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Alpine Meadows Ski Resort
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
82 reviews for Alpine Meadows Ski Resort
Ah, Alpine! Spent my second day ever on a snowboard here (it was literally day 2 as I had just bruised my entire body at Boreal the day before!) As they were just opening for the season, they had one lift going, and it was all blues, so I had no choice but to tackle them (good thing I brought the knee pads that day!)
My day went surprisingly well. The steeper slope and softer snow was much kinder to me, and I could actually give my board some direction instead of having it spin around like a helicopter blade in the flats like the day before.
Fastforward 7 years later, and I'm at expert level, willing to do just about anything on any mountain, and Alpine always provides a fun challenge. The terrain is wide open, they get a ton of snow each season - storm clouds actually gravitate towards the peaks there. This makes for low visibility some days, but the excellent powder more than makes up for it!
I purchased a season pass to Alpine Meadows for this season as they dropped their pass prices dramatically. Purchased a restricted Sun-Fri pass in the Spring for $299, which I believe is now at $399. Still a smoking deal for one of the top 3 mountains in Tahoe. Can't wait for the season to start!
Resorts suck.
I hate Squaw and Whistler and I care barely stand Northstar. But Alpine Meadows has some of the sickest terrain on the North Shore, with a great vibe, and great parks too. Dropping in off a cornice? A cliff? Want to grind some rocks in the spring? It has it all.
It was super icy, and the mountain orientation isn't that great for spring riding, but with runs for every ability level (including some way too flat for n00b skiers) it was great running all over this mountain bombing around, ollie off a lip and keep on going.
I had a great time here and will certainly be back.
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Hear hear! Only one other resort has been rated 5 stars by me and that's June Mountain. So what do I love about Alpine Meadows?
There's a great variety of terrain here. The front side is a little more mellow and has what you expect from any legit resort. The backside is definitely more challenging, fun, and sparse. Do a few runs on the front to warm up and get yourself back there! The bowls are really incredible and you should go experience them for yourself.
I wouldn't give any resort 5 stars unless it met my most important criterion: grooming. A resort can't control it's size, how much snow it gets etc but it sure can control its grooming quality. Alpine has the best grooming of any Tahoe resort I've been too. I'm talking Grade A world class cord. They really know what they're doing and if you're going to get first tracks somewhere, make them at Alpine.
No crowds! I hate dealing with crowds. If you like to freecarve like me you need all the room you can get. I had more room than I needed but I'm greedy like that. I really hate waiting in lift lines too and never had to do that once.
The staff here is so friendly and my friend took a ski lesson here. He reports great instruction. It's almost like this is a mom-and-pop run place. You always walk away smiling after a ripping day.
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This is more like a 3.5 star review. I'll update after I actually board here.
We planned this snow trip for weeks, but on Wednesday before our trip, I twisted my ankle at my friend's house (her kids dug a hole in her front lawn and I fell in it at night -- who lets their kids DIGS a hole in a lawn, and then lets the grass grow back over it?? That's called a BOOBY TRAP!). Argh.
Although I was somewhat bummed to miss out on the fun, I thoroughly enjoyed my day as I was camped out in the lodge with a good book and a view of the Kids Club kids learning the basics of french fries and pizza.
Both of my sons were in the Kids Club, so the vantage point was especially enjoyable for me (the little guy actually picked it up more than his brother, which we attribute to his lower center of gravity). This was the second ski school that my kids have gone to (the first one was at Boreal a year ago), and I have to say that this one is BY FAR a better experience for the little guys! I'd say that after one more ski school experience, they'll be ready to hit the slopes with us and tackle some green runs. One thing that I'm not certain about, and that is . . . since my husband and I are both boarders, will one of us (or both) have to temporarily switch back to skis to take the little ones up to the slopes for the first time? Or maybe we should teach them how to board? Hmm...
