Heading to Tahoe dec2011/jan2012
Hi guys, as the title states im heading to tahoe late this year with the missus and keen to hear any tips from any of you who have been there in terms of accommodation/car hire/resorts?
I have been doing a metric f#*kload of research on the net(mostly at snowboardingforum.com) and got a lot of good info,like 5 printed a4 pages, but curious to hear reports from aussies.
Looking to stay in Tahoe City for most of our time in tahoe, might stay a few nights at South Lake Tahoe unless the drive from Tahoe City to resorts like kirkwood/heavenly/sierra isnt too bad?
What carrier did you use for internal US flights? Planning on visiting vegas(for obvious reasons) although what is the drive like from tahoe to vegas?(if anyone has done it) and heading to boston to see the celtics play.
Cheers guys,
Hey deanobruce, welcome to Boardworld! 
Sounds like you’re organising an awesome trip there! How long are you going to be in Tahoe for?
You a Celtics fan? 
Thanks mate!
Yeh well after being to nz 3 times i thought it was time to head furthar afield, was tossing up between japan/canada/US,
but i have had mates go to japan, got mates that live in whistler so i thought why not try something different so Tahoe it is. Looking to be in Tahoe for 2-3 weeks, maybe longer see how we go in terms of snow.
And yes big celtics fan! although their form the last few weeks is troubling!
You’re welcome.
You didn’t tell me how long you’re going to Tahoe for? 
I’m a diehard Heat fan myself (been supporting them for almost 15 years, not a LBJ bandwagon supporter). Made it to two games in Miami this season while I was travelling from Whistler to the Bahamas, so stoked! Yeah their form is a bit troubling (which is good news for me, I want that number two seed! haha). I wouldn’t worry too much, as you know the Celtics are a playoff team. You need your two big centers back on the court and healthy!
I’ve done a few trips out there, the longest being about a 10-day stint I tacked on to the end of a season in Fernie. We stayed at this place:
http://www.staynorthtahoe.com/
Which isn’t the most luxurious place in the world, but it’s cheap as chups (I’m a Kiwi, hope that’s okay as you ask for an Aussie’s opinion ) and has everything you need. It’s 2 minutes walk from the Biltmore casino, which does like a $3 or $4 breakfast during the ski season! Once we got sick of “toast, eggs and your choice of bacon, sausage or ham” we rolled into the supermarket on the way to the resorts and picked up a bagel and cream cheese, again for sooooper cheap. I’ve ridden Northstar, Alpine Meadows, Squaw, Heavenly, Boreal and Homewood.
Northstar is just plain rad - even if you’re not a park rider, there’s enough stuff of all levels there that I guarantee you’ll find fun things to hit and progress. Their terrain is decent too, not super steep but lots of great tree runs. You should go once to check out The Stash, too.
I only hit Alpine and Squaw right at the end of the season but Squaw is famous for wicked terrain. Check both of these out.
Homewood is a rad little resort that has good terrain and doesn’t get as busy as the bigger resorts. I managed to score fresh turns the day after a pretty big dump.
Boreal is mainly a park mountain, they have other terrain too that is decent, but again the Californians know how to build safe, fun parks for all levels. They also do night riding, so that’s a fun option if you arrive in Tahoe in the morning and want to shred that day
I wasn’t that impressed with Heavenly. It’s big, and wide, but kinda flat and very much a skiers mountain. I’m sure there’s good terrain, but it didn’t really interest me.
I flew Southwest airlines within the US and they were decent. I live in Canada and have flown United/Continental a lot - they are sh*t, no bones about it.
I think we got a killer deal on a rental car from Budget. Split between 2 people it was really cheap for 10 days.
One more thing - I haven’t driven to Vegas but I’ve driven Truckee to Salt Lake City (and back), a 9-hour drive each way. Nevada is everything you think it is, looooooooong stretches of road through barren desert and you forget when you last turned a corner. On the plus side, the speed limit is 75 mph 
We stopped in Reno on the way there for food, and then hit a massive storm going up the hill to Truckee. Probably the most intense snow I’ve ever driven in, just because it was so heavy and the flakes were so big that I really couldn’t see anything at all. I had my main lights off and just the foglights on, driving in the middle lane of a 3-lane highway just trying to stay between the reflectors on either side of the road. Hardcore! I happened to be in a Subie Outback that was pretty capable, but I think if I was in a rental without chains I would have said f-it and waited it out.
