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i have not experienced every single mountain in the Tahoe region but ill give you a taste of what i have seen. when you say you have heard that these resorts are not that challenging, it may be arbitrary. some hills (like Northstar) are flatter but have a killer park. others are big (Squaw) and have various difficulties as far as alpine skiing is concerned. overall i think it is a really cool place. the town is chill and there is a ton of variations in resorts so you should be able to find what is perfect and fun to you.
You want challenging? Two words. Squaw Valley. There is terrain that will make you shit your pants. I can only speak for north shore though, seeing as I grew up there and have never skied the south shore.
sugar bowl is pretty nice. Its of medium size and if u get a core pass it is worth coming a couple times every year. It is steeper then Northstar generally but smaller and overall less pricey. Cant complain. I have been skiing their for about 3 years now. Has a decent park and the summit chair -then going to the back country has plenty of good challenging terrain/ usually pretty deep
If Mt Rose chutes are open they are the best skiing in Tahoe and its right in Reno. If you are flying in or out of Reno I'd do a night or two there at the beginning or end and hit Rose.
When in South Lake Heavenly is worth doing for 1 day it has good stuff and is spread out someone who has never skiied it shouldn't skip completely. But I'd drive to ski Kirkwood the other days your in South Lake. (I didn't ski Heavenly once last year despite it being on my pass because Kwood is simply better.)
PM me if you need tips for cheap hotel rooms I live in the casinos in Reno/Tahoe during the winter because the rooms are so cheap there's deals to be had if you know how to look.
(The Horizon Casino in South Lake is only 30 bucks a night if you stay a week and its right by the fancier casinos and the gondola and is nice and has a movie theatre and other stuff in it I'd recommend that if money is tight but make sure you call and ask about the weeky rate people don't know about it.)
If you hit up Squaw with the gf, definitely take her down the Eagle's Nest, Palisades, Nose to Fingers, Granite Chief Peak, or Light Towers... For the real shit, hit up Northstar
Kirkwood is my favorite resort right after a snow. They get fucking dumped on. Its a little farther than others but still fun.
Heavenly, Northstar and Squaw are all pretty fun and have a bunch of all around skiing.
Rose is going to be the closest and has The Chutes which are super fun when they're open. 40-55 degree slopes that are all black or dub black. They can be super fun when theres snow and pretty sketch otherwise.
If you go to Rose let me know. I'm gonna be working up there this year and I'm down to give you guys a ride up and maybe some discounted tickets if I can get any.
Tahoe is sick, I've been going to school here for three years and between the park, skiing in t shirts and hoodies all year, and the snow we usually get its a great place to go. You can buy one season pass and ride Northstar, Heavenly and Kirkwood. You could buy the Squaw pass and ride Squaw Alpine and Sierra at Tahoe. Squaw and Kirkwood have some of the sickest all mountain riding around and Northstars park is on point. Tahoes a little more then one town though just to let you know.
pics 1 and 3 are just one peak at squaw, KT22. pic 3 is a close up of the very top of KT, called eagle's nest (also renamed Mcconkey's)
2nd pic is tram face, right next to KT22..not open to public but it's gotten poached a good amount and they almost had a FWT event there but the conditions didn't line up i think
so take how impressed you are with 2 peaks, and consider that there are at least 5 other amazing zones at squaw, and tell your friend that he's talking out of his ass when he said there's nothing challenging there
any other questions about squaw or alpine feel free to hit me up, i love them so much i'm happy just to talk about them haha. place is amazing
Weekends are filled with gapers, weekdays there are plenty of steep lines to get after. Dont know who was telling you that the skiing is not difficult, shit CR died out here, not skiing pussy hills. The backcountry around here is a blast. Alpine has endless boundries, some trails you end up in peoples backyards. Tahoe loves to get wasted, ski and have a good time. Get out here its a blast
Sorry i didnt mean to post all those my bad Heres what i was trying to post.. But my point is that, as you can tell by the photos, its really mellow out here in Tahoe. Every mountain is flat and there is no challenging places to ski in Tahoe. If you really want to ski some hard challenging stuff, I recommend the east coast. I heard Its killer over there.
As a east coaster who just moved out west you will huck your shit harder than ever before and straight line everything. Skiing all those sketchy icy, moguled, extremely tight tree runs with no coverage make you feel like a god out here.
Squaw, Alpine, and Sugar Bowl have some of the best terrain out there. Heavenly has some nice steeps w/ moguls, Kirkwood too. Sierra at Tahoe has great bowls. Northstar is good for terrain parks. The only reason to go to Mt. Rose is for the chutes on a powder day. Tahoe is my favorite place, it's really something special. Know what you're looking for and you can't go wrong. Just know the snow may be a little brutal (hard and wet) if you're not used to it.