The lodge had decent food -- nothing like Squaw Valley's awesome village, but nothing to complain about. A $6 bowl of clam chowder kept me going until dinner -- that and a contraband bag of popcorn that I bought from a market in Squaw Valley's village (several signs proclaimed NO BAG LUNCHES). Scott in the Alpine Bar kept me supplied with Guinness (alas, from a can -- no Guinness on tap). Umm, I was drinking beer so I wouldn't get any flak about hanging out in the log with my bag of popcorn. Yeah, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
A note to the management of Alpine Meadows: I'm not expecting a massive village like the one at Squaw, but please try to get a decent little store in for those of us who aren't skiing or boarding! A few books or magazines would have gone a long way toward keeping me happy. Instead, I had to debate about losing our primo parking space, head over to Squaw Valley and then have to find another space (word to those who enroll their kids in Kids' Camp -- if you pay $10, you can park in the designated Kids' Camp spaces. It's totally worth it if you get there kind of late-ish, but not worth it if you get there early and don't have too far to walk with tired kids, your gear and their gear).
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For being such a North-Shore powder hound, I don't really go to Alpine a whole lot, but after my last visit, I am scratching my head as to why not. It is an ample mountain that can satisfy just about every skill level, even the hardcore free skiers/riders. It has great views including that of Lake Tahoe itself, so effin' gorgeous! And it has a bad-ass spacious outdoor patio at the base to sip on beers in the sun and people watch, and it seems like reggae is on constant loop on the soundtrack, fuck yea!
For advanced level powder hounds head to the Alpine Bowl chair, which is an old school double chair, which sucks, but worth the ride down. The Palisades on a bluebird day after a storm is quite the epic descend. Also all the runs off the Scott Chair are nice and challenging, especially if you like squeezing between rocks and trees. I wouldn't go here unless the snow conditions were right and fluffy. If hard and icy, this would be downright dangerous. Unfortunately the Summit 6 chair was closed the day I went due to supposedly high wind advisories, but it really wasn't that blustery up on top, and I've definitely skied way windier days at other places, so wtf, Alpine?
I would almost give this place 5 stars if it weren't for their forked narrow parking lot, so the later you get here the farther your trek to the base will be. We arrived at 10:30 on a weekday and we had to hike over a third of a mile while carrying cumbersome gear, can't imagine if we would of gone on a weekend. Small price to pay for a decent mountain though, and with ticket deals at Costco, 2 for round 100 bucks, this should be a staple for my North Shore hit-ups, fo sho.
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On a sunny Saturday morning, this place was PACKED. Even though we got here at 9:30 AM we had to park about 2 miles out from the resort; hence, not far enough to take a shuttle and not close enough to comfortably lug our snow gear.
The slopes were also quite packed with snowboarders and skiers. This is definitely not a beginner resort because there's only two "green" trails. The majority of trails are intermediate with a fair amount of black diamonds as well. It's weird because some of the intermediate courses are a lot easier than others, especially when the amount of people varies.
For some reason when there's more people on a trail the faster everyone else goes in order to avoid each other. Ski lift lines were kinda ridiculous. A lot of teenagers anxious to get to the top of the mountain were annoyingly cramping my style. And what's with these ski lifts? They are super fast on takeoff. I felt like if I didn't sit down fast enough it was going to run me over.
We had lunch up the mountain. There was a barbeque line grilling up some hamburgers and hot dogs. The line was a ridiculous thirty minute wait. The hamburgers were big and fine although overpriced. Seating was a disaster again due to the packed resort.
The main lodge is quite large. But what's with the "Please no packed lunch signs"?? Is this is a movie theater? I thought all the resorts were trying to be eco-friendly?
___
Alpine Meadows is a fine place for intermediate and advanced skiers/snowboarders. But man, if it's packed, it's really dampens the experience. It feel like you're at the public swimming hole instead of the great outdoors.
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The reason for the three stars is because, well...I'm not that advanced. And by "not that advanced" I mean I can hardly go down an easy blue without falling on my head (but hey, it's fun!)
At any rate, Alpine Meadows is a good place if you're quite the snowboarding aficionado and can carve like a sculptor. However, for the people who are around the same level that I described, you might not have as much of a blast. The blue routes are harder than the ones at NorthStar, and I ended up having a difficult time on one of them (and had to heel it down most of the way).
Hot Wheels may be the easiest blue, but there is also a pretty frustrating flat part so DO NOT SLOW DOWN. Seriously, you'll thank me later when you're not undoing your binding and gimping along the rest of the way.
The greens? Um. If it's your first or second time, maybe you should save your inaugural snowboarding trip for another place and just enjoy the hot chocolate and baileys in the lodge.
