Lake Tahoe Video - February 2011

My late father always said, if he had to pick one place in the world to retire, it would be Lake Tahoe, California. When I asked why, he said it's because the snow there was dry, it would dump at night and would be sunny during the day. For someone who loved to ski, it sounded ideal for him, but I honestly thought he was exaggerating and that no place like that could exist.

So when I had the opportunity to go riding there with Joe Galante and the Raging Bull crew, I jumped at the chance.

We had to choose from the 20 or so resorts in the Lake Tahoe area, so we decided on Squaw Valley for Day 1, Heavenly on Day 2, and Northstar on Day 3. I didn't know much about the resorts, but they sounded tempting. Squaw Valley was the host of the 1960 Winter Olympics, Heavenly is known for beautiful views and for being in 2 states (it's on the border of California and Nevada), and Northstar is a newer resort (relatively) that is renowned for their terrain parks.

Before I continue, I should mention that, as someone who rides in the Pacific Northwest where the highest elevation is Crystal Mountain (where the base is about 4,000 feet, and the peak is about 7,000 feet), Lake Tahoe is completely different. The focus there doesn't seem to be on the backcountry, difficult terrain or natural / fresh snow. They make a lot of snow (I think I read that up to 50% of their snow is man made), have impressive grooming machines, and there was nobody in the backcountry. Everyone was too busy riding in the terrain parks or on the groomed trails.

Also, most of these resorts start at 6,000 to 7,000 feet and can go up to 10,000 feet in elevation. That means a different type of snow and different conditions to ride in. To us, the snow felt light and dry compared to the snow in the northwest.

Day One
Squaw Valley was impressive. The people there are the most laid back I have ever met. There was no trash talking in the terrain parks (unfortunately, something you see in Washington State). If you wrecked under the chairlift, there wasn't anyone heckling you from above. It seems like a place that develops a lot of talented riders because of that environment. It was the home of the 1960 Olympics, so I expected it to be really busy. Unfortunately, we went on a Wednesday and it was really quiet. Maybe too quiet. All the restaurants and businesses closed by 8 PM. Some businesses never even opened. But still, it was a great way to start off the week. We never waited for a lift and there were minimal crowds on the mountain. I kept expecting / hoping Jonny Moseley to show up.

Day Two
On Day 2, I had the chance to check out Heavenly. Even though it's just over an hour from Squaw Valley (on South Lake Tahoe), I've heard so much about this resort that I had to go, even though there were so many closer options. It was slightly busier than Squaw Valley, but still, no lines at any of the lifts. It was a little bit more touristy and the people here weren't as friendly as Squaw, although still helpful.

You could tell a lot of diehard regulars ride here, just from talking to people on the chairlifts. But they never had the attitude of, "Get off my mountain!" like you hear at local Washington ski areas. Maybe because there are so many resorts to share.

Heavenly is definitely unique. The bottom half of the mountain is impossible to ride and you have to take the gondola back down (at least on the Nevada side). So I felt like the vertical drop was misleading. The website says it has the largest vertical drop in California, but it didn't feel that way. Also, you can ride on the California side or the Nevada side of the mountain. And if you came down the Nevada side, you could check out the casinos at the base. The views from the top of the mountain were incredible. There is the desert on one side and Lake Tahoe on the other. Definitely worth checking out, even though it was the least favorite of the 3 areas we rode.

Day Three
Day 3, we decided to go to Northstar at Lake Tahoe. I knew very little about this mountain, although I quickly found out that it has one of Transworld Snowboard Magazine's Top 10 Terrain Parks. It ended up being my favorite place, just slightly ahead of Squaw Valley. Even if you decided not to board or ski, there is an ice skating rink at the bottom of the hill along with the rest of the village. Even though all the resorts had villages, this one seemed the busiest, although nothing compared to how busy Whislter's Village is on any given day.

At mid-mountain, there were plenty of things to keep people occupied, including Burton, Kodak, Paul Mitchell and other various demo tents. It was as if a concert was happening at 7,000 feet. There were tons of people around.

But once you got on the mountain, the crowds weren't so bad. There is so much to choose from that everyone seemed to go in different directions. Everything from groomed runs, a backside of the mountain, tree runs, at least 4 terrain parks, an impressively groomed halfpipe, views of Lake Tahoe, friendly staff, friendly locals and overall, it seemed to offer the best value among the resorts that we went to (we got our tickets for half price).

I loved it in Tahoe and can't wait to go back. Without further adieu, here is our quick video from Tahoe. I hope you enjoy.

Three Day Snowboard Trip to Lake Tahoe - February 2011 from Jin Lee on Vimeo.

Facebook Status : I will upload this video onto Facebook in about 10 days. Until then, you can only view it here on our blog or at Vimeo's website.

Song : Don't Cry Out by Shiny Toy Guns

Location : Lake Tahoe!

- Jin