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Heavenly & mammoth

6K views 23 replies 14 participants last post by  radiopayola 
#1 ·
I will be going to Lake Tahoe and mammoth this week..

Does everyone agree that heavenly is the place to go?
 
#3 · (Edited)
DUDE You should go to Mammoth RIGHT NOW


I was there yesterday and it was fucking DUMPING snow when I left at 3pm.

...I rode all day yesterday and had some nice pow turns with lo vis. The top was nice and filled in by lunch time but it was cold as fuck. Today is the DAY as the sun should come out and the wind will smooooooth everything over. I am sofuckingpissed I am sitting here at work....

GO NOW. do it for me. please? Just one run down the face of five for me and zombaco....please?!
 
#6 ·
Just did Heavenly and Mammoth back-to-back, and did Northstar earlier in December. Out of all of them, Mammoth is the obv favorite, but between Heavenly and Northstar, my pick is Northstar. It's not that Heavenly is bad, because on a pow day, it's FANTASTIC and the snow fall is so light and amazing that you won't want to be anywhere else, but at the same time on that pow day, you will be walking EVERYWHERE. I don't like walking. So find a skier to pull you or get your legs in shape.

Really though, Heavenly is sick, and if you go, see if you can get out to Mott Canyon. Awesome riding to be done.

(For full disclosure, I've only been to Heavenly and Northstar in the Tahoe area.)
 
#7 ·
Northstar is fun but it really is a shit show at the bottom (seeing as there is only one main area that almost everything funnels too) and for some reason is the most popular resort up there (marketing). Another annoying thing is there is no direct lift to the top.

Get on the back side and it's better with nice long runs, not as crowded (but still had to wait).

Squaw is massive. If you have two days, I'd do Squaw and Alpine everytime. That is a lot of terrain right there. Shuttles between the two take 20-30 minutes. Alpine is smaller but nice as well. Honestly, I spent 3 days at these two and probably didn't even hit 40% of the terrain yet
 
#9 ·
Just did a week in Tahoe and did 2 days each at Kirkwood, Heavenly and Northstar. My order of preference is Northstar, Kirkwood and then Heavenly. Depending on which side you go up on(CA or NV) can be a big factor on how much walking you do. Also if you go from one state to the other be prepared for long CAT Tracks. Heavenly also gets more wind than the other two so be prepared for wind holds or closures. Of the week we were there they had wind holds 4 days and 1 day they just shut Heavenly down at 11am due to the winds.
 
#16 ·
mammoth is getting pounded this year. i wouldn't do heavenly, there are quite a few surrounding resorts that blow heavenly away.

also avoid park city if you're looking for a real mountain experience. there are so many (6 to be exact) better resorts within 30 minutes of PC.

But it all comes down to what terrain you like to ride...
 
#21 ·
Heavenly is always my LAST choice at Tahoe. Kirkwood is always first choice, but because of its location, it doesn't always work out. North Lake has more, better, bigger stuff (don't believe Heavenly's hype...it's the "tallest" mountain at Tahoe, but the base lodges start halfway up, so it doesn't have any more vert than the others, except for a double-black and winding flat blue trail back to the California Base). Do yourself a favor and hit Squaw, Alpine or Sugarbowl. They're easily accessible from the highway, close by, big, and won't be nearly as crowded. Heavenly is a zoo.
 
#24 ·
Mammoth and Squaw are my two favorites of all the places I've ridden, by far. Thanksgiving at Mammoth this year was ridiculous. Based on what I've heard, I expect kirkwood to fall into this category if I can ever get down there. My second tier consists of baker, telluride, and crested butte.

Other stuff I've ridden to give you a point of reference:

vail - almost in my 2nd tier. i was only there for 1 day...and it wasn't a great day
loveland - weird, decent
keystone - nice park, decent
eldora - quaint, charming, small, boring
stevens pass - small, decent park, fun at night
homewood - literally ON the lake. kinda cool, but small and just decent other than that.

Friends of mine seem to like sugar and northstar, also...
 
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