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Woohoo! - I just had an awesome day of snowboarding at Alpine Meadows w/ few buddies yesterday after the big storm. Adult lift tickets cost $56/person at SportsBasement (although I've been told you could score some tickets for $50/person at Costco). I took off work on Tuesday as usual, got home, packed up and drove back to San Jo to pick up my snowboarding gear. Had dinner back in San Jo then headed up to San Mateo. We didn't go to bed till ~1am - woke up at 3am and started loading the car and makin' our journey up to Tahoe.
Roads nice and clear, hardly any traffic (considering it was the middle of the week, I would've been surprised and pissed if there was heavy traffic). We got to Alpine Meadows and were able to score parking right in front of the resort @ 8am.
The weather was nice and sunny, lifts were open, no crowds, and did not have to wait in line. I lost my camera during my first run, because I hadn't gone snowboarding in over 3 seasons, and I've never been in such freakin' light powder. So kinda bummed that I lost some great pics, and now I gotta buy another camera.
I spent the day tryin' to get used to carving and the speed of boardin' again, so I stayed on the blue squares (too scared to try black diamonds). This resort also has a nice section of ramps and boxes for you to do jumps and grind on - next time, I gotta hit up this spot. My buddies are hella more experienced than me, so they were able to make 2-3 runs before I even finished one run down the mountain. I got stuck in the powder several times, and it really wore me out struggling to get loose and back on my way. Buddies also threw snowballs at me to get me movin' again - thanks a lot guys - you bastards.
By the end of the day, we were all hella exhausted, stopped by Auburn to grub on some In N' Out. I was super-exhausted, and didn't make it back to SF till around 11ish last night. Spent a whole day at work hella sore all over, so was it all worth it? - Yep :^D I'm plannin' on comin' back up to Alpine Meadows again next week.
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Pretty okay ski resort. I've been here three times now. Once for skiing, twice for snowboarding this year. I have little recollection of my experience skiing on their blue square lifts...didn't make a big impression on me.
This year, however, I only went on the green circles cause I'm a total n00b at boarding. Their soft snow minimized the pain of falling on my bum and my tummy all the way down the hills. Luckily, my helmet was not put into good use. The courses were pretty cool, though littered with cute puffy kids that I could potentially crash into.
Half day tickets are $50. Not cheap! However, I boarded the next day for free because no one scanned my ticket on the first day. We are Asian. To quote my friend's dad: "If no one scans the tickets tomorrow, we can sell them!"
They did scan them though. Line goes fairly quickly for beginner lifts, though the workers could do a better job of enforcing the alternating lines thing. There appeared to be a free overnight storage for skis.
Now the FOOD is basically a Yelper's worst nightmare. The Meadows Cafe is absolutely overpriced and closed earlier than it was supposed to. Basically they double the price of everything...because they can. Expect to spend a good $9 on a little cheeseburger. First day I simply mooched off a bit of my friend's chili cheese fries...they were okay. Second day I gave in a bought fries for 3.50. A croissant--3.50 also. At least their water is free.
I don't have a cool picture of myself boarding this year, but this was me last year at Alpine (?): http://static.px.yelp....
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While Alpine is a good mountain, it's definitly not my favorite in Tahoe. For me, I like to be snowboarding at a mountain that offers fun all around. I found that the mountain lacked lodges located around the mountain like other spots (Northstar & Squaw), so if you wanted to take a break and relax with a beer you had to go to the bottom. There is the Chalet midway up but you'll wait inline for half an hour even if you just want a drink. The ice bar was closed when I was there so I missed that experience.
Be warned if you're a snowboarder that the exits off of the lifts at Alpine are steep, and the one at the top for Alpine Bowl lets you off in a little hut with a super steep drop and you have to immediately turn sharp right to get out the door or you'll hit the wall in front of you.
The conditions weren't the greatest for my first experience at Alpine. It is nice that it's cheeper than the other mountains but I'd rather have more ammenities and pay a little more.
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Eric and I have this habit of trying something once, loving it, and then going out and buying all the equipment for it soon thereafter...which is kind of dumb if you think about it, because if we dont follow through with it...we then end up with a bunch of junk in our house that is going unused.
I think we've found a new hobby to buy stuff for....
