Homeboy reader Anne sent me email and asked if she could share a couple of her photos of the local ski resort called Terry Peak. While we are still developing social media “element” of Homeboy, we wanted to publish Anne’s shots of the Terry Peak in a blog post. We also took a bit more closer look at this small ski resort and gathered you a small information package.

Terry Peak in the Black Hills is a small but lively ski resort

Let’s check what Wikipedia says about the Terry Peak and Black Hills.

The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an “island of trees in a sea of grass”. The Black Hills encompass the Black Hills National Forest and are home to the tallest peaks of continental North America east of the Rockies.

The name “Black Hills” is a translation of the Lakota Pahá Sápa. The hills were so-called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they were covered in trees.

According to Homeboy reader Anne the mountain sits at about 5,900 feet and is geographically placed to receive quite a bit of snow, despite the fact that it isn’t as high as neighboring Rocky Mountain ski resorts. There are quite a few trails, a terrain park, main lodge, etc. Terry Peak operated the highest chair lifts East of the Rocky Mountains and has been open since 1938.

While Terry Peak is a tiny ski resort compared to giants such as Whistler/Blackcomb, it really seems to be lively and active. For those interested in Terry peak I recommend following them in Facebook which get updated frequently. As an example there is a six-week ladies only ski program is designed and taught by women, which is totally new kind of event to me.

Time for ladies only!

Terry Peak ski resort stats

Terry Peak was open 125 days during the 2008-09 Season. Over 280 inches blanketed the mountain from December to early April. Terry Peak is home to South Dakota’s only two high-speed detachable quad chairlifts, and it is the highest lift-served area east of the Rockies.The closest major airport to Terry Peak is Rapid City Regional Airport (a one-hour drive)

Terry Peak ski resort in figures

Surface Lifts: 1
Chair Lifts: 4
Cabin Lifts: 0
Trails: 30
X-Country: 0 miles
Fun Parks: 1

Top altitude: 7100 Ft.
Bottom altitude: 5900 Ft.
Vertical Drop: 1100 Ft.

Longest Run: 0.8 miles
Skiable Terrain: 450 acres
Snow Making: 225 acres

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Statistics
Average snowfall: 300 inches (760cm)
Vertical drop: 2,353 feet (717 m)
Terrain: 3000 acres  (15% of that beginner, 35% intermediate, 40% advanced, 10% expert)
Lifts: 12 total lifts, 3 of them high speed quads

Over the past few years Whitefish has gone through a lot. It has been transformed from a locals ski area to a bigger, more visitor orientated resort with a resort village and real estate developments. The locals can’t make up their mind about if the developments have been for the better or worse.  Some locals say that the day visitor parking lots have been moved too far from the center of the resort to create space for condos, lift tickets have gotten more expensive and that increased crowds are bothering them. On the other hand the new visitors always bring in more money, which has allowed Whitefish to update their lift system with the new high speed quads, making the trip to the top of the mountain a breeze. Even though we visited Whitefish during one of the busiest time of the year, between Christmas and New Year the lift lines were either non-existent or short. And the lift ticket prices are still reasonable compared to many other resorts big resorts, with the adult day pass costing $61.

Skiers heading down the North Side of Whitefish with Glacier National Park in the background

Skiing Whitefish

One good thing about Whitefish that when all of the terrain is open the entire mountain is truly skiable. The lifts go up the mountain on each side of it, and there’s a network of trails that goes around the mountain. Between the groomed trails there’s terrain of every variety from open bowls to tree skiing. The profile of the mountain is in general great for skiing, with consistent fall lines and just a few flatter spots that might annoy some.  The views are amazing if visibility is good, with the Glacier National Park’s huge mountains looming behind the resort and Whitefish Lake to the south.

The mountain has 3 main areas, Front side, North Side and Hellroaring Basin.

The Front Side is the place to be for the beginner skier

Pretty much all of the beginner trails are located on the Front Side. There’s couple of chairlifts that serve beginner terrain only which will surely keep beginners and families happy. Its nice to have own, separate areas where you don’t have to be afraid of expert skiers wooshing by on their way to the double black diamonds. For those who prefer the green runs there are a good variety of them, also from the top of the mountain, so you don’t have to stick for the one and same run for the whole duration of your holiday.

