The 'other' Resorts
Once you get past Squaw, Alpine, Kirkwood, and Sugar Bowl, you've still got
most of the Tahoe resorts ahead of you! By all means check out these places
-- there are reasons to go to every one. Mostly, I've found these resorts are
places to go occasionally, when you've got some friends in town who don't want
to ski too hard, or you're looking for shelter on a storm day, or the kids need
to learn to ride. But maybe you'll find one of these is your favorite Tahoe
hangout.
NorthStar
For years, we used to refer to NorthStar as "FlatStar", a comment
that became only more appropriate when I switched to a snowboard from skis.
Although the comment is still applicable, there are several things going for
NorthStar that make sure I get there at least once a season: the backside of
the hill is totally great gladed tree riding, with open slopes and nicely pruned
forests from boundary rope to boundary rope; the staff is friendly and attitude
is low; and, most importantly, NorthStar is far more sheltered from severe winds
than the big resorts.
When Squaw, Alpine, and Sugar Bowl are virtually closed down because there
are 100mph winds over the ridgetops -- head for NorthStar, and get there early
to beat the brutal lines on the gondola. Get up the hill, head to the back,
and ride in relative comfort all day (then go home and get to sleep early to
be on the first Tram at Squaw the next morning!)
Of course, the other advantage of NorthStar is that it's a convienent ten-minute
drive from Lanza's in King's Beach, the best post-hard-day-of-skiing restaurant
in the North Lake -- hot, hearty, filling Italian food. But don't let that influence
you...
Heavenly
Frankly, I've never liked Heavenly (I don't care for gambling, so the fact
that it's next door to South Lake Tahoe's casinos isn't a big draw). But it's
large (although low; don't look for good snow conditions here most of the year),
and it does have one indisputable advantage: absolutely the best views of Lake
Tahoe of any ski resort. Spending a beautiful clear spring day here admiring
the lake is a worthwhile pursuit, all the more so if you're heading into South
Lake Tahoe afterwards.
Mt. Rose
"Old Steep and Cheap" hasn't really changed all that much over the
years; it's still steep in many places, it's still cheap, and it's still the
highest resort at Tahoe, with the tendancy to have the best snow implied by
that. When the weather conditions have closed out your other choices (i.e.,
it's raining at all the other mountains), tool on other to the east side of
the lake and head up the imposing Mt. Rose road. Nice resort, if small enough
that I don't come here much unless the weather beckons...
Homewood
A fun place to take a break at. This is a very 'locals' resort, due to lower
prices and easy access from Tahoe City, which accounts for its "Homeywood"
nickname. Nice enough place, too -- take the hike too far, far skiers' right
and check out the Lake. Again, small enough that I don't come here that much;
but I would if I stayed in Tahoe City!
Tahoe Donner
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And where do I stay, you ask? Well, ever since 1985 I've gotten together
with a group of friends and rented a cabin at Lake Tahoe for the winter
season; this kind of group cabin is a Lake Tahoe mainstay and a great
way to set yourself up for plenty of winter fun. All of those years except
one, my cabin has been in the development called Tahoe Donner just northwest
of the town of Truckee. TD is a great location for a cabin - right on
the way into the basin - although the access road to it (Northwoods Drive)
is a 10% slope nightmare in a storm.
Here's the group from my 1997-98 ski cabin: (top rowL to R) Oren Jacob,
Grace Chen, Graham Walters, Larry Cutler (front row L to R) Ronen Barzel,
Lisa Forssell
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There's actually a ski resort up in Tahoe Donner as well, but it's really only
for when you want to get out a little. More encouraging is the cross-country
ski resort up the street; it's quite a nice cross-country resort when you don't
have the momentum to make it over to Royal Gorge, especially down in the Euer
Valley section.