We took the 1/2 day lessons today - he took snowboard lessons, and I took skiing lessons (both of us are first timers) and it was so AWESOME! I think that the rates were reasonable for what it included.
I was so thrilled, I laughed the whole way up and down the stupid little bunny slopes. ...and this is just the beginning for me. Being a first time skiier, I could handle an hour and a half and I was finished!
The teachers and ALL of the staff were super friendly, helpful, and patient! They had great personalities, and were passionate about the sport. Their encouraging words and lessons were such a huge help.
AWESOME!
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Not bad.. not bad at all..
It was a very nice day to go snowboardings.. Sucks for me though because I have no idea how. If you noticed the girl sitting on the bunny slopes aka "the meadow run" who moved about 1in every 5 minutes CONSTANTLY falling on her head well then yes, that was me..
Surprisingly this wasn't my first time snowboarding but to my credit it was my first time coming to the snow this season AND I had a cool jacket haha jk.
The lines for the lifts were relatively short. Even during mid-day when the slopes were at it's busiest, the wait was no more than 5-7 minutes which isn't bad compared to the 20+ minute waits at Northstar.
Food is your regular ski resort food. Pricey yet decent. Beer around 4$ and they have live music sponsored by 105.3.
If you buy the lift tickets in advance they are only 50$ each from costco (Comes in packs of 2). Overall it was a great resort and a very nice day.
P.s. sorry for the constant cussing as I ate it BAD down the bunny slope....
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Alpine Meadows is my favorite destination in Tahoe by leaps and bounds. I love everything about this mountain; the comfort of the Summit Six chair, racing down Wolverine Bowl, chili cheese fries for lunch, the friendly staff, the view of the lake when you get off Lakeview Chair, and carving down my favorite run, Palisades, on a powder day.
If you are a skier, this is your mountain; I've gone with friends that snowboard who don't enjoy it nearly as much as my skier friends though, so beware. I give Alpine Meadows my highest recommendation to anyone looking for a great place to ski and enjoy Tahoe.
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This is the best place for your money. It's got a good vertical, lots of challenging runs, and it's not too crowded. Usually the second cheapest place (after Boreal), I think you can't get much better than this in all of Tahoe.
Dunno if it's intentional, but I don't see many advertisements, but only hear about it through word-of-mouth. This place has such a good reputation that it got me wanting to go here every season.
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One of my favorite resorts in Tahoe. The mountain is a pretty good size and it has enough lifts and space to get people moving from the lines to the top of the hill. There isn't too much for beginners if you are just starting out, but lots of blues and blacks for you if you're trying to just cruise or maybe push yourself a little more. I haven't checked out the park here yet because I just started attempting jumps last year, but maybe I will next time around. I think this year, they are getting the most snow in Tahoe. Gotta love fresh powder!
Only problem (-1 star) about this place is that it's hidden away pretty well. Going up from the Bay, you're going to hit Squaw first and Northstar is closer to reach from the freeway. That might be why its less busy too. I like....I like.
The skiing here is always great- the upkeep of the resort, lifts and overall mountain are great!
Unfortunately I had an accident and we had to call for the mountain medic. Pete was the fist aid that came and he immediately calmed me. He and his team carefully loaded me in to the toboggan and drove me down to the bottom for medical attention. I'm sure the medical dept. gets overlooked so hats off to them and a huge thank you!
Pete especially was great!
I had a decent half-day at Alpine recently, even though snow conditions in Tahoe right now are really nothing to write home about. The mountain came highly recommended by a friend of mine who lives up there, and given that it was a good $25 cheaper than Northstar, I was pretty pleased.
We ended up riding the full mountain mostly - take a lift all the way up, then come all the way down, then repeat. It's a long-enough run, and for whatever reasons the lift lines were completely reasonable.
I really enjoyed the bowls at the very top; they made for some fun, fast, steep runs.
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My favorite resort.
When I was a kid I used to get pulled over here by the patrol for speeding, but it was all good. They always let me go.
Its my 16th season boarding and Alpine's the tits, but the other Sam P is right, its not a beginner snowboarders mountain unless you're willing to go hard.
You are in for a hike.
Try the runs off Scott chair when its open and the Ridge. Its got good spots for cornice drops.
Rock on.
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I learned to ski here, worked here, and would love to live here.
