Most people head to California for the sun and the beaches but we dig the sun and the snow more! We have skied the Lake Thoe area for decades but just recently went back to two old favs: Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley – now renamed Tahoe Palisades.
Highlights of Mammoth Mountain
With 100 km of ski routes, 28 lifts, 178 runs and 945 m of vertical Mammoth mountain is aptly named. The skiing is spread over 5 peaks of the Sierra Nevada ranges. It’s approx. 20 % beginner, 54% intermediate and 26% Advanced. It’s open almost 6 months of the year from November to June making it the biggest ski area in California with the longest season. We visited in early March and were blown away by the sheer vastness of the area and the visibility – as we had pure bluebird days.
Skiing highlights
Mammoth is so big and open and endless that it’s quite nice to duck down to the lower slopes for a bit of cosy tree skiing – especially if it is windy. But like most people, we headed for the upper bowls and enjoyed the cruisy blues in the bowl off the Summit then once we’d warmed up we headed up Chair 23 and the Panorama Gondola and scooted along the upper ridge, to pop in to Dave’s Run and some ungroomed steeps. If you want to stretch your ski day out take the last ride up to the Summit and from there you can ski all the way to the base which is a great long way home.
Après Ski highlights
Mammoth goes off after 3pm with loud music in the bars at the base of the mountain at Canyon Lodge and then live music in town at many of the pubs in town. The resort has a bit of charm with lots of stone and wood and big stuffed wooly things like bears and mammoths and it’s a great place to hang after a day on the slopes and swap ski tips and tales.
Highlights of Tahoe Palisades
I lived and worked in Tahoe Palisades many moons ago when it was still called Squaw Valley (aka Dig-me valley) and when legends were made (and broken)skiing KT-22 on a powder day. We returned just after it was renamed and whilst I understand why it was renamed I felt a little nostalgic for me – and the old Squaw. Gone was Perkins Deli where I used to make sandwiches in the parking lot, gone was the old ski-tuning shop were my ex used to wax my skis for free and gone was the independent olympic legends feel of the place. The town felt all a bit ‘new and rebranded’ and had a lot more big resort feel with huge developments still underway. Yet once we got out and on the mountain the big towering ‘Palisades’ were still there, the expansive terrain, the impressive peaks and yep old KT-22 and Palisades peaks still shook me both riding up and skiing down!
Skiing Highlights
We only managed a day trip to Tahoe Palisades as we were staying down in South Lake Tahoe closer to Mammoth and Heavenly so we focused on revisiting our favourite runs which were all on the face of Palisades. Our picks were:
- Kt-22 express chair to a whole slew of black and double black chutes, bowls and runs
- Red dog chair to get into the Christmas trees and stashes in Paris Glades
- Headwall Express to get to Headwall face and North Bowl – great after a fresh fall
- Granite Chief for High voltage and main backside
The new Base to Base Gondola linking Tahoe Palisades to the old Alpine Meadows ski area had just opened but we didn’t venture over there. My sister lived in Alpine Meadows a long time ago and I have skied there a bit and always enjoyed the calm cruisy blue runs – so if this is what you’re after it would be worth the Gondola trip over. We did manage a visit to the Olympic museum as my husband’s uncle competed for Australia in the ice hockey team back in 1966 and we wanted to fidn some articles about the team (which we did!).
