Palisades (Tahoe)

[teppaz]

’ll be skiing Tahoe this week. Since the friend I’ll be with can only be there for the weekend, we have to do Palisades on Friday-Sunday. We’re staying in Tahoe City and I’m wondering if the bus might be a better option that driving and parking at the resort. Does anybody have experience with that? Do people tend to boot up at the bus depot or at the hill? If at the resort, is there any area with cubbies or something where we can leave our stuff?

I’ll also ski a couple of days on my own, likely Rose on Thursday and Sugar Bowl on Monday 5, if anybody wants to join me. Thursday will be my first day on skis this season so I’m going to take it easy!

 

[OlinMom]

The bus is a better option on weekends unless you do want to drive. To park at Palisades on weekends before 1 pm, you must make a reservation for $30 per day and I understand the portal opens up on Tuesdays at noon. Local authorities and Palisades are working to alleviate traffic congestion as the traffic is really bad on weekends. Link below for the bus... there's an app and interactive map. There are several park and ride lots. I don't know about bag storage at resort since I usually get on lift over at Everline Resort but I'm sure you can find info on Palisades website. Enjoy! https://www.gotahoenorth.com/blog/sustainable-transit-tart-tahoe/

 

[teppaz]

There actually are free parking spots on weekends but you do need to reserve. It's supposed to be a pow weekend so that could be hectic.

TART Connect looks great. I had been looking at the free bus leaving from a depot in Tahoe City at regular intervals. A Park and ride situation. But the free door-to-door pick up looks great!

 

[Pequenita]

So at Alpine, you can hang your bag on hooks in the lodge and boot up in the lodge, and at Olympic Valley, the first floor of the Olympic House (O House) has coin lockers. I'm not sure how effective the busses are -- they will still need to sit in traffic, but the plus side is that you don't need to make parking reservations -- and I also don't know if people wear their boots on them or not.

 

[marzNC]

So at Alpine, you can hang your bag on hooks in the lodge and boot up in the lodge, and at Olympic Valley, the first floor of the Olympic House (O House) has coin lockers. I'm not sure how effective the busses are -- they will still need to sit in traffic, but the plus side is that you don't need to make parking reservations -- and I also don't know if people wear their boots on them or not.

For the first day on a Friday, would you suggest going to Alpine or Olympic from Tahoe City? It's been a long time since I've skied north Tahoe mid-season.

 

[Pequenita]

Fridays are the new Saturday, and it looks like there could be a decent amount of snow overnight Thursday into Friday. I am always a fan of stopping at the closer resort / parking lot / etc. on a powder day and minimizing driving. On the other hand, Alpine closes the road to bomb, so there could be a wait to get in there.

I would pick the resort based on the terrain you prefer to ski and get there early. I think both resorts have most of their chairs running at this point, but I'd check the night before to see what's on the schedule and whether ops thinks there may be delays. That will affect how long the lines could be.

 

[mustski]

The road to Mt. Rose could be bad in Thursday. Forecasters are predicting 7-11 inches overnight on Wed and 4-8 Thursday day. If it looks manageable and visibility looks ok, we may drive up and join you. I get terrible vertigo so it depends on visibility

 

[teppaz]

It'll definitely be a day to take it easy!

 

[SnowHot]

Well, today didn't suck!
I measured 8 inches of snow here at my house in NW Reno, but they definitely had more at Rose.
They said 4-6"....pfft!

 

[santacruz skier]

Well, today didn't suck!
I measured 8 inches of snow here at my house in NW Reno, but they definitely had more at Rose.
They said 4-6"....pfft!

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View attachment 22462

Just got a notification that Palisades closed for the day..

 

[SnowHot]

Just got a notification that Palisades closed for the day..

Funny enough, Rose closed the slide side at 1 and will be closing the entire area by 3 today.

 

[mustski]

Well, today didn't suck!
I measured 8 inches of snow here at my house in NW Reno, but they definitely had more at Rose.
They said 4-6"....pfft!

View attachment 22461
View attachment 22462

Yeah, we laughed at that because we definitely got 10” at our house. We’re hoping to get out there tomorrow

 

[mustski]

We didn’t go out today. The combination of powder and low light is bad for me. With my hand still injured, it is hard to get up when I fall - Even on a groomer. Tomorrow is another day and there is plenty of season left to ski.

