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Reno as Base for Tahoe???

post #1 of 39
9/26/05 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
Hiya all! Although we have reserved both in Reno and SLT, I'm thinking about just staying put in Reno. Out of 8 days skiing, 2 will be Squaw, 2 Alpine, 1 Sugarbowl, 1 Northstar, 2 Heavenly. North Shore lodging is too expensive, so that's out.

So, use I-80 for the northern resorts, and drive twice about 45 minutes to Heavenly? The last day in Tahoe will be Heavenly, then we drive to Mammoth for 6 days.

Wifey (and son) don't like moving from hotel to hotel; me, I'm a trooper, but it is after all supposed to be a "relaxing" vacation.

Dates are 12/28-1/6.

Gracias!
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post #2 of 39
9/26/05 at 4:17pm
Kirkwood is the most compelling reason to sleep some of the time at South Shore (or Minden/Gardnerville, which is very cheap and 1/2 hour closer to Mammoth). It also helps for Sierra-at-Tahoe if you were considering skiing there.
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post #3 of 39
9/26/05 at 4:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gpaul
North Shore lodging is too expensive, so that's out. Dates are 12/28-1/6. Gracias!
I could see how lodging is costly (not to mention availability being a problem) if you're there between Christmas and New Years. Have you check rates after 1/2? If they drop after holiday weekend, you could stay in Reno over the holidays and find something on the North Shore until you go to Mammoth. There just seems to be such a large inventory of condos on the North Shore, particularly around Kings Beach, that you could find more affordable options after 1/2.
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post #4 of 39
9/26/05 at 5:29pm

Reality Check

It's a holiday week. Traffic will be a nightmare whether good or bad weather. In the bad weather the bad driving, bad roads, and bad tempers make for gridlock. Locals tend to hibernate so they're not the problem. 89 to Squaw and Alpine will be stop and go. 267 to N* stops at about the airport. I-80 upto Sugar Bowl should be ok, but old-40 may be a better route (up, not down). And that's Northshore. The driving and driving conditions are even worse in Southshore. Sorry Remember Mount Rose is very accessible from Reno. If you have to go to the main ski areas going earlier, much earlier, gets you on the mountain and skiing before the mob shows up.

Mammoth is miles away from anywhere. You basically have to stay there to ski there.
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post #5 of 39
9/27/05 at 11:39am
Thread Starter 
TLocal, you're brutal, Thanks! We will depart Reno at 7AM every morning, thus hopefully reaching all resorts before 8AM. What you say?

Tony and wingnutter, tks for suggestions.
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post #6 of 39
9/27/05 at 12:14pm
I always use Reno as a base for the same reason you stated of being between the North and South Shores. I stay cheap in the casinos. I also leave early but 7AM out there is really 10AM here on the East. The long drive, even to Kirkwood, does not bother me. Besides, the gaper view is great! From Reno, I think it's about 45 minutes to the North Shore areas, an hour plus to Heavenly, and an hour and 45 minutes to Kirkwood in good weather and little to no traffic.
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post #7 of 39
9/27/05 at 12:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gpaul
TLocal, you're brutal, Thanks! We will depart Reno at 7AM every morning, thus hopefully reaching all resorts before 8AM. What you say?
Brutal ? BRUTAL ! You need to know that it's bad up here on a holiday weekend let alone a holiday week, and New Year's is the worst, except for New Year's Day. I'd suggest leaving even earlier than 7:00 from Reno. Breakfast at the mountain. Stand in line for first/early lift (which doesn't work worth sh*t at Squaw). Leave early or stay late. Note that the biggest problem areas will be Squaw (but to get to Alpine you need to go past Squaw) and Heavenly and possibly N*. Some parking lots fill up and so are effectively closed to more skiers. It's a mad house Think trying to get through Albertville on a Saturday and we'll have that all week long. The 200 mile drive to Mammoth is cool though.
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post #8 of 39
9/27/05 at 12:48pm
You should check out the shuttle bus service that stops at all the big Reno hotels. Last season it was less than $60.00 for the ride & lift ticket. There is service to Mt. Rose and Northstar; others I'm not sure about. There is a link on the Mt. Rose ski website. BTW, the Peppermill is probably the best choice if you have to stay at a casino with a family.
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post #9 of 39
9/27/05 at 12:57pm
with a wife and son - Moving from hotel to hotel, being stuck on the roads in snow, with slow moving traffic is NO VACATION.
stay put in Reno. There is plenty of skiing of North Tahoe.
Bag Heavenly, mammoth, sierra, kirkwood etc. They are all great mountains. But not worth the trouble. There is nothing you can get at these resorts that you can't
access within a 45 min drive of Reno

