I’ll be in Vail for Xmas. Hope they get some more snow soon
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The recent and upcoming.storms may open up a lot more ski resorts soon
Oh, yeah. Tahoe is getting feets of snow.
Indeed. Heavenly got 62 inches in the last 24 hours. Don’t think I have ever seen more than 40 inches in 24 hours, and I have been watching for years. Crazy.
They corrected it to 25. I thought 62 seemed crazy
i was in syracuse NY one time and we got 36 inches in 24 hrs. the snow fell like the way a hard rain does, just driving down. for 24 hrs. 62 (now corrected) would be unfathomable to me
The most snow I’ve ever seen in a short period of time was the December 2006 blizzard. While it was “only” 2 feet ish in the Denver metro, the blizzard also had strong winds so the drifts were incredibly deep. In the spot I got stuck, you could not see the cars on one side of the parking lot because the drifts covered them completely.
My wife got stranded trying to leave Boulder and wound up staying at a hotel there. And the wind was crazy, it pushed snow up against my garage door to the point it was almost to the gutter, so about 7-8’ of snow there.
I’d bought winter tires for the first time the month prior, whew!
That blizzard was a couple of days that I’ll never forget. I had so many weird experiences in a short time.
We just moved to CO in April of 2006. I still remember leaving my office one day that fall, it was 52° and sunny. By the time I got home 25-30 minutes later (~ 8 miles), it was 25°, snowing, cloudy, and there was a rainbow over the front range.
The blizzard wasn’t too memorable for me, my wife made it home the next day and I basically fed the fireplace for a few days and waited it out.
3-6 more FEET of snow expected for locations in CA just through Friday, with more on the way after that. I might have to check out the Tahoe area for the first time.
You’ll love it. On past trips, I’ve met Texans and Georgians.
Kirkwood is awesome, if you can get to it.
Heavenly is closest to South Lake Tahoe (the town on the CA side) and Stateline (the gambling town on the NV side). There is a ski lift in town to take you to the base, but that seems pretty crowded. On my trips, 20+ years ago, we’d stay on the Nevada side on the mountain, ski in and ski out, then take our chances driving into town.
Or, you stay in Reno (less snow, more gambling) and take whatever bus (maybe, cuz COVID) you want to the South or North Tahoe resorts.
North side of the lake is closer to Reno, I think.
Hmm, can get RT flight + 4 nights hotel for $900 in a mediocre hotel (Harrahs). Lots of nicer options as well.
My family has Vail epic passes and we ski a bunch at the Vail resorts in Tahoe (Kirkwood, Heavenly, Northstar), if you are thinking of doing Tahoe, happy to answer any questions.
Any preferences on resort? Would like to stay adjacent to/at a resort with some dining options at the bottom. Heavenly fits the bill, as does Northstar.
Heavenly.
Because it’s closer to Kirkwood (still 34 miles away). Go at least one day.
Kirkwood is a skier’s resort. It has amazing terrain for the expert skiier, and a vibe that is all about skiing. It is not near anything, and there is nothing to do there except ski. Does not sound like what you are after, but if you can sneak a day in there (i.e. go to Heavenly and will have a car), then agree with DTNF, you should make the trek. I was there two days ago, great time.
Heavenly is gigantic and lots of terrain, though it can be a trek to get between areas. It also can be crowded if you ski on weekends. Staying in South Lake should have options, and there is food, other stuff to do. The town has more middle class vibe than Northstar.
Northstar is pretty nice skiing for blue groomers and easier black diamonds - not so much for experts. Lots of choices, easier to navigate than Heavenly. It also can get really crowded on weekends. You can stay at the resort (though I believe it is quite expensive). If you stay in Truckee, not sure how easy it would be to get there without a car, and even if you do have a car, the process of getting from parking lot to actually skiing is long (bus to drop off area, then walk to gondola). Northstar and Truckee are more of an upmarket/snooty vibe.
Thanks for the tips. I’m ski mostly the blues and easier blacks. Don’t need the expert terrain. Wherever I go I am likely to ski during the week and avoid the weekend crowds.
I thought I had found a good solution to hit multiple spots: On the Kirkwood website I found a link to a shuttle that operates from South Lake Tahoe to Kirkwood on Wednesdays (and Northstar on Tuesdays). However upon clicking through apparently this service was recently discontinued.
Bummer, that would be a nice service, surprised there is not enough of a market to keep it going.
Without easy transport, not sure it would be worth it if you are not into the crazy stuff: enjoying Kirkwood to the fullest usually involves an approach to skiing which de-emphasizes safety.
No, not really. It’s just a matter of looking at that slope and saying, “Hey, Bud, let’s party!”
Worth an Uber share. See if there is a way to hook up with others in SLT to get a lift (Lyft?).
Last time I was there (again, 20 years+), I followed my sister (expert skier who lives in snow country) down one of those chutes on the left side of the map. A “short cut” to the lodge for lunch. Some scary shit, but I got through. It was either that or take another 20 minutes to ski down to the left then up a lift and back down a gentler slope. I don’t think I saved much time.
Might as well rent a car in Reno. No, I’m a non-fan of driving in feet of snow, but it’s possible that the roads will be clear. They do a pretty good job up there.