View of part of the Frontside

The Front Side has some expert terrain too, separated from the beginner terrain, and it’s great for someone who’s looking to do quick, leg-burning laps off the fast chair 1 on a quiet powder day. On the far right side of the Front Side is the East Rim, which has some nice cliffed terrain, but watch out for the 80 feet high ones.. The area holds powder for longer than many other runs if you know your way around, but the traverse back to chair one is long and boring on a green run. The problem with top-to-bottom runs on Chair One can be the snow quality since the base station of the chair sits relatively low.

Click here for the full trail map of the Front Side.

The North Side of Whitefish

Intermediate skiers will find themselves at home here with a variety of blue runs. The North Side is north facing (obviously) and in shadow (just what you’d expect from backside, duh) and coupled with the fact that the base station of the chairlift serving this terrain is higher than other lifts in Whitefish results to usually the best snow conditions on the mountain. Because of small local weather variations the backside also gets a bit more snowfall than the frontside.

There are two gripes though – the skiable vertical here is only about 1000 feet (300m) and the runs tend to be steep in the beginning and somewhat low angle after that. Luckily this is the only area of Whitefish that is affected by this problem. The North Side is served by one high speed quad, and if the Front Side has lift lines then the North Side is a good place to escape them.

Click here for the trail map of the North Side.

Hellroaring Basin – pure off-trail skiing

Hellroaring Basin is where most of the off-trail skiing in Whitefish is. There is only one groomed run down the area, a blue run that is not really worth talking about. It mainly serves the purpose of getting skiers to the Hellroaring chair after a run off the trail. Rest of the skiing is black and double black diamonds.

One can drop into the horseshoe-shaped basin from any point along the cat tracks that circle it. There’s some great tree-skiing here, along with couple of chutes and open areas. It doesn’t get tracked out very fast, partly because to do laps in the basin you first need to ride up Hellroaring Chair to the side of the basin and then ski down to Chair 1 to get up to the top of the mountain again. An annoyance, but only a minor since it keeps some of the crowds away. Those who are comfortable on expert runs will like this area a lot on a powder day.

Laura, fog, and a lot of snow in Hellroaring Basin..

The whole Hellroaring Basin and the chairlift alway close on April 1st to protect the local grizzly bear population and let them have their peace. Obeying the closure is a good idea unless you first want to get clawed by a big, ugly bear and then get fined by big, even uglier Flathead National Forest ranger.

Click here for Hellroaring Basin trail map.

Conclusion

Summa summarum: There are many ways people feel about the recent development of Whitefish. In the end its still not the most megalomaniac resort with thousands of condos, but it’s not the mom-and-pop ski area either. With the lift ticket prices still reasonable and a medium-sized resort town and ski area you can still feel like you’re in the mountains instead of Disneyland. The crowds aren’t as bad either. Whitefish might have lost some of its local charm in the last years, but the fact that the skiing is great along with the views from the top of the mountain can not be ignored.

Early season pow near left of the Saddle Mountain lift

Lost Trail – no frills, just skiing

There’s basically three main, longer lifts at Lost Trail, Chair 1, Chair 2 and Saddle Mountain Chair, the latter of which despite it’s name does not go up to Saddle Mountain, but rather the one next to it. Chair 1 and Chair 2 access another small peak. Besides of those there are two other chairlifts (serving some easier terrain) and a rope tow that connect the Chair 1 and Saddle Mountain Chair. All of chairlifts are older, fixed grip 2 seat chairlifts. Not that fast, but who cares when there’s not enough crowds to form anything that resembles a lift line anyway.

Lost Trail is not a big mountain, the main lifts serve between 1200 to 1800 feet vertical. But this isn’t supposed to be another Jackson Hole or Chamonix anyway. The small ski area feeling that I like is present, and especially families will feel themselves at home here with the lower ticket prices and plenty of long, blue runs.

The advanced terrain and backcountry at Lost Trail Powder Mountain

For that you probably want to look at Chair 1 and 2. Lookers right side of Chair 1 sports some nice cliffs and short chutes through the woods. Unfortunately for the expert skier, the Saddle Mountain lift accesses mostly flat terrain, with only the very top of the runs being steep, and the lift ride being long. So for quick laps on a powder day we suggest sticking to Chair 1 and 2.

