 Poster: A snowHead
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Me and a few friends are looking at booking up a well in advance holiday for next season over the pond. We are mainly attracted to either Heavenly, or one of the top resorts in Colorado. We are looking to go for either 10days or two weeks and were wondering if anyone, from past experiences or if they are local to these areas, has any recommendations as to when the best time of year would be to go. At the moment, we have discussed going at the back end of January, or the beginning of February.
Can anyone give us some advice? I know the seasons cant be fully predicted but there must be some preferences....
Thanks in advance folk, Cheers
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Colorado had it better than California this year
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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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Colorado.
For Heavenly, I would plan for late Feb. or March.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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My choice would be Colorado and stay in Aspen - it is not all glitz and glamour - you can stay, eat and drink cheaply. You can also ski Aspen Highlands, Snowmass and Buttermilk which are just a short bus ride away. Lift tickets are expensive though in US. The tree line is very high so no problem if you get a day with poor visibility. Everyone is very friendly and no language problems plus the queue system is superb.
If you want to ski and gamble then Heavenly is for you - you can almost ski into a casino and food and drink there is really cheap to entice you to play. You can take a ferry from Heavenly to Squaw Valley and have a day there. Also worth considering hiring a car as there are about 14 different resorts round the lake.
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thanks for the help folks - I was going to enquire about that actually; possibilities of visiting other resorts - I know that within that period we would definitely want to visit Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Sierra, Kirkwood, and possibly Northstar as I have heard great things about all. I don't suppose anyone would be aware of any special lift pass deals that could be available for such pursuits? Any advice at all for that matter?
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shenryo, I'm about to head out there, staying at the Granlibakken for $99 a night including lift pass.
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is there no way that you can combine lift passes though? or would we be subjected to simply buying a daily pass?
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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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shenryo, some of the resorts "cooperate" in their lift tickets, either because they were the same owner, or "partner" together to compet with Heavenly and Sqaw, the big 2. You can check them out on the web. But Tahoe is one region where there's no regional tickets, yet. Also, the distance between resorts are long, in transit time, if not on the map.
I don't know why skier in the States resort hop so much. Sure, the resorts are a little smaller. But Heavenly and Sqaw are by no means small. Each can easily keep anyone happy for 2-3 days without repeating any runs. So, unless you're planning to spend 2-3 weeks there, you'll be better off spend a few days in one resort and then another, possibly even moving your lodging to the nearby village to minimize transit time if you're trying to do both south and north Tahoe in one trip.
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all it is is that we will hoepfully be going for two weeks and would like to sample some of the other resorts time we are there just for the sake of being there an all
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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shenryo, if you have two weeks, and want to sample EVERY ONE of Lake Tahoe area, I'd suggest you spend one week south and one week north. Save you A LOT of transit time (and gas too).
South Tahoe is home to Heavenly. That should keep you guys/gals happy for a few days. Kirkwood and Sierra are within easy driving distance. They're layback and quieter. You'll enjoy them, especially on weekend day when all of northern California seems to be on the slope of Heavenly.
North Tahoe is more tricky in terms of lodging. Find something probably near the top of the lake (forgot the name of the village). You're within 1/2 hour of Sqaw, Northstar, Mt. Rose and Diamond peak. Another obvious loding option is to stay at Northstar, which has an immitation European style base village you can walk about. I found it very pleasant. But your drive to Sqaw and Mt. Rose will be longer (nearly an hour?).
Alpine Medow is actually closer to the south shore. That is, if Emery Bay drive is open (most often NOT). Otherwise, you're actually be better off approaching from the north. It's reputed to be a nice resort, layback atmosphere while skiing with view of the lake. But it's usually a pain in the butt to try to get to. But maybe you'll get lucky and the drive is open when you're there (actually UN-lucky, because the drive is only open when there's shortage of snow! ;o] ). It's then a cinch to cruise up from south Tahoe.
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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 for the advice abc - are there frequent shuttle services that operate within these resorts?
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shenryo, don't think there's any shuttle between different resort. But I maybe wrong.
There are buses going from South Lake Tahoe (this is the name of the village) to various resorts. But they only run in the morning and evening. You need to be on the bus on time 'cause it's not a "shuttle" per se.