The best resort in tahoe! Best terrain, and a lot of it. If you are willing to throw your skis over your shoulder and hike, it has the best and most inbounds hikeable terrain in tahoe.
if you snowboard, go to borestar please and leave this beautiful mtn to us
Good food too.
I don't know why I like this resort. I think because it's smaller and doesn't have the big pretentious "village" that some other resorts have. I think the runs are properly marked as far as difficulty. It has an awesome view if you get to the back side of the mountain.
If you are a boarder then this might not be the best place to go. There are heaps of runs that flatten out and unless you have a lot of strong skier friends to pull you along, these can be pretty annoying. Plus about the same time these runs flatten out they merge with "Family Trails" so mindless little imps will get in your way and cause you to abruptly stop (and usually fall hard).
I've skied here before and loved it.
Alpine is a bit rustic but has something for everyone, especially the late risers on a powder day. The resort has two traverses that allow for powder well into the afternoon and sometimes the next day. The mountain is a little small but has a three high speeds that can move you around fast and a ton of varying terrain, chutes, steeps, bowls, trees a jungle and a bridge.
The lodge is a zoo so pack you lunch and eat on the mountain or the ice bar (if you can't find you can't eat there).
One odd comment - they are trying to be environmental with signs telling us how long plastic or Styrofoam lasts but still service at the lodge. Someone tell them.
They are now part of the same group that owns Homewood.
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This is one you gotta try when your in tahoe
My fave place to hit during the winter season. I remember when it was only skiers going down the runs and then as boarding became more popular and other resorts were letting boarders in, Alpine finally gave in and opened it up to boarders (which is fine, since I'm on my 3rd year of learning how to board).
I love Alpine. The runs are great, challenging enough at times and easy if I want a light day. The people who come here are serious about having a good day of skiing or boarding.
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I returned to Alpine for the first time since I was a kid. I had always remembered it as a huge resort on par with Squaw Valley. My reaction this time was that it felt surprisingly small, and I only found a couple of chairs worth skiing. Sure, it was nice, but it wasn't all that. Price: $58 if you buy ahead at Lombardi Sports in SF.
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I can tell this is a mountain I want to get to know...
After years and years of snowboarding, Alpine is definitely my peeps' fave resort. While I definitely find it hard to keep up, I love the challenge and knowing that some day I'll be bombing down the double diamonds.
The lodge is decent with a fireplace and couches, but if you want a true Tahoe experience, try the mid-mountain Chalet Restaurant! It's a super cute little log cabin and a great pit stop for sausage, beers and an incredible view.
At $58 for an adult day pass, it's still affordable, so take full advantage!
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I decided to check out Alpine this past weekend on the recommendation of several co-workers. It's definitely a great family resort and since my younger cousins came along, it was perfect! We left home super early to make sure we got here before 9 AM - It was well worth it! There was no traffic pulling into the resort and parking was plentiful, and so all the cars in our party were next to each other.
We hit the slopes around 9:30 - lines for the lifts were very short and the runs were fantastic! We did mostly the blue runs which were nice and wide and weren't too crowded. There's a breathtaking view of Lake Tahoe at Scott Peak so we took plenty of pictures. There's a photographer up there who was nice enough to take a group pic for us. They (Alpine) also takes one with their camera - the picture can be purchased in the lodge. The people who ski/snowboard here are very polite, (I've encountered some very rude people on the slopes at other resorts!) so it's a great atmosphere to enjoy a wonderful day of sun and snow!
The lodge is large and comfortable. We wanted to beat the lunch crowd so we ate around 11:30. Again, no lines and plenty of tables to seat our entire party of 10! The food was priced ok - I had a chicken teriyaki 'wich ($7.75) and Alan had a double cheeseburger meal with fries and a small drink ($12.50). The chicken sandwich, 1 star, was very dry and plain! The cheeseburger, 3 star, on the otherhand was huge and quite tasty. The fries were nice crispy, which is always a plus. Drink refills are $.25, which I guess isn't too bad. They also have a huge philly cheesesteak ($7.75) that looked very good - I'll be trying that next time.
We left around 5 PM and hit some traffic on the way out, but nothing too major. I had a great time here and will be back soon for sure!
