Ski advice needed for biz trip to Sacramento nxt wk

[billski]

I will be in Sacramento on business next week. I'm going to graft some skiing onto the end of the trip (fri-sat-sun) and would appreciate some advice. I was advised to head west on I80 and checkout Squaw, Tahoe or Kirkwood. I'm an advanced eastern skier (read: not a lot of hours on powder). Some questions come to mind:

a) What' the deal with I80 - I read the highway reports requiring 4WD or chains. What's the deal? I'm Comfortable with driving in moderate snow. What questions do I ask at the Hertz counter? I see they have subarus - since it's only me, and I don't like big equipment, how's that?

b) where should I ski? I have two days. I am a wanderer so I don't mind splitting between 2 resorts.

c) where should I stay that's inexpensive (read: a motel is fine with me)? I don't need amenities, I plan to be on slope all day and crash at night. Combo offers of tix and room? Other places to get discount tix?

d) Travel suggestions - hours/hiways to avoid or to take, etc. I was thinking of flying in/out Sacramento (close to meetings). What about flying into Reno instead?

e) I plan to bring my boots and rent demo/performance skis. For 2 days it's not worth the hassle, since I've got business gear to haul. Good plan?

Any Other suggestions are appreciated. Thank you all very much!

Blill

 

[Admin]

The big Tahoe areas, i.e. Squaw, Heavenly, Northstar, Alpine Meadows, etc. can be very busy on weekends. Personally I'm a fan of Sugar Bowl, which is actually close to I-80 as you head east from Sac. Kirkwood is too darned far for your short timeframe. Should you opt for a Reno flight, and have a late flight out, Mt. Rose is actually quite close to Reno for your last day, too.

Go for the Subbie just to have peace of mind. Caltran often imposes chain restrictions on I-80. The road's not really that bad, even when restrictions are up in my experience, but it's the other drivers you need to worry about. Remember that many Californians don't have a lot of experience driving in snow. If the roads are dry, none of this will matter, but why worry about it? Most rental contracts are voided by applying chains, and then you'd have to go buy them, too.

I'll let locals chime in on the other questions, but have fun!

 

[tseeb]

Admin covered it pretty well. You may not hit chain control unless going to Kirkwood or Mt. Rose which are on higher passes, but if you can rent a Suburu, do it. Even with 4WD you are supposed to carry chains, but it is very rare that they ask for them. Current weather has storms predicted for tonight through tomorrow and Tuesday-Wednesday.

We are sitting out today because it is not worth fighting the Saturday crowds and have a sick kid to get home and a cabin to pickup.
Sunday/Monday is much better than Friday/Saturday for crowds. The best advice is to be there early. You get better parking and may have more skiing from 8:30-11 than the rest of the day. Even though Heavenly gets big crowd, go early and you can ski the top of CA, then NV, then go lower to avoid the crowds which get worst at the top. I'd advise Kirkwood (from Sac, use Highway 16 to 88)/Heavenly) for Fri/Sat if you want to go to the So. Shore where there is more nightlife. For North Shore, Sugar Bowl on Friday and then Alpine or Squaw on Sat. To best avoid Saturday crowds and get great Lake Tahoe views, you could try Homewood (no high-speed lifts) or Diamond Peak(does not get as much snow as other). Then Alpine or Squaw on Sunday if you can handle three days. Avoid Kirkwood, Northstar and Sierra on Saturday.

 

[billski]

Good advice, thanks guys. I am an earlybird, and early strategies work in the east. My days are fixed, nothing i can do about it.

I need a level set from east-west; What do you consider crowded? Lift line times? Density on slopes?

I'll look into these lesser-known areas, that's the same strategy I use here on busy days. Good idea.

I was thinking of Squaw for this hysterical/historical value of the Olympics mostly. Touristy fer shur, but sometime I can be a sap....

I found some webcams of 80 and noticed the restrictions were lifted. I'd hate to work all week and find I have a car that wouldn't be allowed thru if something good comes down from heaven.

