Lake Tahoe Ski And Snowboard Guide

							Title:
Lake Tahoe Ski And Snowboard Guide

Word Count:
1045

Summary:
When the days are short and snow hi
des the dirt and makes the water of
  Lake Tahoe WAY to cold for swimmin
g, you do the only thing you can do
: Go SKIING!!! There are fourteen s
ki resorts in and around Lake Tahoe
  in both California and Nevada. The
re are thousands of hotel and motel
  rooms, you can_t swing a dead cat
without hitting a gourmet, or delic
iously funky restaurant, and there_
s more music, theater, shows, gambl
ing and amenities than you could po
ssibly know what to do wi...
Keywords:
ski, skiing, snowboard, lake, tahoe
, california, nevada, reno, mountai
n, vacation, package

Article Body:
When the days are short and snow hi
des the dirt and makes the water of
 Lake Tahoe WAY to cold for swimmin
g, you do the only thing you can do
: Go SKIING!!! There are fourteen s
ki resorts in and around Lake Tahoe
 in both California and Nevada. The
re are thousands of hotel and motel
 rooms, you can_t swing a dead cat
without hitting a gourmet, or delic
iously funky restaurant, and there_
s more music, theater, shows, gambl
ing and amenities than you could po
ssibly know what to do with.

But relax. It_s simple. Follow thes
e two steps for the best winter vac
ation you_ve ever had: 1) go to Lak
e Tahoe. 2) go skiing! Everything e
lse will come naturally.

Getting to Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is easy to find. If you_
re flying (and you don_t have your
own helicopter), the closest airpor
t with good service is Reno Tahoe I
nternational Airport. All the major
 carriers fly in there including th
e beloved Southwest Airlines. From
Reno the closest Tahoe ski resort a
re only 30 minutes away (Mt. Rose a
nd Diamond Peak), and the farthest
are barely over an hour. Flying in
to Reno also puts you at an advanta
ge as most of the traffic comes in
from Sacramento and San Francisco,
so tourist congestion is minimal.

From Sacramento or San Francisco ta
ke US Hwy 50 East to South Lake Tah
oe, California and the casinos at S
tateline, Nevada and Heavenly, Kirk
wood or Sierra at Tahoe; or take In
terstate 80 through Truckee to Squa
w Valley, Alpine Meadows, Donner Sk
i Ranch, Sugar bowl, Northstar or H
omewood. Good weather info can be f
ound at weather.com (http://www.wea
ther.com/weather/local/USCA0584?fro
m=search_city), NOAA.gov (http://ww
w.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.ph
p?site=rev&smap=1&textField1=39.251
39&textField2=-119.97194), and snot
el (http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/sn
otel/California/california.html).

Check traffic and snow conditions b
efore you go at CalTrans(http://www
.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/), NDOT (ht
tp://www.nevadadot.com/traveler/roa
ds/) and Magnifeye(http://www.magni
feye.com/).
Tahoe Terrain and Snow

Lake Tahoe is big: 22 miles long an
d 12 miles wide. Along its 72 miles
 of shoreline ski conditions can va
ry from north (Northstar at Tahoe)
to south (Kirkwood), so it helps to
 keep track of the weather and snow
fall rates. If you_re into groomers
 and perfect corduroy, or neck deep
 powder in the trees, check the sno
w reports on each resort_s website
and hit the one with the most new s
now.

Most of the resorts have terrain pa
rks, and usually more than one. Hea
venly has several including beginne
r, intermediate and advanced jumps,
 rails and boxes for all skiers and
 snowboarders.

Which resort should you go to? Well
 that_s complicated. Since everythi
ng at Tahoe is totally awesome, it
can be challenging to find the righ
t resort for you. The huge resorts,
 Heavenly, Squaw, and Kirkwood, off
er fancy dining, big vertical relie
f, and incredible on-mountain ameni
ties. The small ones, Homewood, Dia
mond Peak and Mt. Rose, offer a mor
e low key experience that might be
great for beginners or people who w
ant to experience everything Tahoe.
  Every mountain has its specialties
, secret powder stashes and amazing
  views of the lake.

Backcountry Skiing

Though there are some of the best s
ki and snowboard resorts in the wor
ld, there are FAR more mountains to
 be skied around Tahoe than you can
 reach at the end of a chair lift r
ide. Any of the peaks around the Ta
hoe Basin, however, can be reached
at the end of a hike.

Whether by snowshoe, crampon and ic
e axe or ski tour you can reach end
less untracked ridges and couloirs
from the Pacific Crest in the Desol
ation Wilderness on the West shore
to the Carson Range above Reno on t
he east. Many resorts also have hik
eable backcountry terrain, like the
 Milkyway Bowl, at Heavenly which g
ives you a few more feet of vertica
l for a little bit of extra effort.
 Always check for up-to-date avalan
che, snowfall and weather forecasts
 for the entire Tahoe back country
area from the Sierra Avalanche Cent
er (http://www.sierraavalanchecente
r.org/) before you go out of bounds.

Lifts, Trams and Gondolas

Tahoe is the land of the six-pack h
igh-speed chairlift. We have gondol
as, funitels, and trams along with
a life time supply of high speed 6
person chairlifts. The resorts here
 are fully modern with the latest i
n technology and as rich skiing his
tory, like the old Trams at Heavenl
y and Squaw Valley. Skiing around T
ahoe is a fully modern, fast and fu
n experience. The astounding uphill
 capacity at the resorts keeps you
skiing with a minimum of down time.

On-mountain Amenities

What_s that? You want a little down
 time? Understandable. Skiing endle
ss top to bottom mogul or powder ru
ns can be tiring. You need a rechar
ge now and then. No worries, no mat
ter where you are at the resorts he
re you_re never far from a bite to
eat. Mid mountain lodges, top of th
e mountain lodges abound with gourm
et dining, and drinking, right off
the runs with stellar views of the
ski slopes and the lake and no shor
tage of wine and beer.

Tahoe Lodging

Sure, you could sleep in your car a
t the base of the runs after eating
 a ski-bum-gourmet meal of saltines
 and ketchup, but why now live a li
ttle? You want be good to yourself;
 that_s why you_re here.

As a year round vacation destinatio
n, Lake Tahoe has thousands of hote
ls and motels to choose from after
a big day on the slopes. If you_re
hungry there are enough dining esta
blishments to feed tens of thousand
s! Great lodging rates can be found
 to keep your budget happy even at
a hotel close to the slopes!

In a competitive vacation market su
ch as Tahoe, resorts are always tea
ming up with hotels to offer ski an
d lodging packages to get you the b
est deal for your trip. Whether you
_re skiing or snowboarding, you can
 bundle your lodging, lift tickets
and equipment rentals into one grea
t deal, so you spend less money and
  more time having fun.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, in California and Nevad
a, is a world class winter destinat
ion mentioned in the same breath as
 Vail, Park City, and Banff. The sn
ow is falling. The lifts are runnin
g. Come hit the slopes!!!