Cheapest way to do Tahoe & Mammoth without Ikon

[Rachel614]

I didn’t realize the ikon pass had a deadline purchase date so missed out. Major bummer. Anyhow.. planning a 10 day ski trip (if I could ski 5-6 of the days I’d be satisfied) between Tahoe and Mammoth. Will be my husband and I. What’s the cheapest way to do so? Buy the 4 days pass at Tahoe then a day or 2 at Mammoth? Do either offer half days? Also, do lift tickets sell out/should I buy in advance? Going 2/15-2/25. Thanks!

 

[Karenfrances]

Where do you want to ski at Tahoe? Some of the more local-ish areas will be cheaper per day than a four-day ticket at Palisades -- for example, Sugar Bowl is showing tickets at $119/day mid-week if you buy in advance (other mid-weeks in February are $99 but I think your trip is on February break for lots of public schools so demand pricing is hitting you) and Mt Rose is about $10 more. I no longer ski Tahoe regularly since my father died but those are both terrific ski areas.

 

[leia1979]

There are a lot of options in Tahoe. For inexpensive, Sierra at Tahoe does a 3 pack that works out to $89/day. If you're an REI member, they often have discounted tickets, too. Sierra is about 20-30 minutes from South Lake Tahoe, so you could also do Heavenly from the same base camp. Heavenly is right in South Tahoe but is more expensive.

 

[Rachel614]

Where do you want to ski at Tahoe? Some of the more local-ish areas will be cheaper per day than a four-day ticket at Palisades -- for example, Sugar Bowl is showing tickets at $119/day mid-week if you buy in advance (other mid-weeks in February are $99 but I think your trip is on February break for lots of public schools so demand pricing is hitting you) and Mt Rose is about $10 more. I no longer ski Tahoe regularly since my father died but those are both terrific ski areas.

I will look out for that! The Palisades comes out to be that price with the 4 day pass so not too bad… I’ve never been so I have no clue what I would want to ski but def since I’ve been saving up and excited about the trip want to be able to do the best park/parks!

 

[Rachel614]

There are a lot of options in Tahoe. For inexpensive, Sierra at Tahoe does a 3 pack that works out to $89/day. If you're an REI member, they often have discounted tickets, too. Sierra is about 20-30 minutes from South Lake Tahoe, so you could also do Heavenly from the same base camp. Heavenly is right in South Tahoe but is more expensive.

Nice thank you!!! Which park would you say is the best/has the best views?

 

[leia1979]

Nice thank you!!! Which park would you say is the best/has the best views?

Sorry, I meant to reply yesterday and forgot. My three favorite Tahoe resorts are Kirkwood, Sierra, and Sugar Bowl. Each have some pros and cons. I will say that as someone who does greens and easy blues, a more advanced skier may have other opinions.

Kirkwood - you can stay onsite (Mountain Club is pricey, but is a ski-out building), but it's kind of off by itself. It's known for having some particularly difficult terrain if you're into that. I like it because the runs have lots of trees and it's usually not crazy busy.

Sierra-at-Tahoe - one of the lest expensive resorts around. They're going to be recovering still from a wildfire a couple years ago--meaning there are a lot fewer trees than there used to be. It's usually a 20-30 min drive from South Lake Tahoe, and there at least used to be a bus if you didn't want to drive.

Sugar Bowl - this is in north Tahoe. You can stay in Truckee or along Donner Lake. Sugar Bowl has a good variety of terrain and lots of trees. Even on weekends, the lift lines are usually short. I recommend the very small (8 room) Loch Leven Lodge if you go to Sugar Bowl or anything else nearby. It's right on Donner Lake, and the lake is gorgeous. I think Donner Lake Village Resort has some lake-view rooms, too.

Other popular resorts are Heavenly (located right in South Lake Tahoe), Northstar (near Truckee--was horrifically crowded at the weekend and I did not enjoy it), Palisades (formerly Squaw and Alpine--I've only been to Alpine and it was 20 years ago), and Boreal (near Sugar Bowl, small but does night skiing which is rare here). I've heard Mt. Rose mentioned here a few times, too. I haven't been. It's North Tahoe closer to Nevada.

