 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
Nice site!
My wife & I are planning to visit the US (and maybe Canada) at the start of April 06 for 3 weeks. We intend to visit San Fransisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon etc but, more importantly, we want to go skiing!
We only started 2 years ago & have been to Soll & Obergurgl (both Austria) & are now completely hooked.
My wife will be looking for somewhere that she can glide down long easy runs & I'll be looking for something a little harder. Any suggestions?
Good snow, short queues, pretty scenery & sunshine is what we are looking for (same as everyone else I suppose!) as this is our wedding anniversary. So far we've been looking at Heavenly, Breckenridge, Whistler & Lake Louise.
We will most likely be going skiing first, then fly onto the cities. Can you help?
Thanks & regards
Scott
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Brightside, welcome to Snowheads. If you are visiting Ca for nearest resorts then suggest:
Mammoth
Tahoe
Squaw
Heavenly
For the best skiing experience both on and off piste I recommend heading to Whistler/Blackcomb. One of my favourites with cruising runs for the lady and some great bowls for you to try your hand at. Great apres ski too. Enough to keep you happy although would need to fly to Vancouver.
Hope this helps
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Brightside, welcome to snowHeads! Maybe ski at Lake Tahoe - so, yes, maybe Heavenly or Squaw Valley. There are many other resorts around Lake Tahoe, so take a good look at the choices. I've not skied there, but it's always cracked up to be very beautiful and I met one skier who went there every year he liked it so much..
Breckenridge is certainly a popular place with Brits. I found the resort quite appealing, with lots of places to eat and drink in the evening. I think you'd like it.
You can get lots of friendly advice from US skiers on www.epicski.com , by the way.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Given where otherwise you are going the California resorts seem the best bet.
We went to Mammoth last year, a 5-6 hour drive from Los Angeles. Big ski area and enough there to keep both you and your wife occupied for your skiing time. Last year was a massive snow year for Mammoth. Conditions were excellent, helped by a 14 in dump the day we arrived. Thereafter we skied in California sunshine. That was the first week in April this year.
We have been to Tahoe a few times as well(again in April during the school Easter holidays). It is easier to get there from San Francisco than to go to Mammoth from Los Angeles...maybe 3-4 hours drive on Interstate all the way. So long as you are not caught by a Sierra storm on the drive up it would be a very easy drive. There are maybe 10-12 different ski areas round the Lake. The scenery is incredible. Heavenly gets the press and the attention, but I didnt like it that much...based in South Lake Tahoe, in Nevada, its main appeal are the casinos and the area was not my personal cup of tea. We much preferred the north end of the lake from which you can access Squaw Valley, Northstar, Alpine Meadows, Mount Rose , Sugar Bowl and a couple of others. If you want to party the north end is not really the place to do it, if you want scenery, peace and quiet then it is.
If you want to ski, Whistler is the place to do it, but you take a chance on the sun. Very often it is not there, though some times we have been there and it has been great. Typically though, being a coastal climate, it is cloud and rain/snow.
For the California resorts you absolutely need a car, for Whistler you dont.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Whistler
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Alastair's post is very good, including his non-skiing travel/route suggestions. One thing to remember is that weather can be volatile in the Tahoe region, particularly in April. Short sleeves one day, a foot of snow the next. April is on the tail end of the most reliable part of the ski season. Mammoth has the highest, most snowsure terrain in the region. You may want to make it a key stop for skiing. Other places with strong snow records are Kirkwood and Squaw, but if the regional snowpack is good then many areas will provide good skiing. I saw/met lots of Brits at Heavenly last year in March, virtually none at Kirkwood. I agree with Colin about Heavenly not being exactly my favorite cup of tea either, but it has great scenery and some of the best non-ski diversions and development in the area.
A couple of trip reports of possible interest:
Heavenly: http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=811&mode=headlines
Kirkwood: http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=809&mode=headlines
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Had great powder & whiteout conditions at Mammoth & Squaw at beginning of May but as above gets very warm also. Drivings more than possible around the whole area - I'd say Yosemite is also a must but you have to drive back up to Tahoe to get over the Sierra at that time of year (assuming travel west to east).
