Question about Tahoe Conditions. Where to Ski?

[SallyCat]

I'm lucky enough to have one day (Saturday, March 3) to ski in the Tahoe region and am looking for info and recommendations. I'll be in Truckee Friday night and then staying in Reno Saturday night to catch a very early flight out Sunday morning. This is an unexpected trip, and since I'm on the east coast I haven't been paying attention to snow conditions in the Sierras.

I have a Max Pass that includes Boreal, so I could ski there for free. But I'm willing to pay for a day ticket to Squaw Valley or Northstar, or anyplace that's recommended. I'm an intermediate skier, and I'd like to avoid big crowds if possible, so smaller resorts would be fine. In fact, a ski area frequented by Truckee-area locals would give me a chance to chat with people and get a feel for the area.

Thanks for any feedback or recommendations!

 

[SallyCat]

Also, this may be a dumb question, but if I'm flying into Reno and driving to Truckee, do I need to carry chains?

 

[marzNC]

I'm lucky enough to have one day (Saturday, March 3) to ski in the Tahoe region and am looking for info and recommendations. I'll be in Truckee Friday night and then staying in Reno Saturday night to catch a very early flight out Sunday morning.

For a Saturday, if you get to the parking lot early then fun little place to ski and see a great view of the lake is Homewood. I skied there as an intermediate back in the 1990s and on the Saturday with my ski buddy JC before the North Tahoe Diva Week in 2010.

Northstar was my favorite as an intermediate but will be very crowded on a Saturday. Diamond Peak might be another place to get away from the tourist crowd. I think it also has good views, but have never skied there.

 

[Jenny]

I liked Sugar Bowl a lot, nice and low-key, but I think it's the wrong way from Reno if you're trying to stay closer. Not a long drive, though, as I recall.

Oh, and of course I have no idea about the conditions, which is what you wanted to know . . . sorry.

 

[santacruz skier]

Also, this may be a dumb question, but if I'm flying into Reno and driving to Truckee, do I need to carry chains?

Yes you never know

 

[santacruz skier]

Mt Rose is a great option and close to Reno. You will encounter big crowds at Northstar on a Saturday. I would go to Alpine instead of Squaw on a Saturday.

 

[SallyCat]

Yes you never know

Thanks! Ok, so now I have another question: if I'm renting a car (which won't have snow tires, I presume) do I just buy a generic set of chains or do I need to know tire size?

 

[santacruz skier]

Thanks! Ok, so now I have another question: if I'm renting a car (which won't have snow tires, I presume) do I just buy a generic set of chains or do I need to know tire size?

That I do not know as live on the coast in Santa Cruz so not dealing with rental cars. Maybe someone else will chime in who has rented a car..
In Taos now and going out skiing....so can respond later.. Btw I'll be in Tahoe mar 11-18

 

[SallyCat]

That I do not know as live on the coast in Santa Cruz so not dealing with rental cars. Maybe someone else will chime in who has rented a car..
In Taos now and going out skiing....so can respond later.. Btw I'll be in Tahoe mar 11-18

Thanks, @santacruz skier ! I didn't mean to drag you down my rabbit hole of transportation detail, lol! Have an awesome day skiing!!

 

[Swears Like A Sailor]

I'm lucky enough to have one day (Saturday, March 3) to ski in the Tahoe region and am looking for info and recommendations. I'll be in Truckee Friday night and then staying in Reno Saturday night to catch a very early flight out Sunday morning. This is an unexpected trip, and since I'm on the east coast I haven't been paying attention to snow conditions in the Sierras.

I have a Max Pass that includes Boreal, so I could ski there for free. But I'm willing to pay for a day ticket to Squaw Valley or Northstar, or anyplace that's recommended. I'm an intermediate skier, and I'd like to avoid big crowds if possible, so smaller resorts would be fine. In fact, a ski area frequented by Truckee-area locals would give me a chance to chat with people and get a feel for the area.