What about travel in on I80, 1 day north and 1 day south, then back on 89? Or am I pushing it? I figure going back (probably travel sunday AM or very late Saturday) I'll avoid the traffic, no?

Thanks again.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I would not try to switch between North and South shore on a short trip. 89 along the west shore will close if it snows.

Low elevation Tahoe has been bad this year, but the recent storms have helped, and it's a good sign that Squaw has opened Silverado. Squaw on weekends is not a problem if:
1) you get there very early to score good parking, then eat breakfast before the lifts open, and
2) you can handle the steep terrain and stick to some of the lifts that just service it: Granite Chief, Silverado, Olympic Lady for example. Use Broken Arrow to get down the hill on a nice sheltered chute and avoid the lemmings on Mountain Run.

If your Sunday flight out is late enough, I'd agree with the recommendation of Sugar Bowl as closest to Sac airport for that day. I'd go for Alpine Meadows or Mt. Rose on the other day.

Try to stay in Truckee instead of North Tahoe for easier weekend traffic and faster getaway to Sugar Bowl/Sacramento Sunday.

I've skied these places mostly 4-day weekends, many of them MLK and crowds are manageable as long as you get there early. Worst crowd problems istraffic on the roads, not lines/congestion on the hills.

 

[tseeb]

Sorry for the messed up and duplicate post. I was tapped into neighbor's unprotected wireless at So. Tahoe and could not stay connected. I've also experienced problems losing posts while entering, posting or editing with this forum to the point that I'm typing in Notepad and pasting into post.

I am less tolerant of crowds than most people. A five minute lift line is about all I can take. A ten minute line plus a five minute lift ride for a run than is less than five minutes is not acceptable to me. If I had a pass or free ticket I would have skied Heavenly for at least a couple of hours yesterday, but the logistics of going elsewhere did not work for me.

Tony Crocker is correct that crowding on the experts lifts at Squaw is rare, except for KT-22. One problem you may have is that these expert lifts may quickly become tiring for an advanced skier. While KT and Headwall have intermediate way down, Olympic Lady does not. My advice would be to take the funitel up in the morning and get a run or two in on Siberia to warm up before it gets crowded. Try to get a run or two on Silverado and then work your way to Headwall, then towards and past KT22 as crowds are going the opposite way.

You could stay in Sacramento Thursday night and as long as you leave by 7 am, get to Sugar Bowl or even Kirkwood for their opening. But allow time for renting skis which is pretty much limited to the resorts at both those places. Truckee and Squaw have more options for renting.

Driving back to Sacramento Sat. evening or Sunday morning should not be a problem. Sunday, after noon, expect some delays. To get to Kirkwood from Sacramento, many people use Highway 50 E to 89 S to 88 W which means three passes. As long as there is no avalanche control on the Carson Spur, immediately W of Kirkwood on 88, it is at least 20 miles shorter to take Highway 16 to 88 and you avoid the highway 50 traffic. When you get to 49 at Plymouth, go N and then through Fiddletown for the shortest route or go S on 49 and turn at Sutter Creek up Ridge Road to 88 for a more traveled route.

Conditions at Tahoe resorts have greatly improved over the last two weeks. Squaw is reporting 10-16 inches new this morning and TV news last night said as much a five feet is expected during the week. Enjoy.

 

[billski]

thanks a lot.
you gave me a lot of choices.
I'm gonna do what I do best - play it out day by day. I've kinda got my heart set on squaw. I'm an earlybird, so no problem.

It's really dumping today,with windholds on higher elevations, I'm psyched, since I've got a full week of work ahead first....

Truckee is difficult for Saturday lodging this late in the game. I don't want the hotel by the railroad though!

 

[billski]

thanks for the strategy on Squaw. Looks good. I can wait 10 or 15 mins on a weekend, albeit I too am spoiled with midweek skiing/no lines.

Me thinks given the snows predicted, that I'd rather get up there the night before than get stuck in traffic the morning I want to ski.

great suggestions.
Might be Squaw Fri. and Sugar Bowl on Sat.

