The snow wasn't that good in the morning—a bit icy—but as it got later in the day, it was shaping up pretty well. Their terrain park was nice! High camp is place to see, and taking the tram up there is cool! This place is awesome to ski if there is a lot of snow, and the village is also great. Also, when you buy a lift ticket, it’s good till 9pm (for night skiing).

Very highly recommended. The skiing was great. Great for anyone from first timers to bowl lovers. They have an outdoor heated pool on top of the mountain and a cable car to take you there.

Though Heavenly may theoretically have more vertical drop, Squaw Valley, better known as Squaw, is the definitive Tahoe alpine resort. Over 35 lifts, many of which are high speed, service 6 mountains with 4000+ skiiable acres. However, I'd like to specify that a good percentage of that acreage is not for anyone but a true expert. Squaw is generally acknowledged to have the most challenging slopes. This is great for the hot-shots, but intermediate and beginner skiers may do better at Alpine Meadows, Sugarbowl or Northstar (which many locals dismiss as "Snorestar"). Certainly, the Mountain Run at 3:30 pm (the only way to ski down from the beginner area) is a traffic nightmare with experts from KT22 zipping between terrified snowplowers.

Squaw's $56 lift ticket is pricey, but multi-day passes provide some relief. However, don't expect the mid-week specials of the smaller resorts. Also, if the weather is storming you may wish to check the ski reports in the morning, before you motor over to Squaw. Squaw (and Alpine) have very exposed peaks and often close the upper mountain lifts for wind-hold. On such days, you will still pay the full price for the privilege of skiing the runs serviced by Red Dog and Squaw Creek over and over.

Squaw has 4 major service areas: High Camp and Gold Coast on the mountain, and Olympic Village and Squaw Creek Resort at the base. When you are tired of skiing, there are plenty of shops, eateries and bars all vieing for what money remains in your wallet. I like the outdoor grill at the base of Squaw Creek Resort: Burgers and fries will run you at least 8 bucks, but they are well worth it, especially on a sunny day when you can get a bistro table outside with a view of the mountain. Check out the shops and hotel, too. There's something decadent about clomping in your ski boots around the plush carpet of the lobby, leaving clumps of snow in your wake.

Squaw hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, and they will never let anyone forget it. Sure, there is a lot of hype, and other resorts may be more low key, cost-effective and friendly. But you should come at least once and see what some of the hype is about.

This place is huge. Other places are as big, but there is so much open terrain that the skiable acreage is just overwhelming. To put it in perspective, the trail map doesn't have trails... it has lifts and they're marked beginner, intermediate, expert. We've been here 7-8 times, but didn't really figure it out until after a day and a half. That's when we all had our comfort zones about where we wanted to ski. For spring skiing, you need to get out from the base (at 6200 feet) and up to mid mountain (8200 feet). There are two ways to do this, one good, one bad. The good way is to use the "funitel", a gondola that can take over 25 people. This thing moves skiers! I figure there are about 3 cars per minute. The bad way is to take the cable car. This thing runs once every 15 minutes and holds about 125 people. You do the math.... For experts, Squaw has you choice of terrain. You want steeps? Got 'em. Look around and take your pick. Steeps with rocks, bumps too? Yep, off the KT-22 or Headwall express. Steeps with rocks and trees, find your own trail? Over here at the Silverado lift or the far side of Granite Chief. Intermediates have a batch of places to explore too, although by spring the Red Dog and Squaw Creek lifts are serving slushy trails and most of the intermediate lifts at the 8200 foot level are short. But overall, this area has what you want to ski - it just might take some time before you find it. Anyhoo... if you ski the Tahoe area, you better ski Squaw. A 55 minute drive from So. Lake Tahoe.

Our first visit to Squaw Valley was in the middle of a two-day storm that dumped almost 6 feet of snow. Although most of the high peaks were closed for avalanche control, KT-22 was open and the conditions were phenomenal. Nothing compares to snowboarding in powder up to your waist, and at times even deeper. Make sure you ride with a buddy in conditions like these, however. (You might need someone to dig you out if you end up upside down in 6 feet of snow with a snowboard attached to your feet.) Lift tickets are a bit pricey here, but on an epic powder day like the one we experienced, they could have charged much more and I still would have paid it. Although Squaw Valley is one of the more popular resorts in the Lake Tahoe area, the crowds seem to be well dispersed due to its fast lift system and the sheer size of the resort. Even the ski area food was pretty good, and not as expensive as I expected. If you are not a snowboarder or skier, there are still plenty of activities to keep you busy. You can take the cable car to the High Camp area, where you can enjoy ice skating, snowtubing, or swimming. You can also visit the Olympic Museum (the 1960 Winter Olympics were held here), or just take in the view from one of the patios.