Lots of options crazy busy everywhere. Experts, beginners?

Expert skiers. Expert partiers. Looking for both. Worried about the crowds.

Not the most reliable snowpack at that time of year. Probably not your party scene but Utah is more likely to have good snow :-)

Are you on a mega pass? If not, I would search out somewhere not on a mega pass for crowds or a more locals mountain.

I love Utah. So much that I’m looking for something different this time. Maybe Telluride.

South shore is unique because of the casinos. Doesn’t have a ski town vibe because of them and is a bit of a party. Positive and a negative. Love hate with heavenly.

We are Epic and usually ski at Northstar. Smallish village with a lot of options for houses on slope. Spendy rentals. Close to Truckee for nightlife. Village nightlife is tame. Gets crazy busy, we have a solid pattern to avoid lines. Mountain isn’t super big or super difficult, but it also doesn’t typically get shut down during a big blow.

Squaw is the most extreme, but you kinda have to know the mountain. Upper mountain can shut down in big blow. Village is getting bigger, but muted. Not really any ski in ski out houses.

Lemme know if you need anything else.

If you have money stay at Squaw. Easy to get to off of 1-80 from Sac or Reno. South shore is good too. Definitely more casual and of course you can walk across the state line to Nevada and gamble.see a show. Just make sure you have chains available for your car because when it snows.....

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"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

Squaw is where you'll rub elbows with the rich and those who are there to see and be seen. It's equally about what boots you're wearing this season as it is about the ridiculously good skiing (assuming the snow's good when you're there). You can find rental places adjacent to the slopes, and price will (obviously) increase the closer you get. I don't know if there are literal "ski in, ski out" rentals there.

Squaw's sister area, Alpine Meadows, is located in the next valley south, and is relatively low key. Similarly, I don't know if there are literal "ski in, ski out" rentals but I doubt there are. The residences there are houses that are located maybe a mile east down the valley in the area called Alpine Meadows. It's just a few minute drive up the valley to the parking lot. I know a couple who own a really nice four bedroom vacation home there so let me know if you want a referral.

So far as I know, lift tickets at each place cost the same astronomical amount. I think if you buy a ticket/pass at one then it works at the other as well, but don't rely on me for that one.

Quality of snow obviously depends on the season. Assuming you're not familiar with California (I have no idea if you are or not), the snow here is sometimes called "Sierra Cement" due to the fact that it doesn't get and stay really cold here like in Utah or Colorado. Therefore, its moisture content is higher than what you might find in other places and the quality of skiing can suffer a bit.

Crowds: Anywhere can be overrun by crowds, but Squaw can be particularly overrun. If you leave at the end of a popular weekend or holiday, budget plenty of time for your drive. The drive from Alpine Meadows up to the 80 (the main highway to Sacramento or Reno) usually takes maybe 15 minutes. At the end of a holiday, it can take over an hour. Similarly, 80 is jam packed as well so you'll not be making it anywhere particularly fast. If you've got a flight to catch then definitely leave a lot earlier than you think you might need to.

I've skied Heavenly and Northstar as well, and neither comes close to Squaw for pure skiing experience, if you ask me.

Tangent: Have you considered Mammoth, California? Many believe it's better than anything Tahoe offers, and there's a large condo/rental place in town that has its own lift to the resort (so it's kind of ski in, ski out). Mammoth has outlawed short term rentals so your market will be a bit smaller than Tahoe, which still allows them. That condo/rental place is good for a party, too. Mammoth's a tad harder to get to than Tahoe. Mammoth is a maybe a couple hours south of Reno, and several hours north of Los Angeles. Tahoe is not far from Reno and a little over two hours from Sacramento. If I had to chose between one or the other I'd choose Mammoth.

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War is god

Busy place to ski, but going down the face at Heavenly on a clear day looking at the sky and lake is pretty much as Heavenly as it gets. My sis had a time share there so we flew into SF or Sac and drove there. Some of the smaller areas get good snow and are fun to ski and way less crowded as the bigs. Me thinks New Years is crazy town in Tahoe. I am sure there is fun to be had, but traffic can be disheartening sometimes Christmas /New Years.

I was at Northstar this past year (Dec 26- Jan 1). Not crowded at all. Snow was pretty good, but on a warm year could be hit or miss.

We rented a condo on VRBO. Had a free shuttle to the Mt and even stored skies at the bottom.