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I'm headed to Lake Tahoe this weekend and we're planning on hitting Alpine Meadows on Sat. and Squaw on Sun. Any tips on either of those two areas?
Secret stashes, untracked powder?

When you go looking for that elusive powder stash, I would advise that you stay in-bounds right now. There was an avalanche death on Sunday in the back-country between Squaw Valley and Sugar Bowl.

A dozen or so cross-country skiers got caught and one didn't make it. So if you're going to do it (go back-country) make sure you
  1. know what you're doing, and
  2. bring the usual stuff: pack, shovel, avalanche transceiver,
  3. sign out with ski patrol.

Actually, I guess (b) and (c) are just subsets of (a).

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Is it wise to wear a pack if you want to move around the mountain a bit?

I think packs work great for skiers. It's less clear to me if they are as great for snowboarders.

I like to ski with a pack.

But that's because I don't want to have to ever go back to the base -- and I like to carry water, trail mix, power bars, extra layers, backup glasses in case my contacts freak out, digital camera, spare camera battery, Rio Karma, cellphone, FRS radio, and sometimes GPS. And I like to have somewhere to throw my helmet and goggles if I decide to switch to baseball cap and sunglasses in the afternoon.

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Some people swear by packs, but I've seen people get their packs caught in the chair lift and get tangled up as they are trying to get off. Not pretty.

That's one big downside with packs. The other ones are that they can throw your weight balance off and that you can fall on them and get pointy uncomfortable corners jammed in your back (and it's none-too-good for the objects themselves, either).

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wallet, cell phone, and a cloth to wipe my goggles in there. Everything else gets stuffed in a locker at the lodge. I'm not the type of person to carry a water bottle with me on the slopes... if I'm thirsty, I just go back to the lodge.

I'm just the opposite.
Hence, I wear a pack, and you do not.
Different strokes for different folks.

(But if I get stuck on the lift for an hour, or end up waiting 15 minutes for my ski partner to find a ski and come out of the trees, then during that interval I'll be warm, well-fed/hydrated, and filled with rocking tunes. Not to mention being in contact with said ski partner on the radio to make sure he's conscious and without broken extremities.)

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I guess I was trying to maximize my on-snow time by packing everything along.

Whatever you feel comfortable with. You now have a response from two people at both extremes.

Anyway, to answer your question. I can't give you "local"-quality advice, but I ski Alpine Meadows enough that I'll throw out some suggestions.
  • At Alpine you can do the high traverse and drop over the backside into Sherwood Bowl. Sometimes you can get fresh tracks there without too much hiking. Downside: can be windpacked. Also Sherwood gets direct sun and can melt in the afternoon and refreeze. If you've had a few warm days without new snow, avoid it in the morning. But if that is the case, the afternoon slush skiing can be pretty fun there -- besides you can stop halfway down for a beer at the Ice Bar.
  • The trees off the Lakeview chair may not get skied out as fast as some of the other places, also they're (possibly) less likely to have the melt/refreeze problem of the trees under the Sherwood chair.
  • Wolverine Bowl and all that other stuff off to the right (skier's left) of Summit Chair. It'll be crowded, and you probably won't get first tracks, but it's fun, and you never know....


I can't offer any detailed suggestions for Squaw. Except to remind you that you get night skiing for free. (Or more accurately, that you are forced to pay for night skiing in your lift ticket cost, so you might as well use it.)

Look! Pretty pictures to follow.
First: Lake Tahoe on Feb. 5th. (no recent snow)


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