How To Ski Heavenly for the First Time
Heavenly is Lake Tahoe's Largest Ski Resort
© John Wu
Nov 13, 2009
Heavenly is Lake Tahoe's largest ski resort, a beautiful and huge 4,800 acre winter paradise that stretches between California and Nevada. Experts can attempt the very steep runs in Mott Canyon and Killebrew Canyon on the Nevada side, and the famous Gunbarrel face run just above Heavenly's California base lodge. Those looking for intermediate and advanced groomed runs have lots of choices here as well including Ridge Run, Orion, and Dipper.
Nearly all of the ski lifts at Heavenly are high speed detachable quads and six packs. Guests do not have to worry about spending too much time taking the lifts.
Skiing at Heavenly in California and Nevada
The sun softens the snow in the Nevada portion of the resort first before California. The California side frequently remains icy until the latter part of the morning. Therefore, the best way to enjoy the resort is to ski the Nevada side in the morning, then switch to California for the afternoon.
Heavenly's California Lodge
There are four different base lodges to begin the day at Heavenly For most first time visitors, the best entrance is the California lodge due to plentiful free parking and ease of directions. To get there, take Highway 50 to South Lake Tahoe and go south on Ski Run Blvd. Follow the signs to the Heavenly parking area. There are also shuttles that take guests to the four base lodges from local hotels and casinos in South Lake Tahoe.
To reach the remainder of the resort, take the chair up the famous Gunbarrel face ski run. Gunbarrel is a long, double black diamond run full of large moguls. Do not worry about having to ski down this run to get back to the lodge. This ski lift takes skiers and riders downhill as well as uphill. Most guests download via the Gunbarrel chair to return to their cars. Only expert skiers and riders who enjoy big moguls should think about attempting to go down Gunbarrel the hard way.
Heavenly Ski Resort via Gondola
Those staying at the casino resorts can walk to the Gondola lift just west of Harrah's Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino. From there, both skiers and non-skiers take the Gondola lift to see fantastic views of Lake Tahoe at 9,100 feet as well as access the rest of the resort from the Nevada side.
The signage at Heavenly is very clear and straightforward. Many locations have a giant map of the resort to help guests get to where they need to go. The best way to experience Heavenly is to spend the morning on the Nevada side, then traverse to California for the afternoon session. It should take no longer than 20 minutes for experienced skiers and riders to reach Nevada from the California base lodge.
Advice for Snowboarders at Heavenly
The traverses at Heavenly are often flat, and a few even contain uphill sections. It's very important for riders to keep up their momentum in the traverses, especially the traverse from California to Nevada and also the traverse from Nevada to California. Once snowboarders learn to ride fast through the flat sections, Heavenly is just as good as any other resort with lots of groomed cruisers as well as terrain parks with incredible views of Lake Tahoe.
There is a beginner's terrain park called Low Roller at the California side near the top of Gunbarrel. Advanced terrain park riders can head to the top of the Canyon chair on the California side to reach the High Roller terrain park.
After a full day of enjoyable skiing, remember to return to the base lodge before 4pm. If the lifts close and guests end up at the wrong base lodge, there are shuttles that visit each of the four base lodges. However, it will take 30-45 minutes to return to the correct base lodge via shuttle. It's faster to ski towards the correct lodge before the 4pm closing time.
For more information on Heavenly Valley Ski Resort, call their main number at (775) 586-7000 or go to Heavenly's website.
Those interested in this article may also be interested in reading about hiking Half Dome.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
