John R.

My wife and I are lucky enough to have free access to a beachfront house on Lake Tahoe. Since we are skiers we have for the last few years made a point of a Tahoe ski trip each February. Since the house is 20 min from Heavenly we have mostly concentrated on skiing there and certainly haven't been disappointed. I doubt we could find a more beautiful place to ski. Still, after three years, the urge to explore Tahoe's other ski areas has taken hold, so last winter we also visited Squaw Valley. We found it to be very different from Heavenly but still very fun.

We are fairly experianced skiers who ski blue and sometime black-diamond slopes but stay away from the double-blacks. The question is: of Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood or Northstar, which would be recommended? Our lodging is on the Nevada side, 10 minutes from Stateline.

Thanks in advance,
John

dcp

I've only skied N. Star area at Tahoe but found it to be much easier than Colorado. I very much loved the area but found the sking to be only moderately challenging. However, I would go back in heartbeat. We loved the area! Enjoy

Monica

Kirkwood is pretty close to South Shore, and is one of my favorite ski areas. Alpine is good also. I'm not a big Northstar fan, too crowded with lots of fat short runs (except for the backside).

don

Definitely Kirkwood. Much less crowds and nice variety of trails.

SEW

Both Kirkwood and Alpine Meadows would be great. They offer a good mix of blue square and black diamond runs. Both areas are very expansive and offer great runs.

Kirkwood is closer to Stateline, but if the weather is good and you don't mind the drive around the lake, make a day and go to Alpine.

John R.

Kirkwood sounds good... I've heard second hand that it often has better snow conditions than some of the other resorts, Heavenly in particular. Does anyone know if that is true?
-John R.

Monica

John: Yes, Kirkwood gets a lot more snow than Heavenly because of where it is (higher, and it catches most of the storms). Beware, however, this means if the weather is not good, don't go to Kirkwood! Many times I've gone up there for a day trip only to turn back because it was too windy.

Tony

Monica gives good advice. The coldest I have ever been in my life was on a chairlift at Kirkwood. However, when the weather is nice its a really great place to ski for intermediate/advanced skiers. Alpine is also good but like Northstar gets a bit crowded at times. Northstar appeals primarily to beginner/intermediate skiers.

John R.

Two of the last three years we skied in blizzard conditions at Heavenly and actually enjoyed it... something primal about besting the elements I guess

I guess this year's choice to augment Heavenly will be Kirkwood, with Alpine as a backup. Thanks for the advice everyone.

Boy, all this talking about skiing has made me want to hit the slopes! Unfortunately in the Mid-Atlantic we are lucky if the resorts open by Christmas... and with the drought this year, who knows.