Average of 14 Reviews
All User Reviews
I have skied all of the mountains in Tahoe over the past 25 years and I never tire of Squaw. It has terrain that challenges the very advanced skiers--that's a given. But what I really love about it is that it has a TON of challenging terrain for the intermediate - advanced skier, which is where most skiers classify, myself included.
I was at Squaw last weekend in the middle of a big storm. It was raining at the bottom of the mountain, but sure enough when I got off the gondola mid-mountain, it was pure snow. At the top it was a literal white out. That weekend I did some of the best skiing of my life in knee-high powder. The wind was pelting us on the front sie of the mountain, but on the backside near the Shirley's Lake chair it was a calm snowy day in the woods. The Tree Runs 1-5 were amazing, as were the backside bowls off of the top of the mountain.
They recently renovated the restaurant mid-mountain was CROWDED. But had good hearty food.
It was my birthday weekend, and for a treat my boyfriend rented a condo in the village at the base of the mountain. (The village is new in the past 10 years--it was buit to resemble a European ski village and is really pretty). If you ever get the chance to stay in the Squaw Valley resort village, I recommend it. Our condo was so convenient, had a nice kitchen, a great whirlpool tub, and was just really comfortable. We met friends for drinks in the village and ate at the village bistro one night. It was just awesome. Not sure how much it cost--it seems liek it would be pricey. But definitely worth it if you want something a little luxurious.
Squaw is the Monster of Tahoe. The resort is 6 different mountains, all with many, many distinct above treeline bowls. Although the resort is a big pricey, it makes up in it's world-class terrain. Take the tram up to High Camp for a variety beginner runs with great views and good snow due to the high altitude. Even though the runs are a little short and somewhat flat, it is still a great learning area. The intermediate runs are in huge numbers. Shirley Lake provides the Tree Runs and Shirley Bowl, which are tree-lined slopes that vary in pitch and are immense. Gold Coast provides easier intermediate terrain, which can be accessed from the top of the Gold Coast Funitel, the only funitel in North America! Red Dog is another tree covered area with a easy intermediate slopes.
But Squaw is most famous for its expert terrain. From the main parking lot, KT-22 stares at you, daring you to head up to the expert-only peak. From the top of the rated #1 lift in the world many times, you can head down Rock Gardens, an rocky and steep chute, Jonny Moseley's Run, a long bump run that is very steep and named after the Olympic bump skier Jonny Moseley, Women's Downhill, a steep and wide open bowl, or the famous Fingers. The Fingers are many rock lined chutes that are mandatory straightlines with large cliff drops. On powder days, the best skiers in the area will ski these chutes in packs and it is a great sight to watch.
Also, the Headwall lift has a couple hundred vertical feet of steep expert terrain. Try Hogsback, a less skied powder bowl with a double fall line! Or Headwall, which is a wide open above-tree line run directly under the lift with slopes of high 30s to low 40s!
Granite Chief is another advanced chair lift. Granite Chief offers above tree line terrain like the famous hike-to Smoothie run to long glades.
Siberia Express is another good advanced chair. From here, you can access the Terrain Park, Siberia Bowl, and the Palisades. I found the Terrain Park to be limited, but it is worth a try. Siberia Bowl is the vastest of vast bowls (LOL!) with a continuous high 20s degrees with a groomed track down the middle. The Palisades are hike-to terrain and very very famous. Off the Palisades are 60 degree chutes and 80 foot cliffs such as Chimney Sweep, Bower's Tower, Schmidiot, or Extra Chute.
Overall, Squaw is a good mountain if you want to just ski. Crowds do not seem to be a problem, but are there. The nightlife is limited but there, and it is somewhat family friendly with lift tickets of $16 for children! Yet, the adult tickets are very expensive such as a season pass is $1600! The beginner, intermediate, and advanced skier or snowboarder has too much terrain to deal with at the Squaw!
Recommended.
After 25+ years of skiing and working (part-time in college)at Kirkwood, I gave up on Kirkwood. I didn't give up on the mountain or the snow, I have up on the ownership. From 2000 on, they stinted on mountain/lift improvements (their "new" chairs are a joke). Ownership focused on condo development, not preserving and enhancing the mountain. Parking lots covered with condos, resulting in TRAFFIC JAMS on Highway 88 on multiple powder days. For any of you Kirkwood fans, don't blame CalTrans for those missed freshies, blame Kirkwood onwership.
Kirkwood, circa 2000-2009: fail.
Squaw might be a scene, it might have its share of posuers etc., but it's got variety, it's got steep and the powder is just fine. Most important, though, they know how to handle crowds
Flat out, Squaw rules and has it all. You can always find a little stash and stay away from the people. There is nothing better that KT on a blue bird morning. You can get more non-stop laps in than you know what to do with. Fastest path to the top of the mountain - KT to Headwall.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Trilogy Spa at Squaw Valley over Valentine's Day weekend.
