Ugh, decisions decisions. So, I am trying to figure where I will spend my Easter trip, this year. I can go to South Lake Tahoe, which I have heard is a decent time, especially on the weekends. If I were to go there, I'd hit Heavenly for one or two weekdays, and be sure to kick Kirkwood for a Saturday run. OR>.......

I could fly into SLC and hit Bird, Basin, and maybe another resort. (yeah, I'll do the driving.....its Utah, even with the relaxed drinking laws, what the hell else am I going to do?)

At either place, I suppose I'll have 4-5 days of riding to lay-down. I've given and been given the "Its a crap-shoot" response for April riding, but I'll throw it out there, again.

Any suggestions on which place I should hit? Come April, I'd love to get a chance at a decent snowfall, what are my chances in Utah or Tahoe? If I can't bank on snowfall, which is a more enjoyable after-riding party....Tahoe or Utah? I'm thinking I am leaning on Tahoe, but I'm open to suggestions for the area or swaying to Utah.

As always, Thanks!!!

South Lake Tahoe has casinos, but, other than Cabo Wabo in Harrahs and whatever club is in the swanky Montbleu, I don't know how much real nightlife they really have.

Heavenly is great for lazy people like me and those who only need a half day because you can walk from the hotels to the gondola.  As relatively tame a mountain as it is, there's a lot of acreage and some fun trails. Weekends are a nightmare crowd, so you might want to skip Heavenly then.  A local told me Squaw handles weekends as good or better than any other big Tahoe resorts.

I've only gotten fresh snow twice in the nine times I've been to Heavenly (four of those trips being spring break)...and even those were relatively small amounts. 

Could be wrong, but I think there's a free shuttle from the casinos to Kirkwood and maybe Sierra, so you might not need a car. 

if u go 2 tahoe and just ride heavenly u letting yaself down bro. like G says everything is close and squaw way better bang for buck

With the amount of late season snow piling up right now, Tahoe is not a bad bet.  If it's not snowing, you'll most likely have primo spring conditions.  California spring riding is a cut above of everywhere else in North America.  The party scene is going to be hands down better than Utah too. 

If you were talking January-March, I would have said Utah, but for April riding Tahoe is a much better bet this year.

True. The past few springs I've been to heavenly were pretty depressing with a lot of bare areas on the lower half.  This is the year to go (...but I already went to Squaw over Valentines, so my Tahoe is probably over for the season)

Right-on!  Thanks for the info, gents!  I think Tahoe it is.  I did the Utah thing this January, and it was ok.  No Fresh Snow and killer spring conditions the day of the AFC championships!?!?  I was rocking a Steelers T-shirt with little more than a rolled-up longsleeved base layer at Snowbasin. 

I can gladly bail on Heavenly....I figured it would be a safe bet on Wednesday, but I'm out.  I definitely want to hit Kirkwood and Squaw.  Squaw has a nice 50$ ticket offer for mid-week, with a college ID.  I've taken 2 classes in the past two years, but its still a valid ID!    I'm probably going to book soon.  I've great things about Kirkwood!

I'm not looking for a Cabo Party; realize when I was riding Snowbasin and Powder Mountain Utah, I stayed in Eden.  No Stoplights, 1, maybe 2 bars (If you count the hotel bar), and one corner market.  I just want a place where I can head and know that there will be some people to hangout with after a long day on the mountain. 

I'm going to have to get some more info on that Ride, Boat, and Eat gig somebody was talking about.  Also, any other insider info (discount lift tickets, chill bars, hidden gems) would be greatly appreciated!

As always, the SB.com people have always been a great help to me when planning trips.

Depending on where you are coming from, you can buy discounted tickets in the Bay Area. If you go to the REI in Folsom, you can get some cheaper tickets for the Tahoe resorts. Depending on how much terrain they have open at the mountains by then though, they might already be discounted at the resorts. And several resorts will do a $100 spring pass that is valid for the rest of the season.

Posted by Agent-G

with as much snow as we have in Tahoe, we should be able to make it to April, even if we didnt get any more storms. I would advise against riding at Heavenly if you came, just because it kinda sucks. I mean, for 6 dollars less you can go to Squaw Valley, and it is only a 45 minute drive away.

Oh, and I dont know how long they are doing it for, but they have this pretty sweet deal for Squaw. You park your car at Ski Run Blvd. at the marina, and you a bus picks you up. The bus drives you to Squaw and gives to a packaged breakfast on the way. Something like muffins, orange juice, yogert, kudos bar, and and orange. They drop you off at the enterence to Squaw with a lift ticket, and then you go riding all day. At the end of the day, the bus picks you up, and drops you off at Kings Beach Marina. The Tahoe Queen picks you up and takes you across the lake. You get fed an all you can eat buffet, and they have a full bar on the boat. So you relax and kick back the two hours it takes to get across the lake, and enjoy the ride. All this for $117. Which isnt bad if you consider that a Squaw ticket is $79

 

Anyways. I dont know what Colorado looks like, but I am sure someone here can tell you

Also you can do a night Ride at Squaw valley! :)

Posted by Agent-G
Depending on where you are coming from, you can buy discounted tickets in the Bay Area. If you go to the REI in Folsom, you can get some cheaper tickets for the Tahoe resorts. Depending on how much terrain they have open at the mountains by then though, they might already be discounted at the resorts. And several resorts will do a $100 spring pass that is valid for the rest of the season.

Looks like I'll be flying into Reno.

okay, well some of the sports shops in Reno like Bobo's Mogul Mouse (yes, that is a real name of a shop) have discounted tickets for North Shore resorts, and I believe the Safeway in Reno sells them too.

After briefly considering the PNW (Hood/T-Line), I bowed down to Tahoe. So here's the deal.
Tues: April 7th Fly from Philly to Reno and arrive in South Lake Tahoe in the AM.
Wednesday: April 8th Probably do Heavenly on Wednesday just because it is close and I won't have to travel after a long day on Tuesday.
Thursday April 9th: Discounts at Squaw Valley for College IDs. SO, Squaw Valley it is.
Friday April 10th: Kirkwood
Saturday: Sqauw or Kirkwood....this is up in the air.

I will be Homeless from Saturday Morning check-out till Sunday afternoon when my flight takes-off. Sooooo, we'll see where the wind blows me.

Anybody who wants to show me some stash runs (I'm a tolerable touron) let me know!