I'm pretty good on the blacks at Stowe, so I'm probably OK with the blacks you suggested. I'm presuming the powder should slow me down a bit too. this will be a new experience for me. Late in March I was in Steamboat for Nastar, but there was no powder left at that point. Looks like I've hit the powder season for the Sierras, I hope.

Thanks again.

 

[ChrisC]

Tony Crocker is correct that crowding on the experts lifts at Squaw is rare, except for KT-22. One problem you may have is that these expert lifts may quickly become tiring for an advanced skier. While KT and Headwall have intermediate way down, Olympic Lady does not. My advice would be to take the funitel up in the morning and get a run or two in on Siberia to warm up before it gets crowded. Try to get a run or two on Silverado and then work your way to Headwall, then towards and past KT22 as crowds are going the opposite way.

i disagree slightly with this advice. Generally, Granite Chief has the longest lines of any of the expert lifts - even more than most of the intermediate lifts. And it's a slow triple. Why? Squaw generally grooms 2 relatively steep runs off the lift. The groomer crowd from Shirley Lake express just migrates over and from 1030/11 onwards its 10-15+ until the grooming gets trashed.

I agree with the above strategy - with a slight modification. Funtiel-to-Gold Coast for sure!. A few warm-ups on Siberia/Gold Coast and off to Shirley Lake & Granite Chief. When that gets crowded (11-ish), I go to Solitude for a run or two, and then Silverado (these lifts never have a line). Next lunch at Gold Coast or High Camp. Lunch at Squaw just sucks...some of the worst food ever (The outdoor patio at High Camp is an exception). Afterwards, It's some runs off of Headwall ending one of them at the Broken Arrow lift for 2000 ft of crowd-free bliss tot he base. Then laps on KT22 and Red Dog until quitting time.

i wouldn't worry about snow levels/coverage anymore.

This is just icing on the cake - a 36 hour Winter Storm Warning. Nice.

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST TUESDAY.

SNOW AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE LAKE TAHOE BASIN
THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT WITH HEAVY SNOW AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY
AFTER 2 PM ON MONDAY. ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL TOTALS OF 2 TO 3 FEET
ARE EXPECTED ABOVE 7000 FEET WITH 10 TO 20 INCHES AT LAKE LEVEL
BY LATE MONDAY NIGHT. STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH THE SNOW TO
PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY OVER AREA PASSES.

 

[snowave]

I heard it took some people 8-10 hours to get out of Tahoe today in the storm.. Mammoth at times, was 2-4 hours to get to Bishop..YIKES. :shock:

 

[tseeb]

I was keeping Granite Chief out of the mix as that is mostly a late spring lift for me when the rest of the mountain is closed. Shirley gets crowded and Solitude does not have much vertical although it has some nice terrain if you can find it. That whole side is where Squaw gets the deepest snow.

I would have a preference for Sugar Bowl Friday and Squaw Saturday and save money by staying in Sac. on Thurs. night. The other way around works with staying in Truckee. Sugar Bowl now has five high-speed lifts, but Disney and Lincoln are the two that serve mostly expert terrain and both can get crowded, especially on weekends. Disney is usually a little lighter.

Have you tried booking at the Inn at Truckee?http://www.innattruckee.com I showed $99 Thurs and $132 Friday. They offer AAA disount, "Name your price" and you may be able to call and get a better rate by asking for the "Stair Climber" which gives you a room on the 3rd floor. They have a great location for getting to Squaw and are across the street from Porter's, a very good ski shop, and close to Granite Chief, an excellent ski shop http://www.granitechief.com/
Go to downtown Truckee for a drink or dinner.

My last tip is to get to a Jeep dealer in Sacramento and get a free Suagr Bowl lift ticket (may need to be done by Wed.) You probably don't even need to take a test drive. They give you a card that you register on-line and print a voucher for Sugar Bowl that is even valid this weekend.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Chris C.'s detailed Squaw strategy is almost exactly the way I ski there, because most of my days there have been on weekends. Silverado is never crowded and is the best refuge at peak hours on weekends. But the general strategy of hitting Shirley Lake/Granite Chief as early as possible and ending the day in the KT area is my usual pattern. And using Broken Arrow as the route from the upper mountain to the base of KT-22.