The facility is extremely clean and quiet and the staff was very helpful.
And if you're an expecting mother:
Prenatal Massage Named best of and featured in LA's Allure Magazine 2008
A massage specially designed for someone most deserving of relaxation; the Mother-to-be! Relax and unwind before baby arrives. (only available after the first trimester)
reviewed February 14, 2009 at 2:26 pm Squaw is a wonderful mountain. Although I live in CA I had not skied there for 14 years from the early 90's through 2008. I resumed skiing 10-15 days per year in 1999 and have improved to advanced-expert level over the last few years. I have mainly skied CO and UT over the last 10 years but last year skied 8 days at Squaw between March and April and found it outstanding. Once you get onto the expert terrain there, the lines die down. Silverado provides you access to back bowl terrain that is similar to albeit much smaller Vail like experience with fairly long runs. KT-22, Headwall and Granite Chief all offer some outstanding and challenging terrain. If Palisades is open you can get a back country feel and ski through a pristine quiet forest area. I truly enjoyed skiing there after being spoiled in UT and CO the last 10 years. I upped my ski days to 18 last year and am on track for 25-30 days this year as a point of reference.
reviewed March 2, 2009 at 3:36 pm I finally made it to Squaw for a day and had a fantastic time. They have terrain for every skill level and plenty of it.
The issues are well known. It's crowded on the weekends and it resulted in quite a few lift lines. Also, the patrol could do a much better job at the top of the lifts. It was often far too crowded and dangerous. I haven't ever been to another resort where they let it get that out of control. I witnessed many collisions.
If you're looking for good skiing, especially within driving distance from the Bay Area, it's a great option. Highly recommended.
reviewed May 8, 2009 at 10:37 am Squaw's reputation is built on its expert terrain and for a good reason- if you ski Squaw, you can ski anywhere. The mountian is huge and has tons of nooks and crannies that you learn only in several years of skiing there (and then yuo keep discovering new places long time after that). Snow is Sierra sticky cement, which makes a lot of very steep runs actually skiable, which is one of the reasons why Squaw is a magnet for ski stars. On a sunny powder day the mountian looks like a Warren Miller movie- skiers ripping huge air and huge turns everywhere (on a second thought, some of those guys ARE in the Warren Miller movies, so no wonder). On the other side of the spectrum, the bunny hills are at the top of the mountain, so beginners actually get to see the views and understand what skiing is about (unlike other mountains where they get stuck at the bottom with a view of a valley parking lot). If I had to list a drawback it is that the intermediate terrain is not nearly as exciting as expert terrain, so my guests may not have the same great experience, but I am certainly not complaining...
Other things: season pass was stupidly expensive until this year.
reviewed January 30, 2009 at 6:32 pm I had only skied once in my life (I was 10), then skied at Squaw as a beginner when I was 24. It's a completely reasonable drive from San Francisco.
I got a lesson in the morning on some bunnies, then ended up skiing blue greens for the rest of the day after that.
There are a ton of blue and green runs so I was thoroughly entertained, but the mountain is so huge that the very advanced skiers I was with just did their own thing all day and had a blast as well.
I have been back since, still an intermediate, and messed around the terrain park a bit, but I don't know enough about terrain parks to leave a review for that. I'll definitely hit Squaw again.
Only Skiied KT-22 and Headwall... For about 3 hours... 30 runs total or so...
Lots of expert terrain that not only tests your body but also your mind.
Love it!
this is a great mountain. it's so huge -- feels like the biggest in tahoe, to me -- so it's got almost any type of terrain imaginable. it particularly has a lot of runs for the intermediate/advanced (myself included). feels like you could ski all day and never repeat a run.
only drawback is that there isn't much of a town around it, so if you make a trip out to tahoe you're likely going to stay at least a bit of a drive from the mountain. last time we hit up squaw, we stayed a 15 min drive away (which feels like an eternity if you're a spoiled californian and are used to skiing mammoth, where there is lodging abound within a short shuttle ride away). but i can live with the drive....
....which brings me to the other con that is worth docking a star (to those of us who are trimming back in this economy)...the lift tickets are exorbitantly expensive (like at mammoth), but it's hard to swallow because squaw is surrounded by so many other good mountains that are much cheaper.
anyway, still like this place and will definitely keep going back.
Oh -- side note. This might be totally irrelevant to most people, but the food at the lodge atop the funitel at Squaw is TERRIBLE. A lot of people brought their own sandwich fixings, which seemed like a good idea because a) it'd definitely be tastier, and b) it'd definitely be waaaaay cheaper. I saw this guy in front of me in line buy an apple and a hard-boiled egg for $5.50. Seriously.