 

[Pequenita]

@Rachel614 For North Lake, Donner Lake Village Resort does have lake views, but your dates are right during ski week for Bay area schools, and lodging can be challenging and prices will be higher then. Also, the second weekend will be when the Stifel World Cup races are at Palisades Olympic Valley.

I don't think any resort has half day tickets anymore, and most have dynamic pricing based on supply and demand.

 

[Rachel614]

Sorry, I meant to reply yesterday and forgot. My three favorite Tahoe resorts are Kirkwood, Sierra, and Sugar Bowl. Each have some pros and cons. I will say that as someone who does greens and easy blues, a more advanced skier may have other opinions.

Kirkwood - you can stay onsite (Mountain Club is pricey, but is a ski-out building), but it's kind of off by itself. It's known for having some particularly difficult terrain if you're into that. I like it because the runs have lots of trees and it's usually not crazy busy.

Sierra-at-Tahoe - one of the lest expensive resorts around. They're going to be recovering still from a wildfire a couple years ago--meaning there are a lot fewer trees than there used to be. It's usually a 20-30 min drive from South Lake Tahoe, and there at least used to be a bus if you didn't want to drive.

Sugar Bowl - this is in north Tahoe. You can stay in Truckee or along Donner Lake. Sugar Bowl has a good variety of terrain and lots of trees. Even on weekends, the lift lines are usually short. I recommend the very small (8 room) Loch Leven Lodge if you go to Sugar Bowl or anything else nearby. It's right on Donner Lake, and the lake is gorgeous. I think Donner Lake Village Resort has some lake-view rooms, too.

Other popular resorts are Heavenly (located right in South Lake Tahoe), Northstar (near Truckee--was horrifically crowded at the weekend and I did not enjoy it), Palisades (formerly Squaw and Alpine--I've only been to Alpine and it was 20 years ago), and Boreal (near Sugar Bowl, small but does night skiing which is rare here). I've heard Mt. Rose mentioned here a few times, too. I haven't been. It's North Tahoe closer to Nevada.

Thanks for all the input!!! I can’t wait to get there and pick one. Maybe I’ll try to do a few… I’m definently a beginner/intermediate
having not skied much since I was younger, so would appreciate some non crowded moderate terrain. Maybe challenge myself on a couple hills ha.

 

[Rachel614]

@Rachel614 For North Lake, Donner Lake Village Resort does have lake views, but your dates are right during ski week for Bay area schools, and lodging can be challenging and prices will be higher then. Also, the second weekend will be when the Stifel World Cup races are at Palisades Olympic Valley.

I don't think any resort has half day tickets anymore, and most have dynamic pricing based on supply and demand.

Okay thanks for sharing!! I think if Pasildes keeps the 4 day pass thing and I can find an affordable motel within 30 min or so I’ll try that but will see. You said they’ll be there the second week of the 14th? Does that make it busy I’m guessing on the trails themselves?

 

[Pequenita]

Okay thanks for sharing!! I think if Pasildes keeps the 4 day pass thing and I can find an affordable motel within 30 min or so I’ll try that but will see. You said they’ll be there the second week of the 14th? Does that make it busy I’m guessing on the trails themselves?

The general area will be busy - Truckee and Tahoe City. Olympic Valley will close off runs at the resort to accommodate the races, which means that the public will have to ski in other parts of the resort (not a huge issue). There will generally be a lot of people there because the racers have personnel, and there will be spectators, in addition to regular people going to ski. The race is Feb 23-25. Ski week is President's Day week - so roughly 2/17 through 2/25.

 

[marzNC]

My impression is that Diamond Peak on the north side has good views of the lake. Like Homewood, it's a small ski area that caters more to locals than folks to fly to Tahoe. As is pretty common these days, tickets bought online are discounted a bit.