Comments re Heavenly are spot on - last year I stayed 2 mins walk from the Heavenly Gondola and still preferred to drive up to an hour to other places. The terrain just isn't that great with a couple of notable exceptions.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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While you're in the Tahoe area it's worth doing Sugar Bowl too, just for a taste of skiing history.
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Wow! Thanks for the warm welcome & great information folks. I'm getting really excited about our trip already & it's still months away! The whole CA area looks fantastic & some of your replies have been inspiring in terms of where to visit.
I'll be following up all the links & surfing for info on the other CA ski areas as, on relflection, it makes sense to keep the likes of Whistler etc for another year.
I'm a little concerned about the snow conditions for the first week in April but we will just have to take the gamble. We went to Obergurgl in the 2nd week of April last year & totally lucked out due to a big dump the night before we arrived followed by a few days of on/off snow then days of sunshine - perfect! Maybe we are pushing our luck by going skiing in April again in 06?
I'll post to this thread as I work through our holiday plan - no doubt there will be others who are interested.
Now, I'm only a few hours drive from the skiing here in Scotland & the weather report is talking snow already - in November! This could be a great few months coming up!
Scott
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Brightside, If you want any more information on the places I visited on my trip (some of which I omitted), and some accomodation info, let me know and I can PM you the details (PM is the Private Message facility on Snowheads).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thanks again Alastair & everyone else.
Things have moved on pretty quickly the last few days as I was getting a little concerned about flight availability so, we've got a few things booked!
At the moment, we will be heading to:
San Fran for 3 nights
Lake Tahoe for 2 nights
Mammoth for 10 nights
Death Valley (Furnace Creek!) 1 night
Las Vegas for 3 nights
Fly back home from Vegas
We'd considered some time at Yosemite after SF but it looks like a really long journey round to Mammoth if the winter pass is closed - which brings me to a question about the drive south from Tahoe to Mammoth - is there a chance that the highway (395 I think) would be closed for winter? I'd imagine that there could be the odd storm which will close parts of the road until they clear it but closed completely? I don't fancy having a hotel booked in Mammoth & be stuck in Tahoe! We will be hiring a 4 wheel drive in SF & dropping it in Las Vegas.
Alastair, this seems to mirror your journey! I'd love to hear about places to visit en route from you (or anyone else who's been in the area).
Scott
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Personally if you've got the flexibility I'd cut down the Mammoth time a bit in favour of a bit more time at Tahoe - more resorts/ greater variety - if you budget on driving down Tahoe to Mammoth mid week you can probably afford to be a bit flexible re weather as unless its a holiday week accomodation doesn't usually fill out completely except Fri & Sat ( & rates increase accordingly!)
Mono Lake on US 395 (where they skydive into in Point Break) near Mammoth & also ancient Bristlecone forest (oldest livingthings on earth) are quit interesting in my opinion but old shrivelled trees may not be everyone's idea of fun. Jumbo jet boneyard at Mojave of interest to some people.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I'm the one that said Mammoth would likely have the best late season snow in CA and to make it a key stop. I like your tentative itinerary. Starting in Frisco and departing from Vegas is brilliant, but I too would say save 2 or 3 more days for the Tahoe region and strike a couple from Mammoth. Ten days at one US ski area could get repetitive. As big as Mammoth is, it is no Three Valleys or l'Espace Killy. Conventional wisdom on Tahoe ski terrain is that the most interesting ski areas are Squaw and Kirkwood, then Heavenly, Alpine Meadows and Northstar. But you'll find fans of some of the other ski areas too. Mammoth is not considered part of Tahoe region, but stands separate to the south by a few hours.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Yes, I think you guys are right - an extra few days in the Tahoe area may well be the way to go. Fortunatley, we have only booked the San Fran, Death Valley & Las Vegas accomodation, so that leaves us with 11 'floating' nights still to book for skiiing. June Mountain looks worth a wee visit as well but we can easily go there from our Mammoth accomodation.