If you ABSOLUTELY have to go to Mammoth - I suggest you do heavenly on the day you drive to mammoth. there is no point in driving to SLT back and forth.
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post #10 of 39
9/27/05 at 3:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gpaul
Hiya all! Although we have reserved both in Reno and SLT, I'm thinking about just staying put in Reno. Out of 8 days skiing, 2 will be Squaw, 2 Alpine, 1 Sugarbowl, 1 Northstar, 2 Heavenly. North Shore lodging is too expensive, so that's out.

So, use I-80 for the northern resorts, and drive twice about 45 minutes to Heavenly? The last day in Tahoe will be Heavenly, then we drive to Mammoth for 6 days.

Wifey (and son) don't like moving from hotel to hotel; me, I'm a trooper, but it is after all supposed to be a "relaxing" vacation.

Dates are 12/28-1/6.

Gracias!
if your renting a car, make sure you know how to chain up. When CA/NV enacts the chain law they mean it. A away around this, when can pay $20.00 to the chain monkees to put them on. Or rent a 4 wheel drive. Be ready to spend hours driving back n forth. it can get nasty on Donner Pass to and from the resorts in that area.
Have fun.
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post #11 of 39
9/27/05 at 4:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tahoetr
it can get nasty on Donner Pass to and from the resorts in that area.
That's a good point. Most of the ski areas at the North Shore are at an elevation of around 6000' . Areas at the summit (Boreal, Sugar Bowl, ...) require going upto, or over, Donner Summit which is, I believe, at elevation 7227'. The difference in elevation yields significantly different snowfall amounts and driving situations. On the other hand the traffic seems to stall out at Truckee, and just plain stop in Tahoe City.
ps. The new traffic circles at the intersection of I-80 and 89 South in Truckee are nearly ready. It should be fun watching the carnage there when it opens - two roundabouts, four lanes, thousands of cars. Just imagine how bad it will be on a snow day. During a holiday. Add a British driver on the wrong side of the road : We're thinking of taking some chairs and some numbered boards, like for ice skating, to score the creativity of the driving :
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post #12 of 39
9/27/05 at 5:19pm
you could place #'d stick around the roundabout, and play round about lotto,,, who ever picked the #'s stick where the acciedent happens, they get free beer.:

Ya So. Lake Tahoe wants to build one to , i'm not too keen on that idea. Ya sure the people from Europe will have no problems, it's the natives i worry about:
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post #13 of 39
9/27/05 at 5:41pm
With all respect, that plan is totally insane.

I stayed in South Lake last New Years. During the one bluebird day, traffic was stopped from Kingsbury Grade all the way to the CA entrance of Heavenly. It took half an hour to go 200 feet, after which I turned around and built a booter in the front yard. North Lake will be a parking lot, too, from the freeway to Tahoe City and Northstar.

If you want a low stress vacation, either:
1) rent in Incline Village and ski Diamond Peak/Mt Rose
2) rent at the base of Squaw or Alpine and ski there

Otherwise you will be spending all your time in a car, in traffic, getting cramped and irritable.
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post #14 of 39
9/27/05 at 5:48pm

Find a way to drive less

If you want to relax, then do more searching for a place closer to the resorts you want to ski, and stay there. I agree that the amount of driving you're considering is bound to lead to more stress and less ski time than you'd want.
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post #15 of 39
9/27/05 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tahoetr
... it's the natives i worry about:
It's been known for some locals to go round, and round, and round, and ... on the existing circle just because. It's not like we're going anywhere and it's kind of fun to see if you can hang out the rear end. But one roundabout is easy, two back-to-back will be more challenging. In Swindon, England, there's something called 'The Magic Roundabout'. I have a friend that totalled a car (rental) on that 'one' - any English Bears got any stories on that junction - it's world famous ?
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post #16 of 39
9/28/05 at 2:01am
Thread Starter 
We had roundabouts until the # of cars in the city surpassed 10M, then they were bulldozed.

