Where should I board in California?
Hey all,
Later this year I’ll be heading overseas to see some family. I’ll be mostly in California, around Anaheim. I haven’t been boarding beyond Victorian mountains and was wondering if any of you guys have been boarding anywhere in the States. Ideally I would head up to Canada and do a week there, but because it’s only a short trip I won’t be able to. Can anybody make a recommendation of somewhere that’s good fun and easy to get to in or near California?
Cheers!
edsbelly
There’s a few hill just out of LA at Big Bear. Would only be about 2hrs to the snow on the I10 then the 330. - shi//y snow like vic, but heaps of park.
Mammoth Mountain is about about 5 hrs drive north on the I15 then the 395 - its mammoth!
Lake Tahoe has some of the best skiing in the USA.
Hey edsbelly,
If it were me, I’d head to Lake Tahoe or Mammoth for sure! I haven’t been to either but that’s exactly where I’d go.
There is also Bear Mountain close to LA.
Let us know what you decide.
Not sure exactly when you’re planning on going, but if it is november or december, you’re not guaranteed any snow at that time of year.
Just ask Deano….got a season pass for a Kirkwood at Lake Tahoe and there wasn’t any snow!
Ahhh I hadn’t even considered the possible lack of snow. I’ll be there at the end of nov- mid dec so I might be getting a bit too ambitious but a boy can dream! I’ll have a poke around and chat to my relos as well and see what they reckon. Thanks for the recommendations guys, I’m looking at pics from Tahoe and Mammoth now and I like what I’m seeing
yeah you’ll be lucky. There *should* be snow but there is absolutely no guarantee. Good luck!
I was there last year between 23 Dec and 7 Jan,basically the same time as Deano, we rode together a couple of days at Northstar but all of Tahoe was basically manmade only, worst start to a season in 22 years apparently. From there went south to Mammoth, basically the same thing. Weirdly the best snow of the trip was Big Bear, awesome resort if you like park. The whole place is basically one big park and its a lot of fun.
If you don’t have much time and you’re in south CA Big Bear is your best bet, the other resorts are a fair drive. Drove 9hours from LAX to Tahoe, then about 3.5hours south to Mammoth, awesome drive that though.
Ahhkay well I’m not sure if I’ll be driving or trying to catch a bus. I’ll investigate Big Bear as well! Thanks for the extra info from your experience nthnbeachesguy
Yeh tahoe was balls, only man made snow. Still fun but nothing like what i expected.
I wouldn’t lock in anything until you are over there and then go where the snow is!
There is a big difference in Big Bear and Mamaouth to the Tahoe resorts. One can get snow and the other can’t.
When I live at Tahoe I was there from the end of Nov and we had an epic season and there was heaps of snow around (but no the whole resort wasn’t open!)
The one think about Heavenly though is that it has the largest snow making in the Nth Hem. So if you really wanted a slide and you had to lock something in I would book Heavenly.
But yeah public transport from LA to Tahoe is a bit of a shit! If you do go to Tahoe then fly to Reno not SF.
i was thinking of doing some boarding in cali for a while but am traveling alone. what are some of the accomodation options in tahoe, big bear or mammoth if i were to go there for around 1-2months?
Tahoe has some super cheap hotel options. Depends how cheap you want to go!!
It is almost a city and winter is the off peak time!
So flea bitten motel to Vegas like hotel suites on the Nevada side of the street.
I know a couple of guys rented a hotel room for the season (cheaper than staff housing) but all they had was a microwave for meals. You could def negotiate (when you do tell them you don’t want it serviced every day and things like that)
But you will need a car to get around to the other resorts - basing yourself at Heavenly would be a good option and befriend some of the staff and grab a ride with them when the go to other resorts.