Alastair, thanks for your PM - it's always great to get a first hand account of the area & the sights to see rather than rely on the official sites. I'll be printing your e-mail to take with us & no doubt I'll quiz you about a few things over the coming months if that's ok!
I've been doing a bit of research & I think the local school holidays start on our last day of skiing (14th April) - I hope that works out so we can enjoy relatively short lift queues!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There should be very few crowds anywhere in April regardless of school holidays. Most Americans quickly quit thinking about skiing in spring and ski area visits plummet. First half of March can be quite busy at major resorts due to rolling college "spring breaks", but the busiest times at US ski resorts are Xmas week and Presidents Weekend (the third weekend of February) when everyone is on holiday.
The main thing you'll need to worry about is a good snowpack to allow for robust April skiing. California is off to a slow snow start, but last year they got bombed starting around New Years time frame.
June Mtn is smaller, but not insignificant and good for a day or two as a complement to Mammoth. Supposedly it's a good place to go on storm days due to lower elevation with more trees or on crowded days due to being less popular.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Northstar is IMO a waste of space compared to Squaw & Alpine. Family focused but greedy ticket prices, appalling lift layout on lower mountain, terrible parking infrastructure which guarantees jams and only one seriously challenging bit of terrain. Great if you buy into the whole fake village disneyland image but a real cheek that they're trying to position it as a serious contender to squaw
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Yes, the snowpack is a bit of a concern but I'm hoping that Mammoth will offer the best chance of decent skiing in April. I should be OK but my wife prefers to ski the gentler runs near the bottom so that will be the biggest risk.
Anyone with local knowledge - if it turns out to be an average snow year, what are the chances of the lower trails being in a decent condition for most of the day?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If it is anything like last year then snowpack is not an issue for Mammoth. The whole mountain was open top to bottom and over a week (in early April) it snowed over 2 ft over say 3 different dumps.
We have skied California at Easter time on maybe 4 occasions and I think it snowed each time we were there. When not snowing the weather was clear blue skies, sun and excellent visibility. It is however spring conditions so you will start often on hard stuff frozen overnight and it will get a bit mushy in the afternoon.Remember to follow the sun ie as it warms up the snow follow it round so you get the best conditions and dont end up in too much mush.
I believe they like to try to stay open at Mammoth until 4 July, so early April is not late season there.
Like others I would have less time at Mammoth and more at Tahoe. 7 nights at Mammoth should do it or six there and six at Tahoe
I loved it there, but a word of warning the town is not especially attractive. It lacks a definable centre (a common theme in the US and especially California) and you would not really walk anywhere. It is built for those with a car and everybody drives everywhere. It is very spread out (no real problem with a car but walking would be a real pain)
One year (in Tahoe) we skied until say 2.30 (US lifts close pretty early, usually at 3.30), went home, changed and had a leisurely game of tennis in the afternoon sun.
The passes through Yosemite close every year I believe between November and May. US395 should be open continuously, except in a storm when it might shut (as might any road there including I80 which is the main route to San Francisco).
If you can organise it try to ski midweek and travel on Sat or Sun. As long as the US schools are not on holiday it should be no problem midweek or weekends but both Tahoe and Mammoth are busier on the weekends with people coming in from the large urban centres. If you do ski midweek you basically walk onto the lifts, so it is a shock on the weekends to find some people in front of you
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks Colin. Again, good to read some first hand experience of the area.
The Tahoe/Mammoth time split is now under investigation.
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FAQ
At Heavenly some of the trails start with a view overlooking the Lake, then go round the side of the mountain so you have a few of the semi arid Nevada desert, then back to the Lake view again. Wherever you stay, having a car will let you have days out in the other Lake Tahoe ski resorts 
From Mammoth its only a few hours to Death Valley - well worth a visit and manageable temperatures in April. I had left Mammoth at lunchtime and by evening I was relaxing in the geothermal waters of the swimming pool at 
) at only 7519ft. Note that the road runs to the East of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and since the precipitation bearing clouds which come in from the Pacific dump their snow on the Sierras, the area to the East of the Sierras is in a rain/snow shadow (which is why Nevada is semi desert 
). Therefore I think it's very unlikely you will have troubles in April.
