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Season in TAHOE: Squaw Valley or Kirkwood

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TheBigLebowskier
Posts: 91 - Karma: 23
Oi oi,
I know there are shiteloads of threads about the best places to ski in the Tahoe area but its a very mixed bag of responses.

I'm primarily keen to ski big lines and drop cliffs etc. but park is a huge part of my skiing especially when there ain't no fresh.

From what I read Kirkwood and Squaw would suit me best. The last season I did was in WHistler so I'm a bit spoiled for pow and park but I was wondering which of these two was better.


Cn you get dual ski passes that work for several resorts?
Also a good town with a tight local scene and some good bars would be nice.

Any comments would be appreciated
Pray for Snow
Blap
Sep 25 2007 8:45AM
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asonUnique
Posts: 361 - Karma: 13
kirkwood has way less crowds and doesnt get skied off as fast. terrain is pretty similar and i think kirkwood gets more snow
Sep 25 2007 12:59PM
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C.J.
Posts: 5460 - Karma: 72
both are dope for pow and clifs, but squaws park is usually much better.
Sep 25 2007 1:06PM
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TheBigLebowskier
Posts: 91 - Karma: 23
ok sweet, thats what i guessed,
but would living in kirkwood be boring? or do they both have good towns?

and is it cool living in tahoe city and commuting or what?

blap blap
Sep 27 2007 1:24PM
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Alex_G
Posts: 11902 - Karma: 1,019
kirkwood has no park. i mean they do, but it just blows cock. so if you want a decent park, go to squaw their crew made a pretty sick park last year. you cannot go wrong with squaw especially on midweek powder days. same with kirkwood, its just a lot smaller, whereas squaw has cliffs basically off of every lift.
Sep 27 2007 6:02PM
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MarkieR
Posts: 5337 - Karma: 98
squaw valley may be my favorite resort.  the snow is great, the area is huge, the terrain is off the charts, the park is at least pretty good most of the time, and people's attitudes aren't nearly as bad as everyone says.  squaw does get pretty slammed though on weekends.  if solitude is something you crave, maybe go down the street and check out alpine meadows.  they are usually on point with their park.  and the party question...  squaw has a couple of bars at the base, but shit really empties out before like seven pm.  drive 45 minutes to reno and party your ass off. 
Sep 27 2007 6:18PM
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C.J.
Posts: 5460 - Karma: 72
well that depends on where you are. If in south lake you would be by 3 Kwood, sierra and heavnly. If in north lake your by Alpine, squaw and homewood. there are others, but they are a ways off.
Sep 27 2007 6:18PM
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Nico_G
Posts: 1480 - Karma: 15
Squaw is the best resort but for the price and crowds kirkwood is reallly good. THere arent half as many crowds and the terrain is just as good. The park is not as good as Squaws though and the nearest bar is 45 minutes away.
Sep 27 2007 6:20PM
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shralpingthegnar
Posts: 379 - Karma: 17
If you want to be around girls who don't have beards move to squaw, or maybe you like lots of hair generally all over your women
Sep 27 2007 7:48PM
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Lofe
Posts: 239 - Karma: 164
my friend adam is the new marketing manager at squaw *claim* he's driving there right now! i cant wait to go and visit! yaaaay!
Sep 27 2007 7:56PM
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C.J.
Posts: 5460 - Karma: 72

Really the only girls arround anywhere in the area are the foreign ones that work at the resorts, but they make up for it. The rest are pretty much only there for the day.

