Ski Trips From The Bay Area???

[DRG]

I spent the last year in Telluride and was able to hit 5 different western US states while chasing snow at the end of the season. Moved to the San Francisco in June and I am already missing the mountains. Just curious if any Ski Diva trips are organized out of the Bay Area - if so, I'd love details. Resorts, backcountry, anything! How many days until winter?

 

[ski diva]

Welcome to the forum! We have a number of Divas from California, so I'm sure you'll be able to make lots of new ski friends.

There are two official Diva trips during ski season: one in the west, and one in the east. This year's western trip will be at Big Sky March 5-12, and the eastern trip will be at Jay Peak, March 20-23.

There's a section on the forum called "Meet on the Hill" where Divas arrange their own meet-ups at various locations. Once you've posted 25 times, you'll be able to participate in it.

Hope this helps!

 

[DRG]

Thanks so much for the tips! Look forward to plugging into this community!

 

[VickiK]

Welcome!

 

[mustski]

Yes, welcome. We have a pretty good little group down in SoCal and make some trips to Mammoth. @gardenmary just relocated to Berkeley and will be skiing Tahoe this year. Also @santacruz skier hits the Tahoe neck of the woods from time to time. What resorts are you looking at?

 

[DRG]

Thanks . . . for driving, I'm obviously looking at Tahoe and Mammoth. It's also a quick, direct flight to Utah and Vancouver from here so looking forward to making trips to all.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Welcome!

 

[mustski]

Definitely get up to the 25 post mark. Then you can see our Mammoth planning. Maybe we could meet up sometime.

 

[DeweySki]

Hi @DRG! Welcome to the site and to SF I think @santacruz skier and I are the only Northern California active Divas right now, but maybe more will pop up.

Have you decided on North Lake or South Lake? Are you going to get a pass? I get the Epic Local + The Mountain Collective to cover Tahoe and a couple of side trips. I think the Epic is only available for a few more weeks, but I could be wrong. I ski mostly South Lake (Kirkwood & Heavenly) with the occasional trip to North Lake. Both have their pros and cons and attract vastly different crowds. I haven't made it to any of the smaller places like Rose, Sierra, etc., but they are definitely on my list. Each mountain can also get hit by the same storm in crazy different ways. For years (not the last few obviously) Kirkwood was up there in terms of most snowfall per year.

I work in the City but live in the South Bay, so getting to Tahoe is not the easiest process for me, but we do it almost every weekend. Do you have a car? Last year I looked into the Bay Area Ski Bus for trips when my SO was out of town and I didn't want to drive. Seems like a pretty good deal. Have you considered doing a ski lease? I had never heard of them till I moved out here, but it seems to be a thing. We did one with some friends last year, but you can also get in with some strangers for cheap if you want. SnowPals is the big one, and you can also search Craigslist for people looking for more members of their ski lease.

As you mentioned, despite our location, it's pretty easy to get out of town and chase some snow. Flights to Denver and SLC can be had for cheap and there are usually a few flights late enough in the day that you can work most of a full day on Friday and fly out after work. We usually wait to book these trips until we're 80% sure a storm rolling in (i.e., book flight on Wednesday, leave on Friday). I've also flown back super early Monday or Tuesday and gotten in a half day at work. United added a direct to Jackson last year, though I haven't taken it yet. Vancouver also has tons of flights, but beware the glacial pace of SFO's international terminal...go early

Anyways, I could ramble on all day! Let me know if you/need want any other intel on shops or traffic or whatever. Hopefully we will have snow by Thanksgiving this year!!

 

[Christy]

There's a nonstop from SF to Sun Valley.

 

[DRG]

Thanks for the info @DeweySki ! I have only been here about 8 weeks so I haven't firmed up plans for a pass but I will look into those you mention.

I live in Burlingame and I DO have a car . . . maybe there are some weekend trips in our future!

I know I will also do Telluride this season because I am just not ready to completely leave it behind. United does a direct flight to Montrose during ski season so I am counting lots of long weekends between there and Utah.

Curious . . . do you have a local ski shop you use? Or do you wait until you are closer to the mountains?

 

[DeweySki]

Thanks for the info @DeweySki ! I have only been here about 8 weeks so I haven't firmed up plans for a pass but I will look into those you mention.

I live in Burlingame and I DO have a car . . . maybe there are some weekend trips in our future!

I know I will also do Telluride this season because I am just not ready to completely leave it behind. United does a direct flight to Montrose during ski season so I am counting lots of long weekends between there and Utah.

Curious . . . do you have a local ski shop you use? Or do you wait until you are closer to the mountains?

Yay! I am so excited to have another Bay Area skier here. Telluride has also always been on the bucket list, as I've heard it Does Not Disappoint.

Good news/bad news: there are a ton of shops around here but none of them really stick out for me. The Bay Area has so many casual skiers, so the shops mostly cater to them. Any Mountain has many locations, but is owned by Vail Resorts, so there's that. I picked up a pair of skis from the Redwood City location last year. It's okay. They kind of know their stuff, but work on commission. I didn't like them enough to buy bindings and/or get my skis mounted there. I've heard the Berkeley location is the good one. My friends in The City go to Sports Basement for most of their gear needs, and I've gone to the Sunnyvale location to get skis mounted. They are a generally well-loved local business, and they have awesome sales. Last year all skis were 50% off starting in early January and the sale went "until it snowed." It didn't snow till mid-February so they basically wiped out their inventory. I've also gotten skis mounted at Helm of Sun Valley in San Jose. I think they have a San Mateo location, but I've never been there.