Laura riding powder under empty chairs (Chair 1)

However, if you’re interested in the out-of-bounds options and are properly equipped with avalanche gear and knowledge of the snowpack then the backside of the peak that Saddle Mountain lift goes up to, along with the ridge that connects Chair 1 and Saddle Mountain Chair is worth taking a look at. There are a multitude of options around here if the snow allows it. The only way out though is to skinback to the ski area. There’s a $5 one-way lift ticket offered for those who want to go touring. Fire up that Google Earth and have a look!

Looking down at the out-of-bounds backside of the Saddle Mountain Chair in early season (mid-December),
view is towards Saddle Mountain proper

Terrain Park

I’m not much of a park rider myself at all but I applaud how Lost Trail apparently is making the effort to construct to a good terrain park. During our visit in early season the “Frontcountry” park already had several rails and small features set up even though snow was not that plentiful. Along with that there’s a “Powder Park”, its specialty being natural features, aimed at more beginners . I never got to see either of the parks fully finished during our visit since it was early season but the good condition and the number of rails that had already been put up leads me to think that the park is probably in pretty good shape the whole winter. There’s a seperate park crew that takes care of the park.

In my experience it’s not really often that the small areas really invest into terrain parks, and I think it is a good move for Lost Trail to do so. It attracts some of the younger riders  and shows that the management is not stuck in the 70s. For a glimpse into Lost Trails park scene you can check their seperate site at ltpark.com.

Location

The Lost Trail ski area is located right next to highway 93 at the Montana-Idaho border. The area is approximately 95 miles from Missoula, MT, and 100 miles from Butte, MT. In Idaho the closest bigger town is Salmon, 45 miles from Lost Trail.

Conclusion

Lost Trail might not be a prime ski vacation destination resort, but it is something to keep in mind when you’re in the area or driving by. And if you live within a daytrip range, its definitely worth a visit on a good day. Competition on powder days is not fierce. Park rats will undoubtedly enjoy the options at Lost Trail. For those who only want an easy access to backcountry then the $5 one-ride lift ticket is a nice way to get to the back bowls, skinning up the closed runs when the resort is not open is also a possibility.

Links:

www.losttrail.com
www.ltpark.com

Boasting more than 6000 ski runs over 25,000 hectares, France is home to the largest ski areas in the world. The high altitude resorts enjoy excellent snow conditions, some of them even offer a “snow guarantee”. A number of ski areas are open from late November until early May.

The French Tourism Ministry has awarded the “Famille Plus Montagne” label to ski resorts that make an extra special effort to welcome families with children, in terms of services and infrastructure, activities and entertainments, child care and much more.  All the following seven family ski resorts have been awarded the Famille Plus Montagne label.

This article is not an in-depth review such as Krippenstein ski resort review, but a general introduction to the seven best family ski resorts in France. And yeah, this is only our opinion. If you disagree or think differently, please tell us your opinion by leaving a comment.

Family Ski Resort #1 – La Clusaz

La Clusaz has developed over the years, whilst still retaining the charm of an authentic mountain village. Respectful of its traditions, yet forward thinking, La Clusaz has built a reputation for itself that is very different to that of the other French ski resorts. Home to eight world champions and talented freestylers, with its fabulous 400 hectare ski area, a large variety of runs and vertical drops, La Clusaz is undoubtedly the ski resort of all snow sports.

La Clusaz is just 4 hours from Paris by TGV high speed train and 1 hour from Geneva. La Clusaz is an active ski resort with their around 200 free snow sport, sporting and cultural events and activities throughout the winter. As a new thing La Clusaz is going to introduce bowling on ice this season. Set at the heart of La Clusaz, the ice rink covers more than 1000 m2 of ice.

La Clusaz information

Access from airport (Annecy-Meythet): 36 km

Access from railway station (Annecy): 32 km

Heights: 1100 m – 2600 m

Number of ski lifts: 56

Number of slopes: 84 (132 km): 7 black, 24 red, 29 blue, 24 green

Cross country skiing: 84 km

Ski passes: 30 euros / day, 158 euros / 6 days

Linked ski area: Les Aravis (220 km of slopes)

Web: www.laclusaz.com

Family Ski Resort #2 – La Rosière

In the heart of the Haute-Tarentaise, at 1850 meters above the sea level, on a “balcony” facing to South, La Rosière is a friendly family ski resort built respecting mountain architectural traditions. Linked with La Thuile in Italy, it is the only Savoyard ski resort to offer an international ski area of 150 km pisted runs. With the label “Famille Plus Montagne” La Rosière offers a large choice of after ski activities and entertaining nights to spend with family.