Sep 28 2007 1:12PM
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Vlox
Posts: 79 - Karma: 15
IMO squaw has the best mix of Park and PoW. But hey anything in Tahoe is sweet unless its Boreal.
Sep 28 2007 1:21PM
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C.J.
Posts: 5460 - Karma: 72
Wow, thas a dumb comment! have you even been to boreal in the past couple years? Very legit park.
Sep 28 2007 1:28PM
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TheBigLebowskier
Posts: 91 - Karma: 23
shoot a beaver in the ass i just saw squaw's season prices! if i'm gonna be working out there is it worth buying a midweek season pass and then only buying tickets on the weekends where it really dumps? i suppose that way i would be able to go to less busy resorts on weekends with good snow.. sorta answered my own question there.. hmm
man i am i stoked about this winter
Oct 11 2007 10:19AM
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jibberkid69
Posts: 1539 - Karma: 90
you can always get a job working for the squaw ski corp
Oct 11 2007 11:42AM
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duhamelski
Posts: 3842 - Karma: 192
squaw has a pretty fun village, amazing terrain, is near trukee, pretty good park, and the best local skiers in the world probably.  if you only want to ski big lines though you would be stoked at either mountian
Oct 11 2007 12:22PM
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telestar6
Posts: 2102 - Karma: 44
Go to the Wood man people at Squaw are assholes.
Oct 11 2007 1:50PM
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C.J.
Posts: 5460 - Karma: 72
Squwa closes the best part of the mountain(siberia) on the weekends to keep people out of danger, so if it dups on a weekend, its probably just as good some where else. However, dont expect the other mountains to be any less crowded on a weekend pow day. Squaw, Alpine, Kwood, Heavnly, sugarbowl, n* and boreal are all the same on the weekend with pow.
Oct 11 2007 3:05PM
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dan4060
Posts: 1458 - Karma: 847
Boreal's mountain sucks.  I would never pay for a ticket there when Squaw Alpine and Sugar Bowl are near.
Oct 11 2007 4:22PM
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dan4060
Posts: 1458 - Karma: 847
Squaw closes the Palisades on weekends, NOT Siberia lift.  You use Siberia to access the Palisades during the week.  Squaw leaves KT, Granite, Silverado, Broken Arrow, Mainline, and Headwall open.  There is plenty to ski on the weekends there.  I was always stoked they kept the Palisades closed, made it better when they opened them on Monday.
Oct 11 2007 4:25PM
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duhamelski
Posts: 3842 - Karma: 192
if you think siberia is the best part of squaw you need to ski more of the mountain
Oct 11 2007 5:48PM
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vzdz
Posts: 782 - Karma: 87
i'd go squaw... but if you're looking at a smaller mountain with plenty of little nooks for some fun mountain lines and a awesome park check out alpine...they're a lot cheaper too. but really it's a lot harder to get bored of squaw.

Full Alpine Meadows Season Passes Adult 19-61 $849 Teen 13-18 $269 Youth 5-12 $199 Senior 62-69 $499 Child 4 & Under FREE Super Senior 70+ $99

it used to only be $200 for a teen pass..they raised it. damn.
Oct 11 2007 6:44PM
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Alex_G
Posts: 11902 - Karma: 1,019
yeah what the fuck siberia bowl is ghey. theres even some pretty cool shit at the trees of shirley lake (all the way to skiers right) that is better than siberia dude...
Oct 11 2007 9:26PM
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C.J.
Posts: 5460 - Karma: 72

Never said they close the lift, did I. And what is right below the palisades? Thats right, Siberia bowl! The best partr of the mountain is just my opinion, but iof your pay out the ass  to ski, I think you should be able to ski the whole mountain. WTF is with all the hate here? Just trying to help the guy out.

Oct 12 2007 12:47PM
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STACKS
Posts: 1938 - Karma: 42
so worth it
Oct 12 2007 1:20PM
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dan4060
Posts: 1458 - Karma: 847
They don't close Siberia.  The vast majority of Siberia is not under the palisades, you can ski Siberia ridge, which is one of the great places to huck, any time you want.  The part of Siberia which is under the Palisades is actually pretty boring, not nearly as steep or fun as hucking the ridge.  You can ski under the Palisades on the weekends, which is too bad.  I would prefer they kept it closed on powder weekends, so that when the Palisades do open on Monday there is a smooth run out for the straightlines and airs, not a traverse rut.  Sometimes they leave the Palisades open on the weekends in the late spring, when there are fewer people.  As for all the hate here, you started that by calling the guy who said Boreal sucks stupid.  For Lake Tahoe, Boreal does suck.  Anywhere with nothing to do but ride park sucks.
Oct 12 2007 2:29PM
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C.J.
Posts: 5460 - Karma: 72

I did not call the guy stupid, but it is a really dumb comment. After all there is more to boreal then park. But it is all about their park, it was the best in tahoe almost all year last season. Not to mention it´s so cheap. If you dont like boreal, dont go there. The less people the better the riding!