Boot work and repairs we save for when we get to Tahoe. In South Lake we go to Tahoe Sports Ltd. mostly because it's convenient, they have a good selection, and we know the guys from going in so much. Supposedly all the good shops are in North Lake though. Maybe @SnowHot can weigh in? I need to get new boots this year and am currently debating where I should go.

 

[merrydog]

Hi DRG, I'm also in the Bay Area but I tend to lurk more than post.

Before you make a pass commitment you may want to research more on the different Tahoe resorts. If you were skiing Telluride quite a bit, some of the Tahoe resorts will lack in comparison on terrain and crowds (especially if you're primarily skiing weekends).

As for ski shops I second the recommendation on Sports Basement. Helm of Sun Valley has been in the Bay Area for a long time though I don't have any personal experience. Another option is the California Ski Company over in Berkeley, a smaller shop staffed with people who are into snow sports.

We've also used Tahoe Sports Ltd. in South Lake, they're decent.

 

[santacruz skier]

Hi,
Welcome to the Bay Area! Yes, indeed I have lived in Santa Cruz for many years and have skied Tahoe the last 35+ years.. Also, was born and raised in San Francisco so know the bay area quite well. As @DeweySki mentioned, Tahoe has some great season pass options. I always get the Tahoe Local Pass good at Northstar, Heavenly, and Kirkwood as well as other Vail Resorts.. Have used it at Vail & Beaver Creek in the past. I think REI has bus trips that leave from the Bay Area on weekends and maybe even week days. Definitely get a pass as you could be paying $100+ per day if you don't.. Sadly, the last few years have not been great in Tahoe but even last year, I skied 30+ days and still had fun.. And, I have been to Telluride (can't compare to Tahoe) don't even try.... I have skied many times in Colorado, Canada (yes, Vancouver is an easy flight), Utah (another easy flight), Idaho, and many resorts in France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria......
I usually ski Northstar as BF has family house there but also have a timeshare at Heavenly at little place across from the gondola called the Stardust. Another reason to buy the Tahoe Local Pass. Another great resort is Squaw.. You can't beat the super steeps and the vibe there, but keep in mind that Tahoe resorts are very congested on weekends. Have been to all of them. Low key resorts are Homewood, even Alpine Meadows, Diamond Peak, and Mt Rose. Mt Rose is still relatively uncrowded and has a high elevation.
Would love to meet up with you and other Bay Area skiers...
Sorry my avatar is posting sideways now so deleted photo!

 

[mustski]

With an El Nino coming this winter, we really should plan a diva trip to Mammoth. Mammoth tends to get hit BIG during El Nino years. For the record, SO's are totally welcome on diva trips.

 

[merrydog]

Boot work and repairs we save for when we get to Tahoe. In South Lake we go to Tahoe Sports Ltd. mostly because it's convenient, they have a good selection, and we know the guys from going in so much. Supposedly all the good shops are in North Lake though. Maybe @SnowHot can weigh in? I need to get new boots this year and am currently debating where I should go.

Dewey, I'm sure SnowHot will have recommendations for Tahoe. An option closer in since you may need to go back several times to tweak, is California Ski Company in Berkeley that I mentioned to DRG, they have a full fitting bench and workshop in their small space.

My boyfriend and I have also worked with an independent fitter who use to work with CA Ski CO. He does not sell the boots but does the fitting/molding that may be needed. He works from his home in Oakland, let me know if you're interested in his contact info.

 

[merrydog]

Before you make a pass commitment you may want to research more on the different Tahoe resorts. If you were skiing Telluride quite a bit, some of the Tahoe resorts will lack in comparison on terrain and crowds (especially if you're primarily skiing weekends).

Oops, forgot to mention you may want to check out Snowbomb for deals to the smaller resorts (and some discounts for the bigger ones): https://www.snowbomb.com/snowbomb-passes/

A pass is still the best deal though if you plan to ski a lot of days.

 

[DRG]

Thank you all for the detailed information . . . I know I will put it to use! I am game for meeting up and making ski plans anytime!

 

[DeweySki]

Dewey, I'm sure SnowHot will have recommendations for Tahoe. An option closer in since you may need to go back several times to tweak, is California Ski Company in Berkeley that I mentioned to DRG, they have a full fitting bench and workshop in their small space.

My boyfriend and I have also worked with an independent fitter who use to work with CA Ski CO. He does not sell the boots but does the fitting/molding that may be needed. He works from his home in Oakland, let me know if you're interested in his contact info.

Yeah, this is what I'm grappling with. I know I will need at least a few adjustments, so I feel like my bootfitter should be close. I also like to make adjustments soon after I've been skiing so I can accurately describe what's going one. Oakland is no more/less convenient than Truckee or Tahoe City.

So many Divas have had major boot problems this year that I'm totally dreading this purchase. The other day I said to my partner, "Maybe I can get one more season out of my current boots," and he said, "No, probably not." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[mustski]

Yeah, this is what I'm grappling with. I know I will need at least a few adjustments, so I feel like my bootfitter should be close. I also like to make adjustments soon after I've been skiing so I can accurately describe what's going one. Oakland is no more/less convenient than Truckee or Tahoe City.

So many Divas have had major boot problems this year that I'm totally dreading this purchase. The other day I said to my partner, "Maybe I can get one more season out of my current boots," and he said, "No, probably not." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You should definitely consider Start Haus in Truckee. They are known for excellent boot fitters.