and it is super quiet. They own Alpine Meadows, and if you stay a couple days (or drive if the road is open) you can get cheap passes that are good for both mountains, and I think even Squaw, which is on the other side of Alpine. There is noplace "bad" at Lake Tahoe. Northstar is super-touristy, but the blacks are fun with good snow. Otherwise, it's like an expensive mall with a mountain attached. Diamond Peak is only worth going to if you have a $10 ticket, which you can actually find if you look around. Tiny. It's advertised as a kids mountain, but it's pretty. If you want to venture out, try Snow Bowl. It's up north, have to drive through the Donner Pass to get there, but it's got some really great terrain, too.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I think you mean Sugar Bowl.


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## stupidmop (Oct 18, 2012)

I've always enjoyed Sierra at Tahoe. I don't believe they make their own snow though, so be sure to check how many trails are in operation.


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## Skinny Bam (Sep 7, 2012)

killclimbz said:


> I think you mean Sugar Bowl.


He definitely meant Sugar Bowl....Snowbowl and Great Terrain will never be in a sentence together :laugh:


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## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

killclimbz said:


> I think you mean Sugar Bowl.


:laugh: Yes, I meant Sugar Bowl.


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## gstboy (May 1, 2012)

surfinsnow said:


> Heavenly is only good for the absolutely amazing views. You have the desert on one side of you, the lake on the other. It is incredible. There are some really long runs and steep tree runs, but it's not really good for snowboarders. However, you can't beat the convenience if you're staying in South Lake. The gondola is right there on the street, just walk from your hotel and hop on. Very, very touristy.


Would you say that two days at Heavenly is too much? If so I'll definitely check out Kirkwood one day.




Skinny Bam said:


> He definitely meant Sugar Bowl....Snowbowl and Great Terrain will never be in a sentence together :laugh:


Lol @ snowbowl my first snowboarding experience was there.


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## Skinny Bam (Sep 7, 2012)

gstboy said:


> Would you say that two days at Heavenly is too much? If so I'll definitely check out Kirkwood one day.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


2 days at Heavenly is not too much, you still probably wont ride the whole mountain. Place is huge, just a little smaller than Vail if I remember right.


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## EatMyTracers (Sep 26, 2012)

I am no longer going to Tahoe, going to Mammoth now.


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