Lake Tahoe Area Ski Trip

​For our ski trip this year we decided to go to the Lake Tahoe area in California. We flew into Reno, NV and rented a vehicle to drive down to our cute little cabin in the woods just outside of Tahoma, CA. We choose this rental due to location since we knew we would go to Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows due to its popularity and reputation (1960 Winter Olympics). When we planned the trip, a few months ahead of time, we weren't sure what the snow conditions would be when we would be visiting in early February so we choose a cabin rental that would give us flexibility to most of the ski resorts in the area (within a 2 hour drive). 

When we arrived at our cabin it was absolutely adorable; tucked among these huge redwood trees and behind the main house. It was a bit tinnier than we thought but the four of us made it work! There was even a loft with a queen bed...which was a bit precarious to access! Luckily there were no ladder injuries! The location was great and the price was right! In Tahoma you have to stop at Obexers General Store. 

They have the best market and we enjoyed some fancy, yet hearty, sandwiches for on the slopes! But back to the ski scene! So we decided to go to Alpine Meadows for day 1 and then Squaw Valley for day 2. The thing that was so hard to deal with was the lack of snow. I plan a ski trip every year (How to Plan a Ski Trip on a Budget!) and the number one thing completely out of our control is the weather. And in the 9 years I have planned trips this was the only year we were a bust for snow. But we still tried to make the best out of a fresh snow-less situation.

Alpine Meadows was just beautiful. We arrived to ski just at they opened and the weather was just perfect...a bright sunny day, freshly groomed trails and some amazing views of Lake Tahoe! The morning was great skiing and we stopped for lunch and enjoyed a meal and cold beer on their patio!

​Then as the day progressed it became warmer and warmer until the snow turned to slush. I have actually never skied in slush until that day. I almost fell a few times because the wet snow was gripping my skies so much. By mid afternoon we decided to call it a day because it was just too warm to ski. We then headed back to Tahoma and stopped at the local pizza joint, West Shore Pizza, for dinner and it was pretty delicious! ​

Day 2 we knew we were going to Squaw Valley and we were all hoping it would snow overnight and become colder. We awoke to another beautiful day and drove the 30ish minutes to the mountain. Squaw Valley was a lot bigger than Alpine Meadows so we ended up parking farther away then we really intended to but we didn't know that until we were walking for about 10 minutes and still hadn't made it to the ski lift! Note for future; get a better lay of the land before walking all over the place in stiff ski boots! Once we finally made it to the lifts we decided to go to the very top and got in line at the Aerial Tram. It was such a beautiful view on the way up!

The biggest challenge I have come across when vacationing in California is that there are always so many people. I had a hard time with the amount of people on the mountain that day and I was told by locals that it was a slow day there. So I can only imagine what it is like when it's busy. I have experienced extreme crowds and long lines when I skied in Colorado in college, which is one of the reasons I haven't been back there to ski since. I plan to ski in other areas of CO besides the ones closest to Denver in order to get a less congested ski experience!

Besides the crowds at Squaw Valley, it was a beautiful mountain to ski on. I so enjoyed how big the ski areas are and the long runs.

It was super cool to learn about the history of the resort since the Winter Olympics was held there in 1960. But the absolute highlight was watching the opening ceremonies for the 2018 Winter Olympics on the big screen in the Olympic Village. They had a hug fire going in the gas fire pit and Adirondack chairs set up! 

They also have a fantastic shopping area that is extremely high end and so very fun to look through all the gear and clothing I can only dream to own!

Once the opening ceremony was complete, we went to Tahoe City to grab dinner at Bridgetender Bar & Grill. A burger with fries was a great way to end a day of skiing! From there we headed back to our cabin and were discussing our options for where to ski the next day. The weather forecast looked just atrocious for skiing...sunny, clear skies with highs in the 60's. Due to the cost of lift tickets we decided to not waste the money on slushy, dirt patchy skiing. So we opted for a sightseeing day and had such a blast!

We started the day bright and early with a stroll down by the lake shore at Tahoe City. It was so peaceful and quite! We walked from the Visitor's Center into downtown and made a nice circle back to our vehicle, window shopping as we went! From there we headed over to Fire Sign Cafe for an amazingly delicious breakfast! Brunch is my favorite type of meal and this was just delightful!

With our bellies full and our legs needing a nice hike, we headed down to Emerald Bay to hike to Eagles Falls and then the Vikingsholm Trail. I loved the Vikingsholm Trail because at the bottom of the trail is a replica of the Vikingsholm Castle. The views from the top of the hike are just breathtaking and you can see Fannette Island which is not very far from shore and is the only island in Lake Tahoe!

For the last full day of our trip, we decided to head over to Kirkwood Mountain Resort, which was about 1-1/2 hours from the cabin. Due to another day of the weather not cooperating, we thought maybe there would be better conditions at higher elevations and on the other side of the lake. 

We were so hopeful when we arrived at the mountain for some decent skiing conditions. Unfortunately the mountain was very icy and treacherous in spots. We skied all the runs and gave it our all but decided to head out mid afternoon as conditions only worsened with extremely high winds. 

We all want to go back to these same ski areas when there is better snow. 

We were kicking ourselves when we arrived home because about a week later they ended up getting several feet of snow. Just goes to show you how quickly the ski conditions can change!

Blog post written by:
Amy Karras
Unnamed Adventures