Mammoth vs. Tahoe

[Droopy]

Looking at about a week in California over the Christmas holiday (dec25-jan1 maybe, right before i head of to Whistler ), Should I go with Tahoe or Mammoth? post it up, thanks!

[vinzclortho]

Tahoe has more resorts and you can gamble on the Nevada side. Never been to Mammoth though so my opinion is a bit biased.

[MacDaddy]

Mammoth will be a

LA ZOO!!!

20-30 MINUTE LIFT LINES AT THE BOTTOM

not as bad at other lifts

[FreshPow]

Looking at about a week in California over the Christmas holiday (dec25-jan1 maybe, right before i head of to Whistler ), Should I go with Tahoe or Mammoth? post it up, thanks!

You will probably have a lot better luck avoiding crowds in Tahoe by heading to some of the smaller resorts like Mount Rose or Kirkwood. Squaw is a zoo and so is Heavenly, but we've had a lot of fun in the past at Sugarbowl (my favorite Tahoe area ski area) and Homewood because they are smaller with mostly locals.

[Vets]

Both. They aren't that far from each other. See if you can divide the week up. The drive between Mammoth and South Lake Tahoe is only about 2 and 1/2 hours or so (weather permitting.) Christmas Day and New Years Day usually have less people on the mountain. If you are comfortable skiing trees you can avoid the crowds on the days in between. On an anticipated busy crowded day you might also want to check out June Mountain if the snow conditions are good. The resort is kind of small, but it offers an alternative to the mega-resorts.

[freshies]

tahoe, less crowded. if ya stay up north, hit alpine meadows or sugarbowl, crowds are manageable there. xmas day and new yrs day have been pow days the last few yrs, and hardly anyone on the mtn those 2 days....

[Vets]

I would avoid North Tahoe during the week between Christmas and New Years. Hwy. 89 in between Tahoe City and Truckee (only 2 lanes) cannot handle the traffic. The slopes at Alpine and Squaw might not be too crowded. However, at the end of the day, spending an hour to get from the parking lot to the highway and another hour to get through town doesn't seem worth it. Just my opinion based on an actual experience.

[freshies]

I would avoid North Tahoe during the week between Christmas and New Years. Hwy. 89 in between Tahoe City and Truckee (only 2 lanes) cannot handle the traffic. The slopes at Alpine and Squaw might not be too crowded. However, at the end of the day, spending an hour to get from the parking lot to the highway and another hour to get through town doesn't seem worth it. Just my opinion based on an actual experience.

agreed to a certain extent...but like anything/anywhere else, ya gota know how to work it to aviod the peeps/tourons.

get there early when ya want to ski, like be on 89 by 7:30am, and you will be able to park up close, get on one of th first chairs, ski the goods, and get outta dodge by 2pm. then its no sweat....unless its dumping, well, then, 89 can be a biatch, and ya stop at the river ranch and get loaded and wait for it to clear out

[Ubersheist]

Mammoth will be a

LA ZOO!!!

20-30 MINUTE LIFT LINES AT THE BOTTOM

not as bad at other lifts

Not any more... how long ago were you there? The only chairs that get that long of a wait are Chair 1 (take the Gondy to avoid the pile-up) or the Canyon Express (there's a few chairs around to avoid that mess). They've got a pretty slick lift system these days. Half-hour waits are easily avoidable.

However, Mac's right... it will still be a zoo.

Freshies and Vets are right, too. Tahoe will be a zoo, too. A few years ago, my family and I did a X-mas to New Years ski trip. Travelling around the lake was a major pain.

The way I see it, 50 cents one way, 1/2 a buck the other.

[MacDaddy]

I was there 3 years ago and I remember the gondoobie line about 25 minutes holiday weekday, and the lower chairs had long ass lines, but I dont really know how long they were.

I hope they fixed that shit cause waiting in line at $63.00 a ticket kinda burns me up inside

Dont get me wrong I love Mammoth ( worked there late 80's) but LA crowds suck no matter what!