A recent blog post came up about about traveling with your equipment: should you rent gear or bring your own?
My parents weren’t too bummed when I moved out from Michigan to Tahoe. They finally had an excuse to make regular ski trips (under the guise of coming to see their dear son). Needless to say, my old man became a veteran when it came to traveling with gear. Here I share our collective “wisdom.” Yeah, wisdom.
If you decide to bring your skis with you on the airline, be sure you use a hard-shell carrier. My family was visiting me in Lake Tahoe and flew in via NWA. Even in a hard-shell carrier, wrapped in blankets and their thermal layers, the baggage handlers managed to break the case and blow out 6” of my mom’s brand new Rosi XX-L’s. NWA would not have reimbursed us for the skis if they were in a soft carrier, and even still, they didn’t reimburse the full retail price of the skis OR cover her rentals.
Personally, whenever I travel away from Tahoe (I have family in Summit County, CO - bummer, eh?), I ALWAYS bring my boots, and occasionally bring my last season / rock board. On powder days, a rock board (with the bindings set right) handles just fine. Stuck with hard-pack groomers? That’s the perfect time to find a local shop that demos new skis. Bringing your boots will save you a bit of money, plus your feet will stay happy.
See you in Tahoe,
Matty :)
http://twitter.com/RideTahoe
Twitter @aschendel asked “what resort(s) do you like [in Tahoe]?” I replied by email, but thought some of you might enjoy a locals review.
Hi Andy,
Well, it’s probably worth getting this out there:
I don’t really like groomers. I’d rather hunt off piste for stashes of good snow than race at speed around crowds of people. If it hasn’t snowed for a week or more, then I’ll either make a few groomer laps and head to the park, but i can’t spend a whole day on groomed terrain or hike in the backcountry. Spoiled? Sure.
Grannlibakken is on the W/NW shore of tahoe. I always send my parents there when they visit. They have reasonable ski and stay packages, plus rooms with kitchens so you don’t have to eat out every night. Times listed in minutes from parking lot to parking lot, roughly.
That being said…
North Lake
- Alpine Meadows has the best off piste and hikeable terrain around tahoe. Period. 15 minutes.
- Squaw valley has the best in bounds terrain, but everything (and i mean every last local spot) gets tracked out by noon on a powder day. 20 minutes.
- Homewood is a great place to go during a storm (natural protection from winds), and a great place to go if it hasn’t snowed in a week. It’s a small family resort, so it doesn’t get tracked much. There are a couple great hikes there, too. Because of the incredible lake views, it’s worth getting here at least once. 10 minutes.
- Northstar is groomer territory. No cliffs. All the off piste terrain was retardedly filled in with tree stumps from when they cut the runs. Great pipe and park, but that’s it. I’d almost venture to say i hate Northstar (sorry N*!). Oh, it IS an amazing family resort. Related? Probably. 35 minutes.
- Sugarbowl is great, and there’s plenty of off piste and hikeable terrain. I wish I spend more time there, but it was a 40 minute trek from my house, and it’s on the sierra crest, so gets hammered with wind. 45 minutes.
- Mt. Rose. meh. if i’m driving to rose, i’d rather hike up Rose Nobb and have an afternoon session on the wind-built terrain park. I hear the avalanche chutes are good fun, but my impression is: closer to Reno than I like to get, tracked quick, wind. 40 minutes.
South Lake
- Kirkwood is my #2 favorite resort. would probably be #1 if i knew the terrain better. great hikes, home of the big mountain ski championships year after year. there’s a reason for it. gnarly terrain, tons of fun. far enough from most of the major resorts that it doesn’t get tracked quick. it’s like a less trafficked squaw. 120 minutes.
- Heavenly is like the Northstar of South Lake, plus casinos. I don’t like South Lake (over developed, casinos, etc). Combine it with the Northstar-like qualities, and I’d be happy never going there again. Lake views and family-fun. 60 minutes.
- Sierra at Tahoe. Never been, no compelling reason to go. 70 minutes.
Man, i need to get a job in marketing for ski resorts. that’s the most fun I’ve had all day :(
-m
These are opinions. If you have a different opinion, please share it in the comments! And if you happen to have a burning need for an interactive web marketer, let’s talk :)
