Tahoe Qs: Northstar + Squaw; Kirkwood, Heavenly

[va_deb]

Hi Divas! We're meeting my brother, SIL and two nephews (8 and 10) for skiing during spring break for the kiddos (April 2 - 5). We're leaning toward making Northstar our home base, but my SO has the MCP so we will do some Squaw skiing too.

Looks like Northstar has some pet-friendly rental house options on the shuttle line, so that seems convenient. There is a chance some non-skiing family members may come along as well, and having the shuttle will help if we don't want to have to rent more than two cars.

I didn't realize that Northstar is now affiliated with Heavenly and Kirkwood too. And Squaw is huge. So...

• Any thoughts on the best bang for the buck for ski school programs among those four resorts? (the boys have done ski school a couple times before but not recently)
• Assume it would be better to rent equipment for the whole week for the boys if we'll be going to multiple resorts, correct? Tahoe Dave's? Other options?
• How far ahead of time should you buy lift tickets for the best prices? (the lack of apples to apples lift ticket prices online for the Northstar resorts was a little surprising to me, but maybe I'm just a naive mid-A visitor used to tiny resorts here with straightforward pricing posted online)
• Which areas offer the most activities for non-skiers?
• Any ski instructor recommendations for adults - intermediate to advanced -- at Northstar or Squaw?
• Which resorts will be most and least crowded on beginner and intermediate terrain on the weekend? Weekdays?

Any other factors we should consider? Thanks in advance!

P.S. I will also start a Meet on the Hill thread in case other divas (without families) are interested in meeting up in the Tahoe area.

 

[Jilly]

Paging @SnowHot !!

 

[SnowHot]

We've been talking. :D