That's awesome you'll get to visit Tahoe! Conditions here are actually pretty good considering the complete lack of snowfall this year. We're finally in a cold snap so resorts that have snow-making equipment are blasting away at night to keep things covered and fresh. Unfortunately I don't spend much time at the north end of the lake skiing, but the one time I did go to Northstar on a Saturday - it was a mess...way worse than any busy day at Heavenly. So I can't really offer any help or guidance about the resorts up there, but if you wanted to make the trek down to Kirkwood (about 1.5 hours from Reno, 2 hours from Truckee), I'd be happy to ski with you and show you around the mountain There's plenty of intermediate terrain.
As for bringing chains, you will definitely want them if there's any snow in the forecast so keep an eye on the weather reports as your trip gets closer. We're supposed to be in a continued dry spell until March, but if it does snow - you can't get anywhere around the mountains if there are chain controls in place. If you can rent a 4wd/awd vehicle with snow tires, do that - if not, the rental agency might have chains you can rent. Chains are specific to tire size (although thankfully both of our vehicles are 4wd/awd with snow tires so we don't need them).
Lastly, and I apologize in advance if this comes across wrong, keep in mind that the elevation here varies greatly and depending on exactly where you're from, that elevation change is going to affect you. Some people get really sick, other just get headaches. Places at the north end of the lake can have an elevation upwards of 8-9k feet above sea level and even Reno/Truckee sits somewhere between 4.5-6k. Be sure to over hydrate and give yourself some time to acclimate if you can.
Enjoy your time here and let me know if I can be of any help!

 

[SallyCat]

Thank you so much, @Swears Like A Sailor and I LOVE your screen name!!!
The altitude information was a very helpful reminder. I'm coming from Pennsylvania, so I will need to be careful. I've not had problems in the past--used to go to Denver from New Orleans every summer for work and didn't have any problems, but alas, so much changes with age. It's a good reminder to be careful, particularly around alcohol. Which I find myself around quite frequently. :-)

 

[Swears Like A Sailor]

@SallyCat Well I'd be lying if I said I didn't also drink like a sailor.

 

[SallyCat]

Holy teacher's salary, Batman. I just looked at the discounted ticket prices on Liftopia. I think I'm just going to use my Max Pass at Boreal!

 

[DeweySki]

Do any of the Tahoe Divas know if Homewood is even open? We drove by last week and it was not snow covered.

I haven’t skied since early January due to an injury, but my SO has been out (mostly Heavenly and Kirkwood) and he said it’s grim. There is supposed to be snow in the next few days though that could help. I wouldn’t bring any skis you care about though Its mostly groomers and few bump runs.

As for chains, I would call the rental car company see what their policy is. Some companies do not allow them.

Have fun!

 

[SallyCat]

Thanks, @DeweySki ! I didn't realize the snow situation was quite so dire.

I'm only bringing my boots and will just rent skis; luckily groomers are fine with me!

 

[va_deb]

So excited for you, @SallyCat! Tahoe skiing is night and day compared to the conditions we deal with. Soooo much better!

You’re smart to rent skis. If you want to save $ I recommend checking out Bobo’s in Reno, which is close to the airport and on the way to Boreal. You may want to call ahead to find out what they have in your desired length and what they recommend for groomer conditions.

Not sure if you’ve demoed the Head Joy line. Women seem to either love Joys or hate them, and for me it was love on the first run. Several Tahoe-area Divas have one of the Joys as a DD or in their quiver. The Absolute Joys were perfect for me for December groomers in Tahoe, and I bought them from the shop in Truckee where @SnowHot and Phil work, which is on the way to Squaw and not far off from the highway to Boreal. Not sure if their shop, Blue Zone, does rentals but wouldn’t hurt to find out.

FWIW If you want to try a Joy model I would lean toward going shorter than your usual skis if you’re on the fence about length.

If you want to save $ Boreal is a great choice. I would avoid Northstar like the plague on weekends. It was my least favorite of the North Lake Tahoe options, although I know other Divas who love it.

Also, I would ask in the Pugski Tahoe thread is whether Squaw/Alpine still has their fly in and ski free same day discount if you show your boarding pass or ticket.