Maybe I should change venues altogether&^^%$#@**& !!!! Y'all are scaring the H out of me with those traffic horror stories.

For comparison, is it much,much worse than driving from Salt Lake City to Snowbird/Alta while snowing, during the holidays? I was not bothered by this.

Heck, maybe I'll just bite the bullet and go to Mammoth first (12/29-1/3) and then on to Tahoe (1/4-11). Mind you, room rates @ Mammoth are primo at this time....

Or.... Reno 12/29-1/1 for Squaw,Alpine,N*, and 1 block from Heavenly Gondola 1/2-5 for walk-to-lift @ Heavenly, no driving for 4 days.... Yeah, you don't particularly like Heavenly, but what the heck, better than driving based on your thoughts?????
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post #17 of 39
9/28/05 at 5:16am
salt lake to snowbasin is a easy drive. Your going agaisnt the morning rush hr and agaisnt the evening rush hr.
Utah does a great job keeping roads open and clear( to many tree huggers fears they use slat on the roads.
It is about an hr drive up to Snowbasin. 30min to Park city, 30-35 min to the resorts in the Cottonwoods.
Other than Friday, Saturday, Sunday, The Tahoe area can be pretty mellow. My wife works for a major property management company in SO. Lake Tahoe, Monday -Thru, they might not be 30 % full. Come Fridays it gets to be crazy.
Not sure what the north end of the lake is like.
Summers are a night mare around the entire area.
But for some reason CA doesn't know how to handle all the traffic and snow. Yet they have had years of practice trying to keep up with snow plowing.
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post #18 of 39
9/28/05 at 7:45am
Driving in Tahoe vs Salt Lake City is kind of a Hobson's choice. In Tahoe you've got the volume of traffic, in Utah you've got the inept driving (even compared to Californian flatlanders in their monster SUVs on snowy roads). You're coming on a holiday period. If you're stuck with that decision then the consequences are the traffic. I suspect the volume of traffic in Utah will not swell the way it does in Tahoe. I suspect, too, that the number of skiers doesn't get unmanageable in Utah compared to Tahoe. But you're coming from UK right ? A joker in the pack is the beer in Utah (just to sabotage the message thread) And remember there are other things going on in Reno like gambling, shows, ... Not that there isn't in SLC - it's just that it's more tame there :
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post #19 of 39
9/28/05 at 10:26am
Nearly all of my traffic horror stories have been at Tahoe. I said way back in the original thread that this trip was best done with the peak week at Mammoth, moving to Tahoe after New Year's.

That said I have had several President's and MLK weekends at Tahoe and done OK. If you go to Squaw or Alpine, absolutely follow Truckee Local's advice to leave before 7AM and have breakfast at the mountain before it opens. Driving to Mt. Rose, Kirkwood via Hwy 88 from Gardnerville or to the Boulder or Stagecoach bases of Heavenly will be manageable traffic wise. Gridlock is most likely around Tahoe City on North Shore and the casino-to-California-base-of-Heavenly area on South Shore.

If you have snowy weather in combination with the holiday crowds you have a bigger problem. Northstar is the closest to Reno with sheltered terrain, but everyone knows that so the leave early advice applies even more. If it's only a moderate storm and the road and lifts are open at Mt. Rose go there for the shortest drive and excellent terrain for powder.
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post #20 of 39
9/28/05 at 3:32pm
I was thinking of doing a similar trip this year too. First was planning to stay in South Lake Tahoe and do a Day trip to Squaw and North Star. But have since changed my mind and may stay a few days in the south then drive and stay a few days in the north. Got my plans for the south (Harvey's) but no plans for the North. Anyone know a good spot for a couple of days? Oh yea, going in the beginning of March.

Thanks,
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post #21 of 39
9/28/05 at 3:42pm
Gpaul...


There are two older small casinos located on Hwy 28 on the North Shore, the Cal-Neva and another whose name I am blanking on. They have some pretty good lodging deals.