Planning on 2 weeks at the moment, maybe less see how we go.
we lost to the hawks today/yesterday so im starting to get abit worried. Hoping injuries dont play a part of the playoffs again this year, as doc rivers says” we havent lost a playoff game with our starting 5 healthy”
That Tahoe Inn looks perfect, i am happy to stay in ghetto spec hotels buuut the missus is coming with me so she wants decent, It is in a pretty good postion in relation to the resorts(the furthest being heavenly which is 40km’s away) so thats good.
The resorts i have read as being the best there(best being subjective of course) was homewood, kirkwood the top two with squaw a close third followed by the rest. But to be honest im sure they all rip on the aussie resorts so im sure i will be happy. The only limiting factor will be the fact my missus is only a beginner, do most resorts have a fair amount of green runs she can play on whilst i run amok by myself?
I know at squaw the greens are up top and blacks/blues are down the bottom which is cool. I have been told to go to heavenly at least once for the view(im sure the missus will love this).
I have read many a good thing about southwest airlines(apart from half of its fleet being grounded due to a hole in a plane) so will most likely be using them for any internal flights, vegas looks too far to drive for my liking so will fly. As for a car im leaning towards getting a 4x4 with decent snow tires depending on cost, which im sure will be extreme,
Thanks for the responses!
Hi guys, as the title states im heading to tahoe late this year with the missus and keen to hear any tips from any of you who have been there in terms of accommodation/car hire/resorts?
I have been doing a metric f#*kload of research on the net(mostly at snowboardingforum.com) and got a lot of good info,like 5 printed a4 pages, but curious to hear reports from aussies.
Looking to stay in Tahoe City for most of our time in tahoe, might stay a few nights at South Lake Tahoe unless the drive from Tahoe City to resorts like kirkwood/heavenly/sierra isnt too bad?
What carrier did you use for internal US flights? Planning on visiting vegas(for obvious reasons) although what is the drive like from tahoe to vegas?(if anyone has done it) and heading to boston to see the celtics play.
Cheers guys,
I’m not an Aussie, so no answers from me.
OK, I lived in California for a good part of my life.
Cheap accommodation is pretty much all in South Lake, the town is low-key and slightly downscale, but I used to live there. North Lake is generally more upscale and more expensive. And SLT is the best bet for visiting Kirkwood, which would be my recommended resort on the south shore. The drive from north Tahoe can be a long one, the road on the western side of the lake (CA 89) is often closed due to a very sketchy portion around ten miles north of SLT.
Internal US flights, book ahead (2-3 weeks in general), the carriers are pretty competitive, so in general, there’s not a tremendous amount of difference in price. Expedia is probably your best bet for comparing fares.
Car hire- alamo seems to be pretty good price-wise, again shop around, and use the various online coupons on the websites. If you’re traveling in the winter, you will probably need a SUV.
Tahoe to Vegas- drive. Stop in Mammoth on the way, and enjoy the scenery in the Eastern Sierras, it’s some of the most beautiful stretches of road anywhere in the US.
Tahoe to Boston- fly, but then try to catch Boston when they’re playing the Lakers in L.A., then drive down to L.A.
Cheers mate, i should point out my reference for only aussies to comment was aimed at mostly who they flew with to tahoe(but i didnt make myself clear on that one so i apologise)
That drive to vegas looks fun! but i have done worse and i could just stop at mammoth for an hour or so and take in the scenery and give me an excuse to get my camera out. As for watching the celtics at LA i have friends who will be up in boston anyway so will most likely just fly there to watch them and send out gear home.
On that note, has anyone shipped there gear home before? I understand its not going to be cheap but would prefer to not carry my gear around the country when i dont need to.