If you can get the fly and ski deal I would do Boreal in the morning with your Max Pass and then go to Squaw, which hopefully would be less crowded by the afternoon. Boreal is right off the interstate, but to me it feels more East Coast than true Tahoe. Pretty sure it is also lower elevation than other options, which may not be a bad thing.

Squaw takes longer to get than Boreal, but it is soooo worth it. The gondola ride to High Camp is amazing. High Camp has a lot of greens but they are not our Mid A greens, and incredible lake views. You can also jump on a couple of blues from High Camp lifts.

If there isn’t a free or discount option for same day fly in and ski Squaw / Alpine I would try to find a Mt. Rose buddy pass. You can post in the PugSki Tahoe thread to see if any Mt. Rose season pass holders have a buddy pass, which I believe is half price.

Mt. Rose is more of a local’s mountain and usually less crowded than the other options out of towners would think about in Tahoe. I fell in love with Mt. Rose, and I think you would like their blues and greens too — some of which are more like Mid-A blues. Mt. Rose is very high elevation and a twisty turny long drive up the mountain. I’m an inexperienced snow driver and don’t do very well on those types of roads even in good conditions, but fortunately my better half is great at that. If you don’t have issues with heights and mountain roads you’ll be okay.

I’m excited that you’ll have the chance to expedite Tahoe.

The one bad thing about Tahoe for me is that I don’t even want to ski in Mid A conditions any more. I’m shooting for another trip there in late March or April when lodging is much cheaper and there are fewer crowds.

No matter where you go I bet you will love it!

 

[SallyCat]

Wow, thanks for all of that, Deb!

So it turns out there's going to be quite a bit of snow during my trip; the airport rental places don't guarantee awd and I absolutely need to be in Truckee on time Friday morning, so I rented an AWD vehicle with snow tires via Turo. I've never used them before--sort of "airbnb for cars" so I'll report back.

I'm going to hold off purchasing a lift ticket ahead of time and see if the people I'm meeting with on Friday can point me toward a discount. But if that falls through, it sounds as though Mt. Rose would be a great option, especially since I'll be headed back to Reno that night after skiing.

Thanks again, everyone! I'm super excited for the trip!

 

[santacruz skier]

Let us know how it goes. Boreal may be cheaper but has a lot of Bay Area skiers on weekends and is very popular with younger snowboarders.
It's actually a fun little place when not crowded.
I would go to Mt Rose or Alpine.
Good luck and have fun.

 

[va_deb]

Glad the info was helpful, @SallyCat. Lol, I feel like I should be an East Coast Lake Tahoe ski area ambassador! I edited my post to add a bit more detail.

If the roads are bad you may want to see if you could find someone from Pugski to carpool with to Mt. Rose if you can find someone who has a buddy pass. The skiing there is much better than Boreal and would be less crowded on a Saturday.

Boreal is the easiest drive for challenging road conditions although you will have to deal with crowds. Squaw and Alpine are an easier drive in bad weather than Mt. Rose.

If you want to rent skis in Truckee and Blue Zone doesn’t do daily rentals, Tahoe Dave’s is a great option and likely has a broader selection than Bobo’s. Since it sounds like you’ll see some real powder I would call ahead to reserve your skis.

Another good thing about Tahoe Dave’s is that if you want to switch out your skis and try something else you can do that there. Tahoe Dave’s May have a rental discount on their website too.

You could demo skis at Squaw, but it’s much more expensive on the mountain. I found their demo selection somewhat limited, but I’ve only been to Tahoe in the off season so you may have better luck.

If you go to Tahoe Dave’s and happen to see Dave himself, pleas tell him that Deb from Virginia said hello!

Have a fabulous time. Can’t wait to hear about your trip!

 

[SallyCat]

Awesome, thanks!

I uh, don't post on PugSki anymore. I have a tendency to joke around on forums, and something I posted on Pug really landed wrong and offended some (a lot of?) people, which I felt terrible about. So I made myself "inactive" there (no posting privileges) so I won't be tempted to bumble into that mistake again. Also trying to post less overall and stick to questions/advice.

I WILL post a Diva trip report from Tahoe, though!