Also, check the hotels around Truckee, if you haven't. There are a couple of lower priced places. This puts you in easy reach of Sugar Bowl, Alpine, Squaw and Flatstar.
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post #22 of 39
9/28/05 at 8:07pm
Depending on conditions, I'm planning on heading out to Reno in early February for some mid-week action spent between Mt Rose, Squaw Valley, and possibly a one day excursion to Heavenly.

What could I expect the traffic to be like then?
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post #23 of 39
9/28/05 at 8:21pm
Anywhere in the Tahoe/Truckee region, mid-week, non-holiday, non-storm is no problem. Christmas/New Years week is absolutely miserable. Even without a storm to thoroughly mess things up, the crowds will ensure one gets little skiing in and lots of frustration! Best to do everything possible to plan the trip during another time.
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post #24 of 39
9/29/05 at 9:30am
How far is truckee from Sqaw and Northstar?
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post #25 of 39
9/29/05 at 9:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ullr
How far is truckee from Sqaw and Northstar?
Truckee is 5 miles from Northstar, 8 miles from Squaw Valley and Sugar Bowl, 10 miles from Alpine Meadows. Ballpark.

On a holiday weekend they may as well be 50 miles away Both Northstar and Squaw are infamous for their parking lots filling up quickly.
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post #26 of 39
9/29/05 at 11:11am

Early arrival required

Plan ahead, get up early, go skiing, and don't worry about the hassles too much I live in SF Bay Area, and end up skiing a lot of holiday weekends. If you can get into the parking lot at Squaw BEFORE 8:30, you're going to be fine. Take advantage of the apres ski scene because you won't be able to get out of the lot anyway.

Is it optimal? No, but it beats staying at home. If I were local would I ski during these peak times? Probably not. IMO, the fear of crowds is a little overblown if you're an early riser...
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post #27 of 39
9/29/05 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dino
If I were local would I ski during these peak times? Probably not. IMO, the fear of crowds is a little overblown if you're an early riser...
I absolutely agree. I'm always amazed at the number of folks who are driving around at 10:00 am. Where are they going ? What are the ski conditions and lift lines like when they get there ? I can't imagine skiing being that much fun for these folks. The best times to ski are first lift and last lift with things steadily deteriorating in between.
I ski midweek mornings and have to be dragged screaming and kicking during the weekend. On the rare weekends I spend my time enjoying the visitors' enthusiasm more than the skiing itself.
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post #28 of 39
9/29/05 at 1:16pm
I agree with Dino. I ski ONLY weekends and all the prime weekends - christmas, new years, MLK, presidents. i have a great time. My secret - well i guess its no longer a secret - Be there for first chair - 830am, no traffic on the roads - nobody on the hill. and i am talking prime resorts like squaw and Heavenly. till about 10am - the chairs are not even full sometimes. crowd picks up at 1030. at 11am - i hit the restaurants - when the restaurants are empty. i hit the slope again by 1130-1145 - by the time everybody else is thinking of food. ski till 130pm or 2pm. I am on the road latest by 230pm after skiing a hard 4.5 to 5 hours. no traffic anywhere.
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post #29 of 39
10/1/05 at 5:38am
Thread Starter 
irul&ublo, tks. Any opinions on the Biltmore near Incline?

Dino, Marty, and TruckeeLocal, whew!!! You laid my fears to rest. We definitely are early risers, and will be at the mountains at least 1/2 hour before the lifts open, in line 10 minutes before first chair.

At Squaw, any early lift less congested than others?

For other resorts (Sbowl, Rose and Alpine) any "tactics"?

Thanks kids.
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post #30 of 39
10/1/05 at 11:51am
The secret to Squaw is to get up the mountain as quickly as possible and then fan out to the lifts. The Funitel is the best bet, but worst organized line. Ski from there to Emmigrant then drop into either Shirley Lake for intermediates or Granite Chief for experts. Bale when the crowds get to big down to the bottom of the mountain - Big Red, etc.

Sugar Bowl - don't take the gondola unless you're there early and want to breakfast at the old lodge. Other than that it's generally pretty accessible.

Alpine - follow the sun (and crowds). The left side of the area, looking uphill, is generally less crowded and has views of Lake Tahoe from the top.

Mount Rose - take the high-speed six 'till you're tired then head over to the slower lifts on the Slide Mountain side.
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