There's no need for shuttle within the resort. Most of them have one base area. You get on the bottom lift and wander about all over the mountain till it's time to come back down. And you'll ended up in the same spot you started.
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You know it makes sense.
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thank you - what time of year have you skiied Heavenly abc? we were looking at going in early February 2008 - early to mid really
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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 used to live in San Francisco. So I've skied there a few times, different time of the year.
Tahoe tend to get HUGE dumps starting any time between November and May. So it's hard to predict what time is best. See my reply earlier in the thread. Usually, by late Feb, there's bound to have one or two of those big dumps that would leave so much snow on the mountain they don't melt till June.
Some years, you get lucky in December/Jan. Other years, like this one, there's very little till mid-Feb. All in all, I'd say it's not a Christmas destination. But any time after that, your chances are starting to be good. By mid-Feb, I'd say 100% safe for snow.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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shenryo, the Tahoe region is great, though they've had a rather poor snow year this season - though of late they've certainly built up a good base.
I'd also recommend a double-based approach, if you have the time. Do a sweep of the south, then a sweep of the north. If you want to ski Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley and Northstar, your best bet is to stay at Squaw or somewhere close by. Then you can swing south, staying in Tahoe City and skiing Heavenly, Kirkwood, and the other southern areas.
It's not like it's not drivable keeping a base in Tahoe City, but you'll be getting up early to hit places like Alpine and Squaw (around 1 hour away), Northstar (1.5 hours), or Mt. Rose (an hour, going anti-clockwise around the lake). So factor that into your plans. While petrol in the States is still cheaper than in the UK, it's not as affordable as it was, and U.S. cars aren't known for getting exceptional mileage.
That said, the combo pass looks like a good deal for 12 days of skiing.
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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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yeah, I will take that into consideratation - cheers songfta
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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thanks for all the help folks - I managed to get booked up for two weeks in Heavenly from Feb 24th - Mar 9th 2008, staying in the California Lodge area of South Lake Tahoe - we are staying in the Tahoe Seasons Resort. Should be great and we are all very excited 
there are very good deals on the Tahoe Interchangeable Lift Pass to be found in British tour operators and you dont need to buy a holiday to get a ticket. Just for anyone that may be considering going.
Cheers
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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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| songfta wrote: |
shenryo, the Tahoe region is great, though they've had a rather poor snow year this season - though of late they've certainly built up a good base.
I'd also recommend a double-based approach, if you have the time. Do a sweep of the south, then a sweep of the north. If you want to ski Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley and Northstar, your best bet is to stay at Squaw or somewhere close by. Then you can swing south, staying in Tahoe City and skiing Heavenly, Kirkwood, and the other southern areas.
It's not like it's not drivable keeping a base in Tahoe City, but you'll be getting up early to hit places like Alpine and Squaw (around 1 hour away), Northstar (1.5 hours), or Mt. Rose (an hour, going anti-clockwise around the lake). So factor that into your plans. While petrol in the States is still cheaper than in the UK, it's not as affordable as it was, and U.S. cars aren't known for getting exceptional mileage.
That said, the combo pass looks like a good deal for 12 days of skiing. |
Eh? Tahoe city was towards the north of the lake last time I stayed there.
It is very handy for Alpine Meadows, Squaw, and Northstar (though IMHO Northstar wasn't worth going to) and fairly pleasant compared to Stateline/south Tahoe. I also really didn't like heavenly (not least because of Stateline/South Tahoe), I found Sierra was pretty dull, but Kirkwood was excellent.
I've not been to Colorado so can't compare, but the only reason I went to Tahoe was that I worked in the bay area so it was handy for the weekends. Squaw, Alpine Meadows, Sugerbowl and Kirkwood are good, but I still think if I was making a special effort to the US I'd go to Colorado or Utah.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I was in Heavenly one time and it was amazing, I would recommend it to anyone but I haven't been to Colorado either so can't comment there. It's quite popular there though so they must be doing something right =) Heavenly was really, really cool though!
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From Heavenly to Sqaw is going to be a real bear. Alpine Meadow is even worse. An hour one way is really overly optimistic.
Yes, Tahoe City is on the north shore. It's a pretty boring place. But I would venture to guess it's considerably cheaper than South Lake Tahoe.