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Based upon others' reviews, I'm thinking I may need to give Alpine another shot at some point. Maybe I just caught it on a bad day. That said...
Some of the nice parts about Alpine include cheap(ish) tickets, small(ish) crowds, and friendly staff. That said, I found the runs themselves to be somewhat boring. Most of the trails on the front side are wide and steep. Nothing wrong with that, but not the most challenging terrain in the world. And, if you're an experienced skier, the front side becomes redundant in a hurry.
And that's why I probably need to go back - the back side was closed the day I was there, which definitely limited my options quite a bit. Sadly, it also was most certainly NOT a powder day. Grooming was decent early in the morning (no shocker there), but by late morning, it was scratchy, and come early afternoon there were patches of exposed ice on most trails. Again, nothing unusual about that, but based on what I had heard about the mountain, it was disappointing.
Still, a day skiing is better than a day at work...
My 2nd time snowboarding!
Got here really early around 9:30 or so, the parking wasnt bad at all. My friend got the prepaid lift tickets from costco which were 100 bucks for 2 tickets. pretty good deal in my opinion. The snow was great this time, so the falls weren't so bad for me this time. i like how the lines were super long like my first experience at northstar. especially it being a weekend. the rides down the hills weren't so bad. the first time i went boarding i probably went down about 3 times. this time i got on the lifts about 7 or 8 times. the green lifts were pretty easy to get down, good for first timers like me. went on a few blue trails, but one kind of sucks cause if you slow down too much you come to a complete stop.
for lunch we all shared some food, chicken nuggets, chili fries, pizza and chicken strips. all decent. the drinks there are fairly priced too, warning to myself dont drink and board. geez i ate sh*t so many times i sobered up after two lifts haha.
all in all, i had a fun time. im actually going back again this weekend. can't WAIT!
Could be my new favorite ski resort. Conditions were particularly awesome and powdery over Christmas, so this is where we chose to go, mostly because we were able to pick up some discount lift tickets in advance from REI.
I was surprised to find that Alpine was not particularly crowded for a holiday weekend, we never even really had to wait in lines for the lifts. I really enjoyed the small, manageable size of Alpine's terrain. Made it easy to ski with a group and still keep track of everyone throughout the day. Also, there was enough variety to keep me (a lowly slowpoke intermediate) and my boyfriend (an expert speed-demon daredevil kind of guy) pretty content for a couple of days. Maybe I just got spoiled by the super awesome conditions (hooray for fresh powder) but this place seriously rocked.
You know what also rocked? Lunch at the lodge. We got two hot dogs, chili fries (with enough extra chili to pile some on top of our dogs...) and drinks for just under $20. A total deal for lunch for two people. And the chili was awesome, totally homemade, and kept us warm and happy for the rest of the day.
As if this isn't enough, the staff is friendly and there's free Ricola throughout the resort. Nice touch.
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My ultimate favorite place to ski.......I taught two people how to ski here and its not as busy as Northstar and Squaw and its not as far away or susceptible to weather conditions as Mt Rose.
I'm really looking forward to this ski season and going on all the runs that this mountain has to offer!!!!!!woooohoooooo
The ski instructors are great no matter what level you are at!!!
Everyone who works here is really nice and they have a kick ass bar. The best is that their smugglers (hot coco and peppermint schnapps) hit the spot during midday skiing and the Merlot is great here...not sure if its the altitude or what:)
see y'all on the slopes!
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Damn, this place made my weekend so sweet. We rented a big-ass cabin in Tahoe City with a panoramic view of the lake and a hot tub. Then we got to check out Alpine for the first time. Thanks to Cat D. for the great idea.
A bunch of my co-workers and I signed up for GLTR, which is this thing that Alpine does with http://Active.com-- it's called Girls Learn to Ride and for a discounted price, women can get a 2hr snowboarding lesson, an all-day lift ticket and equipment rental for the day.
I already knew how to snowboard, but it was fun taking the lesson anyway and trying to do those crazy toe-side turns that I still can't do. The instructors at Alpine (Katie and Ashley) were totally awesome and incredibly cute.
Alpine's cheaper than Squaw (though not as fancy, but whatever, I can do without the pretentious types), and it's a little higher up in elevation and not as crowded as some of the even cheaper resorts, so it's kind of my favorite place to snowboard right now.
