Tahoe

[Garmstronger]

@Alkasquawlik & @kimchi , i need to connect with you two at Squaw this season. I ran a B&B at the base of Alpine Meadows for years, so rode there daily and never figured the Squaw side out(only ridden there 3 times maybe). These days I'm mostly at Kirkwood or the occasional night at Boreal or family trip to Nstar

[kimchi]

I’m an OV guy, I just like the terrain better and know that side of the hill better. Flow is definitely an issue but the individual zones are sick.

But vibes are definitely way better at Alpine. OV the a weird energy of colliding crowds of aggro dirtbags and bougie kooks.

Keeping this in mind. Will be there for the first time over President's Day weekend which I'm sure will be a shitshow.

You should be fine during the week but I would focus on Alpine side during the holiday weekend.

Up right now at OV. Should be dope as hell with warmer temps and sun. Coverage fantastic, but has gotten little crunchy. Right now is cold and cloudy so not icy but firm. Pockets of accumulation left but super variable. “Shitty good snow” as a local I chatted up said.

I should probably have gone to the Alpine side, but I need to pop out early today so just going to stick to Palisades. Not worth the half hour on base to base gondy there and back.

[jkor]

You should be fine during the week but I would focus on Alpine side during the holiday weekend.

Up right now at OV. Should be dope as hell with warmer temps and sun. Coverage fantastic, but has gotten little crunchy. Right now is cold and cloudy so not icy but firm. Pockets of accumulation left but super variable. “Shitty good snow” as a local I chatted up said.

I should probably have gone to the Alpine side, but I need to pop out early today so just going to stick to Palisades. Not worth the half hour on base to base gondy there and back.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'm wondering if the Ikon Base being blacked out will make a difference but in my experience at other resorts, it does not.

Forecast is hinting towards a rain/snow mix Sat night to Mon but not a ton of wind so hopefully that Base to Base isn't impacted. Could make for some interesting rime I supposed.

[bboytommy]

Ahhh shit, how long are you sticking around @jkor ? I'm up that weekend but am doing more cabin hangs with my pass being blacked out.

In the past, holiday weekends use to be empty. But I think more and more people have ponied up for the full pass (or pay holiday rates) so it's gotten busier.

[jkor]

We'll be staying in OV about 4 mins from the base from Feb 14-19, so riding Thursday-Monday. If it were up to me I wouldn't have chosen a holiday, but we're meeting my wife's family and their friends who all have kids in middle-high school and specifically choose holiday weeks.

If you see 8-10 adults yelling at their kids in Polish, that's probably our crew (I can't speak or understand it).

[bboytommy]

We'll be staying in OV about 4 mins from the base from Feb 14-19, so riding Thursday-Monday. If it were up to me I wouldn't have chosen a holiday, but we're meeting my wife's family and their friends who all have kids in middle-high school and specifically choose holiday weeks.

If you see 8-10 adults yelling at their kids in Polish, that's probably our crew (I can't speak or understand it).

hahaha! Unlikely I'll be able to catch ya, but hope ya'll have a great time out there.

[jkor]

hahaha! Unlikely I'll be able to catch ya, but hope ya'll have a great time out there.

Thanks! If you make it out and see a guy on a Super 8 or the Otto I just snagged from @Msteff strapped to old teal Unions with black Burton straps, come say hi!

While I'm at it, what are the most fun zones or lifts to explore? Not asking for stashes, but general areas we can jump off smaller stuff and get a little rowdy. At 40 I'm the youngest "adult" on the trip and the kids want to fly even if their parents don't like it.

[kimchi]

hahaha! Unlikely I'll be able to catch ya, but hope ya'll have a great time out there.

Thanks! If you make it out and see a guy on a Super 8 or the Otto I just snagged from @Msteff strapped to old teal Unions with black Burton straps, come say hi!

While I'm at it, what are the most fun zones or lifts to explore? Not asking for stashes, but general areas we can jump off smaller stuff and get a little rowdy. At 40 I'm the youngest "adult" on the trip and the kids want to fly even if their parents don't like it.

Lots of spots to get sendy on Palisades side, but jumping off smaller stuff might be a challenge.

Tons of side hits off Mountain Run and groomers down from Red Dog peak. Just watch out for traffic, especially late day on Mountain Run.

Shirley + Solitude worth a look.

If the snow holds up the zone in the trees towards resort chair can be super fun. Roughly between Knob Hill and lower part of Lake View.

Maybe Emigrant, I don’t spend a lot of time in that zone because the lift is painfully slow.

If they’re solid freeriders, Broken Arrow / Tower 16 area isn’t too consequential.

Alpine in general might be better fit. Lot more blues, lot less consequential. Some low key drops you can spot pretty easily from main runs and lifts.

[bboytommy]

I got you @jkor!

On the Alpine side:

• You'll want to hit Sherwood chair on the backside and ride the "South Face" run. You can spot some drops looker's left as you go up the chair.

• When heading back to the front from the backside, you can either take the cat track or look for "Expert's Shortcut". Lots of options for dropping into the run from the ridge, and you'll drop into a powder field that you can ride leftward above the cat track to return to the front.

• On the front side, Scotts chair has a ton of rowdy lines off the top. One of my favorites is "Promised Land" but it's very unlikely the snow will stack up enough to hit it

• Looker's right when riding up Roundhouse Chair, you'll see the youngsters huck themselves off smaller cliffs and cat tracks. To set yourself up like them young bloods, you'll want to take Summit Chair and roll through Peril Ridge to Pete's Peril. You could just traverse from Roundhouse to the spot, but I'm trying to get you a few nice turns in the trees

[jkor]

Thanks fellas. We have 5 days so we should be able to explore quite a bit!