Skiing in California

3rd March 2012

Last modified on September 2nd, 2021

As I flew into California last week I described in my first blog how I saw the great snow in Canada and the bare ground in the USA through the plane window.

The Californian resorts of Northstar, Kirkwood and Heavenly around Lake Tahoe had been having a poor season.

I had that distinct feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time

I write this final blog once again at 29,000 feet from a vantage point in a Virgin 747 heading back to Europe.

Way beneath me there is snow covering the mountaintops and an alpine scene.

This time though it is not the mountains of British Columbia that are covered in snow, but those in California.

To make it better still I am in Virgin premium economy class with larger seats and fine food.

Life is good.

Snowy California from above. Image © PlanetSKI

It snowed from the moment we arrived to the moment we left and in places we had almost a metre of fresh, light powder.

I had some great tree skiing in Heavenly, some good pistes in Northstar with some interesting and steep terrain in Kirkwood.

But skiing in North America is not just about the snow, but the experience too.

It is a world away from The Alps that most of us, including me, know far better.

What we need to sort out straight away is that the mountains in the USA are altogether different.

In comparison to The Alps the ones round Lake Tahoe are hills rather than mountains.

The vertical decent is limited and the resorts would fit into just one small part of the European linked ski areas where most of us have our annual ski holiday.

If you want mile after mile of linked slopes or huge vertical descent then look elsewhere. However there is more than enough terrain available for skiers and snowboarders of all standards.

Kirkwood is known as a skiers’ mountain with a certain rawness to it and, though the terrain is great, the resort is not Engleberg, Chamonix, La Grave or Verbier.

It does have an annual average snowfall of 17.2m though.

How much terrain do you need on a powder day?

The slopes are steep with a variety of routes down its steep in-bound areas.

This is where the Freeride World Tour held a round last year and where the experts come to play.

Yours Truly booting up. Image © PlanetSKI

Northstar prides itself on being good for families and is marketed as a snowboarders’ paradise too with its terrain parks. But it is not Avoriaz or La Plagne.

Yet Shaun White trains here and it was one of the first resorts to open a natural terrain park, The Stash, where there is a serious amount of fun to be had.

Shaun White’s training superpipe. Image © PlanetSKI

It has huge snowmaking capabilities that had kept the slopes open in this somewhat barren year.

At one point the resort was operating 120 guns round the clock for 7 days in a row.

Northstar. Image © PlanetSKI

And Heavenly?

It straddles California and Nevada and is like no resort I have been too.

Sadly I never saw the spectacular vistas it is famed for down to the lake or over into the desert – the clouds were low and it snowed all day long.

I never even made it to the slopes in Nevada either as they were closed due to the pounding snowstorm that engulfed the area.

Heavenly. Image © PlanetSKI

But I lapped lifts that were operating, dancing down in the powder through the trees. I came down the infamous Gunbarrell lift in knee-deep fresh snow. The run is better known for its shoulder high moguls.

This is Glenn Plake’s home resort and, though he now lives in Chamonix, he still returns to ski the moguls.

The town itself is fascinating.

The state line runs through the middle, so on one side are the gambling halls and casinos of Nevada and on the other side in California there is a somewhat different atmosphere altogether.

The hotel I was staying in, The Embassy Suites, offered free drinks to all its guests after skiing. Now that is what I call a Happy Hour.

In the casinos drinks were free too – as long as you were gambling.

One casino doesn’t have any locks on its main doors. It doesn’t need them as it never closes.

It runs 24/7.

Where America really differs though is in the service and customer care. In Northstar there are people to carry your skis, help you on a lift and assist with your every whim.

It was difficult getting on to the lifts at the base of Heavenly as so many uniformed staff were wishing me a nice day.

Some times though it drove me slightly mad as yet another person asked me, somewhat insincerely, how my day was going or told me how awesome everything was.

Other British people I spoke to seemed to like it, so maybe I am just a grumpy old man.

I did though meet some like-minded people on a chairlift in Heavenly; three guys from Staines to the west of London.

“How can these people be so happy all the time? It is driving us nuts,” they told me. “We are also visiting the three resorts you are and are really impressed. It’s our first visit here and it is better than expected, especially the snow. Things are cheaper than in The Alps but we have lost quite a bit in the gambling casinos,” they laughed.

Fortunately for me I haven’t a clue how to gamble and have no desire to learn.  As I glanced round the endless aisles of gambling tables and slot machines all I could see was hundreds of sad losers.  One person I spoke to hadn’t left the casino/hotel in days. He was here to gamble not to ski.

“But there is some of the best snow of the season out there'” I said to him in my best encouraging manner.

“I am having some of my best gambling of the season,” he answered quickly.

“Oh, have you won”? I said.

“No but I haven’t lost as much as last time,” he answered.

I think I will stick to skiing.

And hopefully back here in The Lake Tahoe resorts.

There are big plans for expansion as Vail Resorts only recently acquired Kirkwood and with its bulging pockets it will undoubtedly improve the facilities.

The private equity firm KSL Capital Partners that owns Squaw Valley has bought neighbouring Alpine Meadows.

It is estimated that $1b will be spent over the next few years by the 14 resorts in the area as they try to take on the better known ski resorts in Colorado and Utah.

On PlanetSKI we will soon be having a detailed news story on the expansion plans and what the future may hold so do check back for that.

But I just want to sample once more the steep and challenging terrain of Kirkwood, enjoy the tree skiing in Northstar and visit Heavenly when it is possible to see the spectacular views of the lake and the desert from the slopes.

I just hope I haven’t learned how to gamble by then.

And maybe, just maybe, we will get the same amount of fresh snow.

Ready for action.Image © PlanetSKI

For the first blog from James Cove, California Dreaming,  see here and he followed it with this, It is difficult not to be smug, after the snow fell.

For more information on Vail Resorts then see here.

Eight nights in San Francisco with Virgin Holidays, including scheduled flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow direct to San Francisco, seven nights accommodation at the 4V Embassy Suites Lake Tahoe followed by one nights accommodation at the 3V+ Radisson Fisherman’s Wharf both on a room only basis with car hire included starts from £1,339.

Prices are per person based on 2 adults. Prices are based on departures 19^th March 2012.

For the spirit of the mountains