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abc, not sure when you were last in Alpine Meadows, but it's CLOSER than Squaw. From Tahoe City, the TART takes about 10 minutes to get to Alpine Meadows, and about 15 to Squaw. I base those times on my trip to AM this morning, and my trip to Squaw yesterday morning. Both were from the Granlibakken, which is on Route 89 on the way south around the lake. From Tahoe City to South Lake Tahoe takes about an hour.
Based on my current trip, Squaw would be my first choice, closely followed by Kirkwood (south lake tahoe)
Around the north shore you also have Sugarbowl, Mt Rose, Homewood and Incline.
Emerald Bay is currently open (and a very scenic drive) - I drove round it on Friday.
South Lake Tahoe will give you Heavenly (on the outskirts of the city), Kirkwood (40 minutes away) and Sierra (haven't been there).
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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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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
abc, From Tahoe City to South Lake Tahoe takes about an hour.
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But South Lake Tahoe to Granlibakken takes about 45 mins each way (assuming clear dry roads, no tourist traffic in front of you, pair of ski pants someone has left in your boot to deliver  )
Hope your Epic week went fine. When did you get to Kweed? I skied Alpine Saturday am and the backbowl was only open for a couple of hours, Scott was very marginal in places. "Big" storm forecast for today though as I return to work?
To the OP - I'd definitely consider more than just Heavenly. If on the other hand you want lots of groomed cruisers with a view of the lake, surrounded by Texicans, Heavenly is probably fine.
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fatbob, I was at Kweed on Friday. Conditions were good. Then Squaw on Saturday, and Alpine on Sunday. There is a big storm blowing in right now. I'm currently overlooking Sacramento, and the dark clouds are pretty ominous. Expecting 6-12" tomorrow, so I'll finish my trip at Homewood, and go out on a powder day. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
abc, not sure when you were last in Alpine Meadows, but it's CLOSER than Squaw.
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Unless Emeral Bay opens, which in "normal" year is closed at least 50% of the time, you'll have to go around to the north and back down on the south. Alpine is south of Squaw. So if Emeral Bay stays open, it's an easy commute. Otherwise, it's pretty much out of the questionn to drive 1 1/2 hour each way for a day of skiing.
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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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| abc wrote: |
| Quote: |
abc, not sure when you were last in Alpine Meadows, but it's CLOSER than Squaw.
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Unless Emeral Bay opens, which in "normal" year is closed at least 50% of the time, you'll have to go around to the north and back down on the south. Alpine is south of Squaw. So if Emeral Bay stays open, it's an easy commute. Otherwise, it's pretty much out of the questionn to drive 1 1/2 hour each way for a day of skiing. |
And parts of that road were scary enough even when it's clear hot and sunny!  But very scenic.
Just to clear a few geography things up once and for all as I'm confused myself now!!  ...
Tahoe city is NW lake tahoe. If you drive to Squaw from Tahoe City (it isn't really a city at all) which takes about 10 to 15 minutes you drive right past Alpine Meadows a few minutes before you get to Squaw Valley, in fact you can see it from Squaw and apparently there was once a plan to join the two together.
Kirkwood is quite a long way south (west), it takes a while to get there even from South Tahoe (Heavenly), it is the last of the more major roads to be cleared so after a heavy dump you may struggle to get there. It is however IMHO the best of the resorts (probably of all of them, certainly in the south)
see http://www.skilaketahoe.com/
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To clarify - Highway 88/89 to Kirkwood from South Lake Tahoe is almost always ploughed pre 9am. In a snow storm you will need chains and an ability to drive in whiteout conditions on exposed mountain passes but it is very rare that it is totally impassable e.g. when a avalanche has slid on Carson pass. It is not necessarily a relaxing drive. But Kirkwood is rubbish as they don't groom much on a powder day, the chairlifts are slow and the backside doesn't open during storms
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FAQ
does anyone have any experience with this pass? £320 quid this site (http://www.worldski.co.uk/ski_liftpasses_stage2.asp?DeptDateMin=21/03/2007&resort=166) is gonna charge us for 12 days of this pass each - seems ok that - anyone know of any better deals to be had? 