I believe Lake Tahoe’s South Shore to be one of the prettiest places on the planet. Driving into the region, the views of deep gorges, craggy mountains and snow flocked tall green trees are singularly beautiful.
Spring skiing has long been one of our family’s favorite pastimes and Heavenly Ski Resort (skiheavenly.com) our destination of choice because it literally offers something for every skill level – my expert husband, intermediate teenage son and total novices who have still not quite mastered the art like my daughter and I.
High above the sapphire-blue waters of Lake Tahoe, few ski resorts can match Heavenly Ski Resort’s scenic beauty and expansive network of lifts, terrain, trails, and snowmaking. Straddled on the California-Nevada border, Heavenly is the region’s largest ski area, featuring the highest elevation at 10,067 feet and the longest vertical drop.
Photographer Jack Morris
The choices here are endless. Should you ski California or Nevada? Will it be 34 miles of wide-open, groomed cruisers, 1,600-foot plunges in the double-black diamond canyons or the super aggressive tree skiing – Heavenly is the perfect playground.
For my daughter and I, the best of the various beginners’ areas are those at the top of the main Heavenly gondola and at the top of the cable car on the California Lodge side; these mid-altitude locales allow our household’s less intrepid to share in the thrill and the high Sierra views.
The scenery across Lake Tahoe from the upper slopes at Heavenly are breathtaking; the views towards the desert in the opposite direction equally spectacular.
While he appreciates the panorama, Heavenly’s real attraction for my husband are the steep mogul runs down to California Lodge, while my son has his pick of long “cruise-able” groomers and open glade areas.
Gloriously sunny springtime weather with highs in the mid-50s had us all skiing sans snow jackets in the afternoon and made for yet another spectacularly memorable weekend away against one the world’s most beautiful backdrops.