As alluded in another thread, I cannot advise strongly enough that a visiting eastern skier should rent fat skis if you do not own them already, unless you are at the Patrick ability level and know otherwise from past experience.
1) Ongoing new snow is predicted.
2) Fat skis ease the effort in heavier Sierra snow even more than in Rocky Mt. powder, and this is particularly true in the tracked/chowder stage that is inevitable in resort skiing on new snow days.

If your flight time does not allow you to ski Sunday, I would agree with the Sugar Bowl Friday/Squaw Saturday suggestion.

 

[tseeb]

If you are in Sierras Thursday night, you may also want to consider Alpine Friday/Squaw Saturday. Alpine is claiming 94-175" base while Sugar Bowl base starts at 72". Alpine is a bigger mountain, even though the vertical difference is not that great. You have to really look around, follow a local and do short hikes to get some of the best terrain.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I do not put much stock in base depth reporting, which is notoriously inconsistent among areas.

Nonetheless I agree with the recommendation if you only have 2 days and there are not logistical issues. Alpine is bigger than Sugar Bowl, and its snow is a bit drier. Sugar Bowl gets the most snow in North Tahoe as it's the first mountain in line when Pacific storms hit. I would expect base depths to be higher than Alpine, but at this point coverage is more than adequate at both.

 

[billski]

Hey Guys, I'm back. It was Squaw on Friday and Alpine on Saturday. Thanks for all the tips, it worked out great, though skiing solo can be a drag, it was worth it anyways. Here's a little "review" from an Easterner's perspective

Squaw on Friday. I started on the Funitel. (why do they open so damn late? I was like a kid at christmas, I was awake at 5, at the resort at 730....pacing....should'a skinned something....) went to Gold Coast, then Granite Chief, then back over towards Siberia/Headwall, (damn windy atop!) but believe it or not, I spent most of my time in the woods over at Red Dog and Squaw Creek. I totally exhausted myself out in the woods. I have a really hard time staying on groomers, but it kills my 50+ YO bones. (I fell asleep at 8pm!) No lift lines except the first 9am's. Then everyone spreadout, no lines the remainder of Friday. Anywhere. I stopped for lunch at the top of the tram, watched them take a snowblower to the ice skating rink, then watched a 'cat dig out the windows in the swimming pool. 10' drifts buried the whole building.

Alpine Meadows - Never got enough. Suffered a migraine late morning, it wiped me out for the remainder of the day. What I did ski, I really enjoyed. I couldn't believe how steep everything was. Very, very busy. Mobs from the Bay area. 5-10 mins singles line on two HSQ. Not too bad. Lots more boarders than at Squaw.

Here's a little Eastern perspective/review. You guys know all this already stuff, this stuff is for the trolls....

Dave's ski shop (at Squaw) definitely had guys in the know. All that POW was packed down, dammit, by the locals who pounded it for 3 days while i80 was closed. Grrrrr.... Bumped up all over, but fairly small bumps (about 1', surrounded by pow). They put me on some K2 midfats that worked just fine for those conditions. Not much to float on, except in the most dangerous of places. Not.

The powder was suprisingly pretty dry. It warmed up to about 40 days the decks were swamped.

Interesting, I didn't see any tele's...

Hey, what's up with the groomers? This is weird, at least from an easterner's perspective. A few top-bottom groomer runs and I'll bet 80-90% of all skiers were on the groomers. The rest of the place was empty. So many places to go, but they all stick with the groomers!

Western resort area mgt. has a very different approach than in the east. East: sign states - "Danger, closed, keep away" West: "Cliff" I'm really likin' the west skiing and can start to understand a bit those Easterners who only ski when they take a trip west.