 

[Karenfrances]

Given that you will be there during "ski week" for public schools, I might find lodging ASAP and then figure out the where-to-ski question based on where you can stay. But I think you will also want to buy advance lift tickets if you can. If memory serves, traffic into Palisades can be heinous so you might keep that in mind as you make decisions.

And just to give a little love to Northstar -- the photo on my avatar is my daughter on the Northstar gondola -- I love skiing the back side. Long black runs and not typically (in my experience) crowded. Lift lines in other parts of the resort can get lengthy, though.

 

[leia1979]

For North Lake, Donner Lake Village Resort does have lake views, but your dates are right during ski week for Bay area schools, and lodging can be challenging and prices will be higher then. Also, the second weekend will be when the Stifel World Cup races are at Palisades Olympic Valley.

I don't think any resort has half day tickets anymore, and most have dynamic pricing based on supply and demand.

I always forget about ski week! It didn't exist when I was in school, and I don't have kids. We also failed to track when MLK Day was and booked lodging for a pass blackout day. Surprisingly, Kirkwood was not busy, and we learned you can get a blackout pass.

2/17-2/18 are the blackout dates for Epic Local Passes, but I assume places will still be busy!

 

[Pequenita]

Oh, I should add, the "lake" view from Donner Lake Village is Donner Lake, not Lake Tahoe.

 

[santacruz skier]

My impression is that Diamond Peak on the north side has good views of the lake. Like Homewood, it's a small ski area that caters more to locals than folks to fly to Tahoe. As is pretty common these days, tickets bought online are discounted a bit.

True

 

[santacruz skier]

Oh, I should add, the "lake" view from Donner Lake Village is Donner Lake, not Lake Tahoe.

True

 

[santacruz skier]

Given that you will be there during "ski week" for public schools, I might find lodging ASAP and then figure out the where-to-ski question based on where you can stay. But I think you will also want to buy advance lift tickets if you can. If memory serves, traffic into Palisades can be heinous so you might keep that in mind as you make decisions.

And just to give a little love to Northstar -- the photo on my avatar is my daughter on the Northstar gondola -- I love skiing the back side. Long black runs and not typically (in my experience) crowded. Lift lines in other parts of the resort can get lengthy, though.

My avatar is Prosser at lookout mtn at Northstar

 

[mustski]

Nice thank you!!! Which park would you say is the best/has the best views?

Are you looking for park terrain or is this a typo? If in North Lake Tahoe, you have Diamond Peak and Mt. Rose is very close. Mt. Rise has 2 for Tuesdays which is a good savings on lift tickets.
Mammoth mountain has a quad pack for $599. That is expensive but less than the daily rate and it’s also valid at June mountain which is much less crowded and super fun for intermediate skiers

Also, I have plenty of “friends and family discounts” on my Ikon pass which you are welcome to. The catch is that it is 25% off the daily window rate so it’s not as good as multi day tickets but valuable if you plan to ski one day. At Mt. Rose, we can get you $40 off the walk up rate but it’s not as good as the 2for1 on Tuesdays. Thursday at Mr. Rose is ladies’ day so $69 for you and we could get your hubby $40 off his ticket

 

[Rachel614]

The general area will be busy - Truckee and Tahoe City. Olympic Valley will close off runs at the resort to accommodate the races, which means that the public will have to ski in other parts of the resort (not a huge issue). There will generally be a lot of people there because the racers have personnel, and there will be spectators, in addition to regular people going to ski. The race is Feb 23-25. Ski week is President's Day week - so roughly 2/17 through 2/25.

Okay hm def could be good or bad lol. I have a concert 2/18 in Tahoe so should be an interesting week… at this point anything but skiing in Ohio will be nice crowded or notthanks for sharing so I’m not blindsided!!!

 

[Rachel614]

My impression is that Diamond Peak on the north side has good views of the lake. Like Homewood, it's a small ski area that caters more to locals than folks to fly to Tahoe. As is pretty common these days, tickets bought online are discounted a bit.

Awesome thanks for sharing!!! I’d def love a good view of the lake while skiing at some point. Will have to check there out