And once in warms up in the bay area and the valley, everyone starts riding bikes and mowing their lawns, so it's quiet at the resorts.

Nice. Which spot didya like best & why?

I'm gonna guess ya dug Heavenly the most only cuz you spent the most time there.

Not that it matters much, but my rankings of the 3 are The Wood, Squawllywood, then Heavenly.

http://98.129.89.114/tahoe/164/site/graphics/pdf/resort_shuttles/2012-13_freeskiershuttle.pdf

Try calling the resorts and hotels to see if such service exist for you. If there're shuttles, is going to be mostly on weekends and holidays.

 

thats allota driving

I totally agree.  I hear everyone say driving 50 sucks.  But actually it is so much better than 80.  Less trucks, less traffic, slower speeds = less accidents.  It's less distance so the slower speeds are equal in arrival time.  

But please, everyone stay on 80 so I can have a carefree drive up 50 all winter long! 

 

I thought the NV side wasn't so bad. The CA side has more flat areas that give riders some trouble. You just have to know where to go.

 

Northstar only has that East Ridge run with the view of the lake that's flat. But you should be ok there if your board is waxed. Near the bottom of the Backside lift has a little flat area where the trails merge. But you should be coming down with pretty good speed off those black diamond runs and not have any problems.

 

If not for the distance, my favorite resort at Tahoe would be Kirkwood. But, because of the time it takes to get there and the lack of snowy, curvy 2-lane roads, my favorite is Northstar.

You need to know about all the secret stashes to really love Heavenly.  I thought the same thing my first few times but can't get enough now.  Get some fresh wax on your board and you are good to go.  Talk with some locals.

CA -> NV is open now. 

Yeah, we know, you already said it in this thread:

Squaw was epic on my pow day for the first 1.5 runs before everything was tracked out.  then the wind kicked up and everything shut down.  but yes, the 1.5 runs was very nice.

Sierra is only good on a powder day, it sucks otherwise.

But even then, I'm going to assume you've never been to Squaw on a powder day.

Other then that, NorthStar has a sick park.  Heavenly has a sweeeeettt backcountry run called Firebreak, best to hit on or shortly after some freshies, and if you have fun with it you can spend a solid hour + riding it.  Kirkwood is nice and different, but tucked way back in nowhereland.  There is no shitty resort in Tahoe...except maybe Homewood when they dont set up the parks, but for $25 no complaints here.  Hit me up when you come out this way.

Great post and only 209 days after the last post.  Timely and informative, keep up the good work!

Heavenly has the 2nd best park in Tahoe. Good backcountry: Firebreak, Palisades, Raley Bowl. Great in bounds skiing Mott Canyon, Killebrew, Northbowl Chair, Stagecoach, Olympic, etc.

I don't agree that they lack good park features. They had 3 parks last year that were expertly maintained and in my opinion were only second to Northstar. This year they are adding another park bringing it up to 4. I think it's only going to get better every year at N*/Heav if they make their parks like Keystone/Vail/Breck.

 

heavenly has good powder, large variety of terrain, and a pretty good view of lake tahoe on some runs. but it lacks good park features, can be more expensive than others, and has a lot of flat areas that will make you unstrap and walk. The plus is the location is right at South Lake Tahoe next to the casinos, restaurants, and night clubs.

 

kirkwood has great powder, large variety of terrain, view is no different from any other ski resort, never crowded, has lift deals from costco, but is a little behind on the parks. Bad location, it's 45 min from civilization.

 

northstar has less variety of terrain, but great park features. not far from truckee. not much of a view. gets very crowded on weekends.

 

diamond peak is a small resort with limited terrain. awsome view of lake tahoe from the summit. cheap. closer to reno if your flying in. i don't remember any parks there. not crowded.

 

alpine meadows gets good powder and a pretty good variety of terrain. not too much for parks. you're basically getting squaw without the crowd.

 

that's all the resorts i went to last year..hope that helps

Diamond Peak is ok but it is small. If you head to the summit, the runs are nice if the snow is good though.

Really? Heavenly hasn't been crowded at all this season. Sierra on Sundays has been absolutely ridiculous some weekends. 50 cars backed up on 50.. parking all the way down to the 15 mph turns. Sierra's parks have been shit this year too. Heavenly has brought it.. regularly changing it up and having everything maintained. I mean it's still not Vail, Breck, or Keystone level jumps, but it's close. 

I have a pass to both though.. they have their + and -.

Heavenly for park and pow in firebreak/northbowl chair. Sierra for pow pow in the gates/jacks bowl/abowl.

 

Season Pass renewed and even my friends who doubted the mountain that I convinced to ride with me last season are now pass holders.

 

So it looks like me and myke will be boarding together next year.

Or, Homewood. Super low key, mostly locals. Cheap. Tree runs are okay, but a little better than Sierra. Never crowded. But a bit small.   

Or, if you're park rat, Boreal is the place to go. 

To me, northstar, and squaw feels the same to me. Its a nice place, but... doesn't do it for me. 

sugarbowl is okay. 

Kirk is too far out in no where for me, but best snow 4sho. Once a while is cool. Definitely a second for me.

Heavenly is a straight rip-off. The only good thing bout it is walking distance to and from the casinos.