Oct 13 2007 1:37PM
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dan4060
Posts: 1458 - Karma: 847
It's not a dumb comment.  If someone likes to ski the mountain, then Boreal really would be a waste of time in Tahoe.  There are other options which are much better.  For very early season, if you just want to hit groomers and park and not pay much, then it is a good option.  I don't know anyone who goes to Boreal because it has a good mountain, the only reason to go there is park or cost.  If someone is traveling to Tahoe, why ski Boreal?  It's not much better than the east or the midwest.  Telling someone who likes to ski the mountain that Boreal sucks is being helpful.  If you have a pass there, that is also being helpful to you, as it means fewer people.  I've never been to a place which is all about park where the mountain doesn't suck.  If Boreal had a mountain of the quality of say, Sugar Bowl, then it wouldn't be all about park.  I hear people make the same comments about Northstar, but compared to the good places in Tahoe Northstar's mountain also sucks.
Oct 13 2007 4:46PM
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dan4060
Posts: 1458 - Karma: 847
I agree with you about it being frustrating when the Palisades are not open on weekends.  Living there I liked it, but it does suck to pay so much money and not get to ski those lines.  Main and National are fun to ski even when there is no knew snow.
Oct 13 2007 4:50PM
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TheBigLebowskier
Posts: 91 - Karma: 23
I'm thinking of flying out in a week or two, would it be best to head in to truckee and try and find a place to live there?
I know squaw is supposed to open on november 17 but there ain't any snow so i'm hoping i wont be getting out too late to get work or lodging etc.

cheers for all the info so far
Nov 6 2007 10:00AM
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FartBoy05
Posts: 1306 - Karma: 9
Holla im making the drive out tahoe to ski at squaw in 2 weeks
Nov 6 2007 10:46AM
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Alex_G
Posts: 11902 - Karma: 1,019
Yeah if it's open, good luck with that one there is barely any snow right now. I'll be happy if they open up by December at the rate we're getting snow. Temps up there are in the 50's right now.
Nov 6 2007 11:05AM
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mozzy
Posts: 1034 - Karma: 60
I'm partial to the 'wood. But the two places have similar, difficult terrain. More of it at Squaw, but I'd say the snow at Kirkwood is somewhat better, and it's not terribly crowded, yet.
Probably more going at in South Lake Tahoe, it's a fairly happening town. In case you're looking for employment, that's probably the place to find it.
And FartBoy, I'm jealous, enjoy your drive out there. Our cult is dying, btw!
Nov 6 2007 12:30PM
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TheBigLebowskier
Posts: 91 - Karma: 23
alright then fellas,

i'm flying into san franny-o on next monday.. i know i'm basically asking how to do everything but with you helpful fellas online, why not?

should i just take a bus into truckke and find a hostel and then do the usual house hunting in local paper classfieds and street hustling/gigolo behaviour..

are there loads of ski bums who look out for eachother around tahoe or is it gonna be a bunch of red necks who nick my skis and use them to fix holes in their trailers?

blap blap
Nov 13 2007 5:08PM
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Melvs
Posts: 15174 - Karma: 480
Having not lived there, only spent about a month total over the past 2 years I not an expert.  from what I've seen and experienced, it's a pretty legit place when it comes to people.  a lot of BROS if you know what I mean, but everyone is pretty chill.  hitch hiking is super legit   Most people are there for the same reason, they can't get enough skiing, so everyone has that in common and it works out.
Nov 13 2007 5:20PM
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grams.
Posts: 7406 - Karma: 186
I spent a day at both Squaw and Kirkwood and preferred  Squaw. It was only a day though, so it probably just came down to what the conditions were like, and they were definitely better at Squaw. There both really cool places though, but if I had to spend a season at one, it would be Squaw.
Nov 13 2007 5:26PM
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ValPow
Posts: 1049 - Karma: 10
pretty hard to make a judgement after 1 day in each me thinks
Nov 13 2007 5:35PM
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TheBigLebowskier
Posts: 91 - Karma: 23
hey y'all

i'm getting out there this week, is lee-ann's the place to stay in truckee?

i'm planning on doing what i did in whistler and staying in a hostel till i find a permanent place and i'm guessing truckee is the place to base yourself if lookin for houses in the Squaw Valley area...

blap
Nov 17 2007 5:57PM
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TheBigLebowskier
Posts: 91 - Karma: 23
okay,

it looks like its impossible to stay in truckee for cheap while looking for work and lodging so i'm probably going to bite the bullet and go south..
this rules out squaw valley i guess, which is shit as the cliffs and chutes sound dope..
should i look at heavenly or if i like my big mountain focus entirely on kirkwood?

blap
Nov 21 2007 12:14PM
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unchyll
Posts: 4554 - Karma: 96
squaw is fun but theres so many yuppies its wackyyy
awsome powder day place, i hear kirkwood has some sick terrain too but ive never really been but id suuure like to go meeeeeeeeeeeeeexicoooooooooooo
Nov 21 2007 12:48PM
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