Snowboarding Part 3: Lake Tahoe

Beginner, Intermediate, and Beyond. . .

The Lake Tahoe ski resorts will always be special to me.  When I lived in California I frequented Lake Tahoe every time I had an extra day off, or every time there was a snowstorm.  Lake Tahoe wasn’t just where I learned to snowboard as a 20 something, it was the first time I interacted with snow at all.  It was the area where I first went down a green, a blue, or a black run, or hit a jump in a terrain park.  Since I lived in California for 4 years and snowboarded there for 3 of them, I visited most of the ski resorts in the area.  Here, I will give a brief review of each of them in my opinion of the skill level they are best suited for.  If you are advanced you can probably skip the first section, as I am starting with. . .

Beginner

By beginner, I mean probably will not make it past the bunny hill.  This period of time may be shorter for those learning to ski, but for snowboarding it can take up to a week as snowboarding is more difficult to pick up.  For beginners I recommend Boreal.  Boreal isn’t exactly in Lake Tahoe, it is in Truckee, which is a short drive to the northwest.  Skiers and snowboarders could easily stay in the immediate Lake Tahoe area and drive to Boreal each day.  Boreal is one of the smallest resorts I have ever seen, but it is cheap to snowboard there.  When I was first learning I did not make it past the greens of the mountain, and at some resorts that is less than 10% of the runs.  So I refused to snowboard at Heavenly and pay over $100 for a one day lift ticket when I would only be lapping the same 3 runs over and over.  Boreal offers deal like $15 Fridays for students and military.  I took three lessons at Boreal when I was first learning, because at the time they had a great package deal.  My first day included a lift ticket for the bunny hill, my rental gear, and a lesson for $80, a steal as I only practiced on the bunny hill.  On the second and third days, I got the same deal for $30 each day.  After completing three days of this program, the resort gave those who completed it a season pass for the remainder of the season.  I never got the season pass as by the third day I was ready for longer runs at larger resorts.  Boreal also has night skiing on the bunny hill if you are not a morning person like my boyfriend.  I usually stopped by 5 PM, because conditions were so icy, but he snowboarded until they closed.

The view of the lodge from the top of the bunny hill at Boreal.

Snowboarding Part 2: Summit County Colorado

Five Resorts at the Summit

I've travelled to Colorado three times this year for snowboarding at resorts valid on my Epic Local Pass in the Summit County area.  These resorts include Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin.  The first trip was over Keystone's opening weekend in Fall, the second trip was in the heart of winter in early February, and the third trip overlapped with the first day of Spring.  Since we visited the area over three different seasons, we experienced different snow conditions at Keystone and Breckenridge, which became our favorite resorts of the area.

Keystone Resort

As I said previously, our first visit to Keystone was on opening day.  Compared to other opening days I have visited, Keystone's was the least crazy.  Mostly blue runs were open, but the blue runs that were open were wide, well groomed, and long.  Since the runs could accommodate large crowds due to their length and width, I did not fear other people running into me or dodging others on the slope.  Two high speed lifts, the gondola and summit express, were running ensuring short lift lines.  The bunny hill was also open at the summit, ensuring beginners were not traversing the blue runs on such a busy day.  Coverage at Keystone each time we rode there was descent.  I never feared running over a rock and scratching my board.  In the later part of the season any powder or groomed snow was underlain by ice, which required a bit more skill to navigate later in the day when the loose top layer was scraped aside.  I can't imagine the conditions were any where near as icy as I have heard the east coast resorts can be.

Keystone is a resort for all skill levels.  A gondola transports beginner skiers and snowboarders who are not yet fully comfortable disembarking from a chairlift from the base to the summit.  Beginners can then ride the 3.5 mile long schoolmarm back to the base and the gondola.  I am more of an intermediate-advanced level, and Keystone suited my level and style of riding perfectly.  The gondola only brings skiers and riders to the summit of the first peak.  Two peaks equipped with four lifts reside behind the first peak.  These peaks offer more of a back country feel, with fewer people than the front side and views of nothing but wilderness, unlike on the frontside where the parking lot can be seen from much of the mountain.  Keystone also offers an extensive set of terrain parks ranging from small to large.  I enjoy taking a few laps through a small terrain park, but I have not as yet tested Keystone's small park, and can offer no further comment on it.  One opportunity which sets Keystone apart from its neighboring resorts is its extensive night skiing.  A couple of days after other resorts closed, we drove to Keystone and kept riding until Keystone closed.  Night skiing at Keystone encompasses blue runs, green runs, and the terrain parks so we were not forced to lap the same run for three hours. To put a cherry on the ice cream of night skiing, every Saturday night at Keystone during night skiing a fireworks show is launched from mid-mountin.  Free parking at Keystone is located right next to the village and gondola, making a trip back to the car for lunch much easier than at Breckenridge, Vail, or Beaver Creek where we had to catch a bus from the runs to the parking areas.

View from the top of Outback Express at Keystone.  Keystone's back peaks have a back country feel. 

Snowboarding Part 1: Park City, Utah

Why Not Go Snowboarding?

Utah is the fourth state that I have snowboarded in, and I would rate it as an average destination for snowboarders.  This is mostly due to the limitations for snowboarders.  We went specifically to the two Vail owned resorts in Park City, Park City and Canyons, because these resorts were included in our Epic Local pass.  In reality these are the only two resorts in the area that are truly welcoming to snowboarders.  The nearby Alta and Deer Valley do not allow snowboarders to experience their slopes.  A legal dispute has erupted since these resorts are on national forest, and by not allowing snowboarders they are essentially denying US citizens from using federal land.  Utah though I have always found be filled with the most clean cut, helpful, and legitimately kind residents.  The resorts we did visit and Park City in general were no exception to my experience. 

Park City Mountain Resort

Park City would not be considered snowboarder friendly at first glance as two of the resorts in the area do not even allow snowboarders.  However, I found this resort exceptionally welcoming to snowboarders.  Even the skiers I rode the lifts with were overwhelmingly friendly, wanting to compare and contrast different resorts and conditions of the day.  Park City is a large resort, which the trail map subdivides into 7 different areas.  Each area of the resort is best experienced at different times of the day, based on the sun position.  We consulted employees stationed at each trail map board (at the top of most lifts) as to what areas were prime for riding at that moment.  Not surprisingly, the east facing runs rode best in the morning and the west facing runs rode best in the afternoon. 

The west facing King Con mountain zone, serviced mostly by the King Con lift became my favorite area of the trip.  The predominantly blue area was less crowded that the front face or green areas at the summit.  The runs were wide, easily accommodating large crowds.  King Con was an express lift, ensuring more ride time than lift time.