Migraine was slightly under control by 3pm Saturday. Not enough to ski, but enough to drive around and tourist. Went down to see the closed up Ponderosa park at Incline village. Looked for Cartwrights, Hoss, Little Joe, but...not... Spectacular lake scenery, more $pectacular home$. checked out all those other areas I couldn't get to like Diamond, etc. Boy, as an easterner, I'd be happy with the "small" areas too.

Great Mexican food at Casa somethingorother in Truckee. Stage Coach Cafe the next night could have been better.

Rented an AWD Ford, but encounted nothing but dry roads (roads opened the AM I traveled.) Stayed at Best Western. It was OK, but the friday night dump trucks unloading downtown snow in the field behind the motel from midnight to 5am was rough.
beep-beep....beep....bam!...roar! repeat, every 5 mins......

Thanks again for the good guidance. You were right, I didn't need to go far to get great skiing at two different places. Got my pins too!

Got pics, if you want me to post, please advise.
Hard to believe I was there yesterday morning.....

 

[Admin]

Got pics, if you want me to post, please advise.

Of course!

 

[billski]

Here are the photos.
the rest are too big; I'm outta time for today.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Alpine Meadows instituted cheap lift tickets a few years ago and now has a weekend crowd reputation. For that reason I would have recommended Alpine Friday and Squaw Saturday, as the many of the latter's expert-only lifts are a safe weekend refuge. But given your migraine problem, you probably made the right choices. Squaw is the standout area if coverage/conditions are decent, and it sounds like they were good enough on Friday.

Squaw's groomers often seem congested because they represent a smaller proportion of terrain than at most areas that size.

 

[billski]

shux, wish I had been told about the low ticket prices. I usually avoid those kinda things. well, still not too bad.

more pics, kinda smallish, I keep hitting th 100Kb limit...


camera died when I got to Alpine. Hmmm...

 

[ChrisC]

Alpine Meadows instituted cheap lift tickets a few years ago and now has a weekend crowd reputation. For that reason I would have recommended Alpine Friday and Squaw Saturday, as the many of the latter's expert-only lifts are a safe weekend refuge. But given your migraine problem, you probably made the right choices. Squaw is the standout area if coverage/conditions are decent, and it sounds like they were good enough on Friday.

Squaw's groomers often seem congested because they represent a smaller proportion of terrain than at most areas that size.

This weekend was going to be bad at most places due to the lack of snow for most of the season & forecasted good weather. Frankly, my least favorite Tahoe weekend crowding mountains are Sugar Bowl and Sierra. Why? They are smaller and every decent lift is crowded all day. At all other areas, you can find areas of solitude.

Cheap passes tickets exist almost everywhere at Tahoe: Heavenly ($300+ passes), Northstar&Sierra (cheap passes & tickets), Alpine (cheap $46 tickets), Sugar&Kirkwood (cheaper passes & discounts).

They only one who doesn't play this game is Squaw Valley. I interviewed Squaw's marketing director and asked if Squaw ever planned to enter the discount ticket game. He just replied "We are a premium Tahoe experience and will be priced accordingly. Therefore, we see no reason to discount." Probably the correct strategy for them. I'm sure Vail/Beaver Creek does not like that $370 buys you 10 days at either (along with unlimited Key/Breck).

Some of my Tahoe crowding experiences:

Alpine - outside of the 2 key lifts base lodge lifts (Roundhouse, Summit)-can be OK for crowding. Scott/Lakeview/Alpine generally never have long lines.

Northstar & Sierra-at-Tahoe - The core lifts are very, very crowded. They sell a special 'Vertical Plus' addition ($70) on their passes for special shorter liftlines among other things. (Exception is Lookout Mountain at Northstar - never a line).

SugarBowl - Lincoln/Disney/Jerome/Judah can be 10-15 most of the day. Lincoln is generally a nightmare all day and it's the only lift that is greater than 1000 vertical feet (Disney lifts are slightly less vertical).

Heavenly - the upper lifts are crowded from 1030am onwards (Sky/Canyon CA and Dipper/Comet NV) but you can move to lower Nevada or Mott Canyon or Gunbarrel.