 

[Amie H]

I've mentioned this before but J Resort in Reno (FKA Sands Regency) offers discounted lift tickets to Mt. Rose and Palisades through their website. Here is the link, I'm note sure if you need to prove you are lodging with them to enjoy the discount. The resort has been totally rebuilt and most rooms have kitchenettes, so an interesting option for ski trips.

Partner Discounted Lift Tickets | J Resort

www.jresortreno.com

 

[MsWax]

Ok ladies, our trip is almost here! We fly out on Monday (2/19) and will be skiing 2/20 - 2/25. We are staying right at the base of Palisades, and would love some tips on where to "warm up" and how to progress on the mountain. We are all strong skiers, comfortable on blacks, but (mostly me) get a little psyched out on narrow chutes, tight trees, or trails steeper than ~35-37 deg.

Can you suggest lifts and trails to start out on (think blues, groomed and ungroomed), and a good progression to find the point of discomfort before I get in over my head? My son is SO excited to ski all the extreme terrain, and while I feel pretty confident in his ability to ski it safely, I feel less so about myself, and want to find my limit before I get into an unsafe situation!

Thanks so much!

 

[teppaz]

I was just there a couple of weeks ago and found that the runs on the left of the Olympic base, off the Resort and Red Dog chairs, were exactly what you want. They were perfect to warm up and get acquainted with the Tahoe snow density, which was new to me and required some adjustments. We had poor visibility the entire time so didn't do the bowls — didn't want to get in trouble since this was our first time at Palisades and we couldn't really tell what was ahead of us! We also really enjoyed the terrain off the Shirley Lake chair, on the backside.

On the Alpine base, runs off the Treeline and Yellow chairs are also what you describe.

 

[MsWax]

I was just there a couple of weeks ago and found that the runs on the left of the Olympic base, off the Resort and Red Dog chairs, were exactly what you want. They were perfect to warm up and get acquainted with the Tahoe snow density, which was new to me and required some adjustments. We had poor visibility the entire time so didn't do the bowls — didn't want to get in trouble since this was our first time at Palisades and we couldn't really tell what was ahead of us! We also really enjoyed the terrain off the Shirley Lake chair, on the backside.

On the Alpine base, runs off the Treeline and Yellow chairs are also what you describe.

Thanks! I'd also be interested in recommendations for blacks (easy to hard) and then "easier" double blacks (if I'm feeling confident).

 

[Pequenita]

Can you suggest lifts and trails to start out on (think blues, groomed and ungroomed), and a good progression to find the point of discomfort before I get in over my head? My son is SO excited to ski all the extreme terrain, and while I feel pretty confident in his ability to ski it safely, I feel less so about myself, and want to find my limit before I get into an unsafe situation!

At Palisades, I usually do Wa She Shu to Big Blue and then over on to Shirley to warm up, Solitude if it's open, and then on to Granite Chief. Shirley has both the groomed runs on skiers right and also the bowl on skier's left. On Granite, there are ways to traverse to the zone in between the Granite lift and Shirley. If I do Siberia, it is usually one of the early runs because the one obvious run tends to get crowded with people doing their "first western black diamond" (I actually have no idea if it's still labeled that) and either going painfully slowly or exploding. Sibo Ridge is fun, though - go right off the lift and down the cat track and drop in on your right where it looks comfortable.

Later on in the day once the legs are warmed up, Headwall is a great lift. Rather than skiing down the face that's under the lift, you can ski past that, behind the rocks and find an area to drop in. As you continue down the cat track, the runs will get shorter and reduce in pitch. You can also go towards the face, but ski to skier's left to the different aspect that goes towards the Siberia lift and hit Hogsback. Off Headwall, I think that Hogsback, North Bowl, and Cornice Bowl are the most accessible. Sun Bowl, if it is open, is also really approachable. You'll have to traverse left to get out of there, and that will put you at the bottom of the cat track - you'll need to take another run to get out and back towards the lift. Palisades changed its trail ratings a few years ago and added double blacks.

The steeper(est?) runs are going to be off KT. It, Resort chair, and Red Dog might be your only options on a storm day. The trees are off Resort chair. Hope this helps!

 

[teppaz]

We didn’t do double blacks as visibility was bad during our visit, and we didn’t go to the bowls. Also many lifts were on wind hold.

 

[santacruz skier]

What about the Saddle off KT? That’s a pretty easy black.