J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by msej449

Oops, I meant Squaw Valley, across on the north-western side of Tahoe, not Beaver Creek.

be aware that even the direct route from SFR to Tahoe is fairly lengthy - you need to be sure the final single-carriageway part of the route is open. Try and do it in the daylight. I don't recommend coming off the London flight at 4pm and then doing the drive, but you may have no alternative. The other route is to drive all the way up to Reno and then down from the north on freeways, but this is tedious and the direct route is preferable.
Food on-piste in Tahoe isn't gourmet and is typical American fast food fare, so while it obviously costs a bit more, it shouldn't be extortionate. Alcohol is free if you are in the casino :-) although of course, you'll probably end up spending more more on bets than you save on drinks. Evening dining is varied but as always in vacation resorts, keep an eye out for the cost ramping-up from the baseline menu prices shown outside.

Also, sometimes you find that the local version of a rental company has van and 4x4 offers that aren't on the .com site, for some reason. This isn't consistent, but it has happened a couple of times. Examples I've found are www.sixt.ch versus www.sixt.com, with the former having a Nissan X-Trail and 8-seater van available at very resonable rates, but no mention on the .com pages. However, it's haphazard and 4 out of 5 times there's no difference.

At some locations, such as Geneva, it seems to be the case that there's a big hike in cost between a small 4-person car and anything big enough for four people, luggage and board. So it may be worth checking on the price of your intended vehicle and the alternative of hiring a small car and stuffing it with luggage and board, and then getting 2-3 people to travel by train. Then use the car as a taxi at the other end. This works for some resorts, but not for others, so it does vary. Also, if you have people coming from different location and arriving at different times, then the car+train can work well - you're not left hanging round for hours waiting for the last person to turn up.

Mark: I would say that there's plenty to do in the Lake Tahoe area. Mammoth Mountain is a fair distance away, and I'm not sure that the direct route is open in the winter. You may effectively lose two days transiting between the two locations. I've stayed in Heavenly three times and it's a fairly big area. If you're an off-piste junkie then the double diamonds will keep you busy. If you have a hire car you can drive round the lake to the south, north to Beaver Creek etc. so you have a lot of choice locally. I would stay put in the Tahoe region myself. I've also been to Mammoth, but only once and just for a long weekend, so I may be biased. Overall I'd say either one or the other, but not both.

If you have no one who cares about you - siblings, parents, spouse, partner or friends, then I'd say go ahead and don't wear a helmet. If you've no one who might have to suffer the trauma of hearing about a loved one being injured then fine. If you've no relative who might have to care for you as a brain-damaged dependant or nurse you through a long recuperation, then go ahead and ski unprotected.

I've had to accompany my unconscious son off the piste, in a bag down to the base station, in an ambulance to the hospital 30 minutes away; into A&E in a foreign country; then scanned and waiting for the results. Fortunately, he was OK in the end. Since then the whole family always wears a helmet and we have avoided a repetition at least once if not twice in the seven years since then.

You may be willing to take the risk, but it's worth thinking about the effect on others if you suffer an avoidable head injury.

No, we didn't go over that far. However, as Thyon is north-facing, the conditions are likely to be reasonable. The only problem may be if Nendaz residents decide to drive over to Veysonnaz, given the loss of the Plan du Feu link to Siviez-Tortin.

I forgot to say - the La Tzoumaz 10km toboggan run is still open and seems in reasonable condition too.

Conditions in Verbier are quite reasonable, with a sound base that is only wearing thin in limited spots. Most pistes in Verbier are open and skiable, with a few short runs going brown or closed off, but not at all bad, overall. So far, this isn't a classic year like 2009-10 but it's OK, since at least there was a good base established in Nov-Dec. The last week has felt more like late March/early April.

La Tzoumaz/Savoleyres is relatively good, rather solid/icy in the morning but fine later on. However, the main south-facing links to Verbier are browned-out and you have to use the smaller secondary pistes to get to a rather slushy Carrefour.

Most of the south-facing part of Nendaz is browned-out and closed - you can't get to the Plan du Feu telecabine link.

Some snow is forecast 14/15th. Go to http://www.meteosuisse.admin.ch/web/fr/meteo/previsions_en_detail/previsions_locales.html for a forecast, and enter the postcode or location name (Verbier, La Tzoumaz, Nendaz etc.)