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Lots of room to yourself, which was important for me, because I spent more time on my face or my back than I did up on my snowboard. The beginner slopes are really easy, and there were 0 lines.
Had I been skiing, I would have been in heaven, as it was, I was snowboarding and ended up... cold... sore... grinning.
I'd like to give a nod to their nurse at the first aid station, he patched my wrist up good with an awesome splint job.
The lodge here rocks, clean, huge, WARM... the food is priced for San Francisco though, which sucks.
$13.50 for a caesar salad, an apple, and two bottles of water.
All in all, an awesome place. I will be back soon.
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1 STAR-PERFECT: an unpretentious, mid-sized resort with a chill, local vibe, awesome runs, and awesome employees
1 STAR-varied terrain for all levels of riders and skiers
1 STAR-excellent learn to ride/ski packages, full & half day
1 STAR-instructors, lift operators, ski patrol, & staff are friendly
1 STAR-offers a variety of prices for lift tickets
---adult (19-61) $58 full-day, $44 half-day, $63 holiday
---teen/jr. (13-18) $49 full, $44 half, $49 holiday
---youth (5-12) $10 anytime
---child (0-4) always FREE
---senior (62-69) $39 anytime
---super senior (70+) $15 anytime
---parent (interchangeable, no half day rate) $58 full, $63 holiday
******TAHOE CARD OFFERS DISCOUNTS ON e-LIFT TICKETS******
-card offers $5 off on non-holiday lift tickets, e-ticketing only
-card offers $10 off on HOLIDAY lift tickets, e-ticketing only
-purchase card on-line at http://www.snowbomb.com or at Costco in Reno, Sparks, or Carson City
I *heart* Alpine Meadows; this is where I learned to snowboard in December of 1996 and it was a life-altering experience, in the most positive sense.
I flew out from Manhattan to LA, drove all the way to Tahoe with my Malibu Ken boyfriend, and strapped on my first snowboard. I was in love...in love with snowboarding, that is...not Malibu Ken.
I took my first lessons here, and my instructors were all amazing. They taught me how to do the falling leaf...helped me to identify that I was more comfortable riding regular rather than goofy..and showed me that where ever I pointed my downhill hand, my board would go in the same direction. From this point forward, I've never again had a pair of skis of my feet.
Completely obsessed with my new love of snowboarding, one month later I packed up my personal effects, said good-bye to the City I love more than life itself, and moved to the west coast. Sure, I could've stayed in Manhattan and spent my weekends in Vermont, riding the icy mix. But I wanted powder...fresh powder...and lots of it.
This is why I moved out west. It was my love affair with snowboarding that began on the bunny slope aptly named "subway"....ironically, also my favorite mode of transportation in NY...which quickly blossomed into a full fledged obsession 3 days later as I conquered the blue-black runs of Sherwood...eventually making my first exhilarating passes through the half pipe. Since those initial "peak" experiences, my life has never been the same.
I'll always *heart* you, Alpine Meadows...my first west coast love~
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Having grown up skiing Tahoe, I actually have a soft spot in my heart for Alpine because this is where I learned back in 85!
HOWEVER, being an adult, and being a pretty damn good skiier,who has skiied at Whistler, Breckenridge, Sun Valley, A Basin, (and back east which really isn't worth mentioning!) I just don't have the patience to sit on their old school lifts that take forever to get to the top of the more advanced runs. Yes the lift tickets are cheaper here, but you get one main lodge and old slow lifts.
Bottom line is if you want to really get some decent skiing in anywhere, I suggest going during the week, otherwise you stand in the lift lines all day. And I have stood in some major lines at Alpine. Same for Squaw but you really get to weed out the beginners and the advanced by going on KT, Mad Dog, Granite Chief etc...I feel like at Alpine you might think you're better than you really are because you are in most of the same lifts with experts. There is alot of easy terrain at Alpine, more so than Squaw and Mt Rose.
The 3 stars is for the terrain and 1 star for cost of ticket. I would ski here more if there were faster lifts, but I'll always love my little Mt Rose, the difficult terrain, the better snow quality, the fast lifts and the cheap season pass!
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Great terrain. Definitely more affordable than the mountain next door. Getting more crowded over the years, though.
