 Poster: A snowHead
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Am planning a holiday next year (I know - a long way away !) which is going to involve spending a week in and around San Franscisco and then moving on to Ski in the US or Canada for another week.
I presume that there are people on here with experience of skiing out that way...if so then what would be the best resort to aim for?
We are not sure when we will be going but it will be around March time. We are both of a fairly good ability...I will Ski blacks easily (or in the case of the Experte Piste in Madonna this January will fall over and slide the whole way on my stomach !) and my other half prefers to do reds.
Obviously want as much chance of good snow as possible as we will be booking this quite a way in advance.
Thanks for your help !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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rooney, search the forum for 'Tahoe' (search is under the 'user Facilities' drop down menu, beneath the mountain scene). There's a whole cluster of resorts around Lake Tahoe which is the nearest ski area to SF (3-4 hours by car). You'll find quite a bit. Squaw Valley, in particular, has a number of devotees -- including me!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Thanks. Am expecting to fly to a ski resort from SF. Is that not right? Is it more a case of getting a bus / car??
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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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rooney, you could fly to Reno from SF for the Tahoe resorts. Not sure about local transport after that: most Americans would probably hire a car, but some of the larger lodges might arrange airport transfers.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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rooney, another thing to bear in mind is that a return flight to SF will be *much* cheaper than a single to SF with the return from another N. American city. I found that last summer when we were visiting friends/relatives in SF, LA and Arizona. Having driven from SF to Arizona, it would have been far quicker/easier to have flown back from Phoenix, but the extra cost for a family was prohibitive. So, we ended up flying from Tucson, via LA, back to SF.
That's another reason for going to nearby Tahoe (rather than say Colorado or Utah), whether you drive or fly there.
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That makes sense.
What airport would you fly to for Tahoe ?? (Just been looking at Heavenly....looks very nice !!!)
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rooney, Reno, Nevada
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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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Thanks.
Just to make it a little more complicated the other half is tempted by Whistler. Looking on the web it seems Whistler has it's own airport....is that right??
If so then I suppose I could fly there from SF.
Anyone skiied Whistler ??
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I had a very pleasant week at Mammoth a few years ago. It's not far from SF and is a good bet if you're going late as skiing is almost all year round. There was sod all to do exept ski, but I gather that it's livened up a bit since then.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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whistler doesn;t have it;s own airpoirt (they just decided not to bother sepdniong $20,000 on a feasiblity study), but Vancouver is only a couple of hours away (anout 70 miles or so) and if you really must fly closer, there's a small field at pemberton about 30 minutes from whsitler
the skiing at tahoe is every bit as good as whistle (i've skiied both), the only difference is that at tahoe is spread out between several resorts. I think there are something like 27 different ski areas around the lake. That make sit fun to visit new places each day, if you like that kind of thing, and there's a the casinos in south lkae tahoe so you can try to win your money back!
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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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Me and gamblig... bad idea !!
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rooney, just so you know, some Tahoe resorts are in California (no gambling) and some in Nevada (it's practically compulsory). You'd probably be beyond temptation in resorts like Squaw Valley or Alpine Meadows, particularly if you're not going to have a car. From memory, Sugarbowl is probably just about the furthest from the state line!
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You know it makes sense.
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Either Whistler or Tahoe would be an excellent choice. Whistler is having a bad year this year, but in general has excellent conditions. The Tahoe resorts generally have excellent conditions, and have really been dumped on big this year. I would wait until sooner to see where the snow is better, and then book based on that.
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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 agree with richmond, Mammoth only 3 hours drive from San Fransisco and some of the best skiing I've had.
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Poster: A snowHead
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You need to ask the Fox Man 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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don't fly from SF to the mountains - you will need a car when you are there and so you may as well drive from SF.
I have combined a trip to SF with 4 days in Heavenly and it worked very well. It's about a 5 hour drive. We also took the opportunity to take in the Stinson Beach and Napa Valley areas as well while we had the car (or rather, the monster 4x4) and these are well worth a visit if you have time. We just spent an afternoon and evening in Stinson Beach on our way back to SF and really liked it.
Have heard great things about the skiing at Mammoth as well.
I am not sure that I would describe Heavenly as "nice". The skiing is great (lots of quiet wide pistes, lots of trees, good steep gullies) but the town of South Lake Tahoe is horrible. I have heard that there are nice places to stay at the north end of the lake. If you are there for a week, I certainly recommend trying a few of the other lake resorts. 4 days in Heavenly was fine but if we had been there longer I would have also tried Kirkwood, Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley etc.
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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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Now to add my thoughts -
1. Mammoth is a 6 to 7 hour drive from SF - I've done it in 6 hours from the east bay (no bridges) but that was by leaving at 1am, and driving quite fast. They do open later than the other resorts, usually, but their season is comparable to Squaw and Kirkwood in length.
2. Tahoe City is a good 3 1/2 hour drive from SF - it's basically 200 miles from SF airport (SFO). That's in good weather, and not during any heavy traffic periods (basically leave at 5 am, 11 am, or after 7pm). At other times it's usually between 4 and 6 hours.
3. Reno is a 45 minute drive from Squaw Valley. Most, if not all, of the large hotels in Reno seem to have ski shuttles. And many of the resorts have shuttles that cover the immediately surrounding areas. There is also a local bus service.
4. Mt. Rose, Diamond Peak, and half of Heavenly are in Nevada. South Lake Tahoe is a casino town - reminds me of Blackpool, for some reason!
5. Heavenly and Squaw are the more expensive areas in Tahoe, especially in terms of lift tickets, but they are the biggest (I'm not counting Mammoth because it is much farther away.)
6. March is an excellent time to come - the snow is usally fantastic, and we start getting warmer temps during the day. Squaw tries to open the High Camp (el 8,200 ft) swimming pool and hot tub around the middle of the month, so you can ski in your bikini if you wish!
7. For good intermediate to advanced skiers Squaw has a good variety of terrain (IMO) - there is plenty to go at, and it doesn't get too crowded (very rarely are the lift lines longer than 5 minutes).
8. If you really wanted to, you could spend an extra $4,000 and charter a plane to fly into Truckee, which is the nearest airport to Tahoe city (15 minutes). Truckee is not a bad place to stay - a bit cheaper, and Northstar is right there, but it is nick named "flatstar"!
9. Reno and South Lake Tahoe have the most obvious night life, but it is centered around the casinos. Tahoe City and Truckee are not bad, there are a few bars that are really quite decent. The night life in the village at Squaw has been getting better - a few places have changed ownership recently, and there is a new dance club that I haven't yet been to, but I've heard great things about!
10. Squaw has the best ski school! 
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