[ward]

anyone been up there yet? I hear the rain's ruining the snow

I'm itchin to get up there!!!!!!!

[2_Swift]

I went up there with my gf and another couple to spend new years eve in Reno and it didn't go so we'll as we planned.

The weather did not calm down so we couldn't go skiing because either some lifts were closed or we just couldn't get there
because of road closures. It was also 9hr drive back to Santa Cruz because Interstate 80 was closed down due to a huge
mud slide. We drove around the lake through Carson City which also had detours since some of their roads were under-water.
Once we got to Lake tahoe, it was bumper to bumper all through-out Interstate 50.

Departed to Reno on the 30th and returned on the 1st.

Overall, it was ok spending New Years there, but I wish we could've gotten in some skiing. I would've rather gone to Las Vegas
if I only wanted to gamble. Oh well, we are going to try going up there again in a few weeks.

Also, if anyone goes up there in their E90 with snow tires, let me know how it went.

[Enroutte]

YAH! people got snowed in! over christmas break i went with my friends and we left earlier than planned because we didnt want to get snowed in.

my friend tim owns a cabin up near sierra resort and he had to stay till after new years! sucks.

i even had to put on chains when i was driving up there. my friend has a 4runner but the conditions were just so bad that the guys recommended we ptu chains on anyway. ohh california weather. i love it. at least it was sunny today!

[BMW F22]

and there I was thinking of taking my E90 up there...

[poldim]

Nope. Im in France in the alps right now. 1650 has some amazing slopes on the far left if anyone is planning on coming out here...

[rtchamberlin]

Goint to Colorado 1st week of March to go boarding. Not sure which resort yet, probably Vail or Breckenridge. Tried for 1st time last year in Steamboat, CO and spent 3 days busting my ass. Loved it though.

[Squawks]

I was trying to do Boreal on Dec 29, Thursday, and the whole place was packed shoulder-to-shoulder. There were lines for the lifts - three per lift, each line about 50 yards long.

What was worst is that there was a 4 hour waiting line for rentals, so I said forget it. Then me and my g/f bought our own gear almost on impulse. Damn it.

[Enroutte]

Originally Posted by Squawks

I was trying to do Boreal on Dec 29, Thursday, and the whole place was packed shoulder-to-shoulder. There were lines for the lifts - three per lift, each line about 50 yards long.

What was worst is that there was a 4 hour waiting line for rentals, so I said forget it. Then me and my g/f bought our own gear almost on impulse. Damn it.

Boreal is alwayss crowded, isnt it? I think it's crowded because most of their lifts only seat 2 adn it's cheaper than other places.. so a LOT of beginners and people who aren't strong skiiers go there. Plus.. its also the closest one to most people in the bay area so it's "the one" to go to. However, the only have a few lifts and again, it only seats 2 per lift. BLAHH not worth the wait. If you guys do head up there again, check out their IRIDE card if you guys don't have a season pass. 2 trips gets u teh next trip free. ;] nice deal

[timzerofive]

My friend's gf won a free lift ticket to Heavenly from skidazzle. Skidazzle was so worth it, we used the entrance fee to get free lift to Summit, then I bought my new board, binding, and boots there for cheap. Even got a new snowboard bag for $25!

[Enroutte]

i got 2 free season passes for a ski resort because i bought a volvo. go buy a volvo!

[Squawks]

Skidazzle is kind of stupid. The last time I went, they did offer free lift tickets to various resorts but they are *only* valid on weekdays with holidays and weekends blacked out. So me and my g/f basically had to take days off of work to go.

Enroutte, this was the first time I saw Boreal this packed. I've been there like 3 times already and it's never bad - Soda Springs next door is almost always deserted as well. I guess Dec 27-30 are the peak days of the season, as Boreal was literally PACKED. In the dining lodge, people had to sit and crowd the floors. There was a 15 minute line just to get into the food/serving area.

It is small, though - but still my favorite. I've been to Squaw, Kirkwood, etc. etc. - resorts with 2,000-4,000 acres (Boreal is puny at only 400 acres) but had bad experiences. Squaw, Kirkwood, and the Sugar Bowl all had super packed ice and the 'snow' was rock-hard. Bad, bad, bad.

Also, Boreal has lifts seating up to 3-4 people. Some of the lifts are "accelerated" too and go pretty fast.

EDIT: BTW, Enroutte, how do you manage to make posts - shouldn't you be in school? How's the college apps going - get any offers?

[timzerofive]

2 free season passes huh.... can I come with you then???


The passes did include black out dates, but we were able to go on one of the weekends before the peak season started so that was no problem. Hey, $15 as oppose to $50, you can't complain. And I got decent gear for cheap, AND my friend won free heavenly ticket.

[Squawks]

That's the other thing that stumps me.

California resorts are crappy, small, and crowded - with base snow in the single digit feet. Tahoe resorts are 10 times bigger with base snow in the 30's-70's. CA lifts: $63. Tahoe lifts: $30-40. What gives?

[timzerofive]

Well I mean, look today, 80 degree weather with clear blue sky and no cloud in sight, can you really complain about the lack of snow?? And I bet the cost to operate down here is a lot higher since they gotta be making snow all the time, and the season is probably a lot shorter than other resorts, so the price of admission will naturally be higher.

BTW, half of the Tahoe resorts are in California.

[Enroutte]

Originally Posted by timzerofive

Well I mean, look today, 80 degree weather with clear blue sky and no cloud in sight, can you really complain about the lack of snow?? And I bet the cost to operate down here is a lot higher since they gotta be making snow all the time, and the season is probably a lot shorter than other resorts, so the price of admission will naturally be higher.

BTW, half of the Tahoe resorts are in California.

yeahh.. i dont think our resorts suck california is the best state ever IMO. we have really nice weather and almost everything any other state has. my AP government teacher says california produces enough goods and has enough resources that we could be our own country.

anyway..... MAMMOTH is a really nice resort down there in so. cal ive only beent here once but i love it

[db17k]

I was up there last weekend for new years and the snow sucked. we brought our boards, but no luck finding an open resort. this was the trend, it'd snow in the morning for about 4 hours (Sweet!) then around 1pm it'd start raining and wash away all that snow, plus turn the remaining snow on the mountian into crappy ice. i'm not boarding on icy runs or in freezing rain. Anyway my buds went up 3 weeks ago to kirkwood and said the snow was crap. we'll probably have to wait a couple weeks before it gets good.

[Enroutte]

ya ski season this year totally sucked. i wanted to go up for thanksgiving but there wasnt enough snow for the resorts to be open. boreal usually opens first and not even boreal was open. ;[


this year's "snow weather" really sucks

[timzerofive]

Mammoth is more like... central east cali, not so cali at all.

California itself has like the 4th or 5th largest economy in the world, meaning our state beats out other COUNTRIES

[Squawks]

Anybody know of any good resorts close to the San Diego/LA area? Right now, only Big Bear/Snow Summit come to mind but I'm not a fan of the artificial snow-crap.

Mammoth is over 9 hours away from SD. I can pretty much reach the Tahoe area in that amount of time.

[timzerofive]

Mammoth is a 4 hour drive from OC, what you talking about... 9hrs?! I can make it to Tahoe from OC with room to spare for 9 hours! But look at these pics I took during lunch, I don't care if we get crappy snow.

[Enroutte]

9 hours from san diego? how fast do you drive? ;D

[Squawks]

Damn, 4 hours from OC? I got 9 hours from Mapquest...not that I've tried driving there yet but 9 hours from Mapquest doesn't sound so appealing.