Depending on where you're coming from you may need to adjust the trail ratings. I think they are weak vs. Colorado mountains (Keystone, Breckenridge, etc). The black diamond and blues are definitely easier than correspondingly ranked trails in CO. But hey we have slushier or icier conditions so maybe that makes up for it?
Also, the back side isn't open as much as I think it should be (get your mind out of the gutter, huh?). Don't worry, I'll dodge the rocks!
My bf did all of the research before purchasing the discounted lift tix at The Sports Basement ($49/adult lift ticket instead of regular price of $58) in the Presidio. Our requirements were quite simple:
1) enough intermediate runs to keep the bf happy
2) a couple of green runs, which would help me practice
3) UNCROWDED
Alpine Meadows did meet these three basic criteria, which is why I had to give at least 2 stars.
The equipment rental was fairly reasonably priced at approximately $40.00 day. If you plan on keeping your equipment for multiple days, you will pay $40.00 for the first day of rental and 1/2 day rental price for each following day (~$35.00). The reception staff were friendly and inviting, but, I must record here that it took several attempts by the equipment staff to assist me in adjusting the skis so that my boots would lock into the skis. Plus, the boots were an improper fit (too tight in the cuff and roomy in the toe box) and now I have skiers' toe!!! (Not Alpine's fault, by any means...just a warning that rental equipment may not fit all feet).
My opinion is that this place is for TRUE BEGINNERS to learn and for EXPERIENCED skiers to enjoy the runs. I tried the two green runs that were operating on Friday, 11 Jan 2007. For the most part, they were short and sweet. They helped me remember and practice the basics. Yet, one complaint, the runs may not be challenging enough for someone that is "in between" a beginner and intermediate. Also, the snow was quite "cakey", in my opinion.
Unfortunately, I can speak from experience that the intermediate runs at this resort are quite challenging. They defintiely are not for those that are "in between".
There weren't many people there on Friday and the lines were quite reasonable for both equipment rental and the lifts.
Yet, overall, I would not want to go back anytime soon. At least not until I've developed enough skill to conquer the terrain.
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Da Bomb! Endless snow and terrain. Pow pow to groomies. I want to live here at the top of Summit Six. Ski down in the morning to get the paper and head back to the top of the mountain for breakfast. This place is Heaven.
This was the perfect mountain for me, who had not skied in some fifteen years, to get back on my bicycle, so to speak.
We drove in around 9:00 on a Sunday (first weekend of March) and got a great parking spot about 100 yds. from the front of the lodge.
The staff at the rental center was SO helpful and friendly from the moment we walked in the door. We were fully set up in less than 30 minutes.
My wife got a great package deal that got her an all-day lift ticket, half-day group lesson, and full equipment rental. There were only four people in her group, so she lucked out and got some quality one-on-one instruction.
I really enjoyed the intermediate runs here and especially enjoyed the back side of the mountain. The Hot Wheels chair was my least favorite--it's just too slow. People flocked to the high speed Roundhouse lift for good reason.
My only complaint about Alpine was that there were a few flat areas that my unskilled, ill-equipped ass could barely manage. But beyond that, the experience was total five-star quality for me.
A pleasant gem amongst the tourist hordes
I like this places laid back simple approach to ski/snowboarding. I went for my first time March of 2007 and despite dislocating my shoulder and losing my best sunglasses, I still enjoyed myself. That says a lot!
This is THE place for kids' ski school at Tahoe. My 9YO has been coming here for five years now -- it just gets better. I try, each trip, to have him ski a day somewhere else (usually Squaw), but he says:
1) Lots of varied terrain at Alpine (he is now an advanced intermediate -- loves challenge);
2) Much better lunches than Squaw -- nibbles (veges, crackers) are put out on the table, you can get seconds on entrees;
3) Instructors really know all the runs and how they vary based on snow conditions, so they can take you on double black diamonds some days that it's safe to do so -- very cool
4) Rental gear is in good condition and fairly new
I also like their new lunch place for 7-12 year olds skischoolers. Parents can see in at lunchtime, check their kid's OK, swap gloves, reapply sunscreen, etc.
They also have a new three-day package (pick the three days) for $330 of all-day ski school, lift tix, rentals, that's a nice money saver. Also switchable parent tix, etc. Good deal.