La Rosière has several themed weeks, such as Christmas, local produce, air, retro, well-being, the mountains and children. There are also many new snow sports activities in La Rosière, such as snowkites, speed riding, snowpark, boarder cross and snow cross.

La Rosiere information

Access from airport (Lyon St Exupéry): 210 km

Access from railway station (Aime): 23 km

Heights: 1860 m – 2650 m

Number of ski lifts: 37

Number of slopes: 73 (150 km): 12 black, 32 red, 23 blue, 6 green

Ski passes: 36,6 euros / day, 171,9 euros / 6 days

Web: www.larosiere.net

Family Ski Resort #3 – Les Arcs

Les Arcs is a family ski resorts with amazing mountains and plenty of character. Generous with superb panoramic views and bags of sunshine, overwhelming and audacious with all the different styles of skiing on offer and adventures in which to indulge day after day. Les Arcs is “magical” for children by offering a huge range of activities from which to choose. Les Arcs / Bourg Saint Maurice is probably in its best during holidays such as Christmas.

As a new thing Les Arcs offers 50% discount on ski passes on Saturdays for those who have downloaded and printed a discount voucher form Les Arcs website. The resort of Les Arcs has built the largest high altitude reservoir in France (400 000 m3) to supply the artificial snow network across the whole ski area.

Les Arcs information

Access from airport (Geneva): 150 km

Access from railway station (Bourg St Maurice): 15 km

Heights: 1200 m – 3226 m

Number of ski lifts: 54

Number of slopes: 106: 19 black, 32 red, 54 blue, 1 green

Ski passes: 43,5 euros / day, 209 euros / 6 days

Linked ski area: Paradiski (425 km of slopes)

Web: www.lesarcs.com

Family Ski Resort #4 – Les 2 Alpes

This famous Isère destination at the heart of the Oisans, is part of a generation of resorts that were created from scratch. At an altitude of 1600 meters, it was built over high mountain pastures, shared between the villages of Venosc and Mont de Lans.

A dream was to become a reality here during the 1930s. The development of the plateau, originally carried out by private individuals, with the aim of creating a large winter sports resort, was achieved in 1946. 62 years later, the resort of les 2 Alpes has become a high altitude town continually developing, improving and changing for the better.

Les 2 Alpes includes a glacier at 3600 meters of altitude, which means natural snow is guaranteed. There is a kind of boom of freeskiing going on in les 2 Alpes, or at least the linked resort La Grave is known as a playground of hard core freeskiers. Les 2 Alpes is introducing a new teaching concept for ski school this season. The Ski-Voice is a radio system that enables instructors to communicate directly with their pupils (up to six people at once).

Les 2 Alpes  information

Access from airport (Lyon St Exupéry): 160 km

Access from railway station (Grenoble): 70 km

Heights: 1300 m – 3600 m

Number of ski lifts: 51

Number of slopes: 104 (225 km): 14 black, 18 red, 45 blue, 25 green

Ski passes: 38,7 euros / day, 189 euros / 6 days

Cross country skiing: 20 km

Linked ski area: La Grave (220 km of slopes)

Web: www.les2alpes.com

Family Ski Resort #5 – Les Menuires

Located at an altitude of 1850 meters, at the heart of the largest ski area in the world, the 3 Valleys, the Savoyard resort of Les Menuires enjoys an exceptional setting. Its varied ski area offers both gentle and wide open slopes that are perfect for beginners, as well as more technical slopes for advanced skiers.With unforgettable descents, fast and comfortable access to the slopes thanks to an ultra-modern network of ski lifts, Les Menuires offers pretty good skiing in good safety.

Les Menuires is a family ski resort with activities to suit everyone. There is a sports center with well-being areas and aqua club, ice rink, snow scooters, paragliding, ringo tubes, walks and snowshoe outings. It is also good to notice that Les Menuires is the most competitively priced ski resort in the 3 Valleys area. Les Menuires also offers a chance to book early for less, so hurry up..

Les Menuires is introducing a totally new 6-seated detachable chair lift, the Sunny Express, replacing three older chair lifts and a drag lift in the Reberty – Les Bruyères sector. The length of this new ski lift is 2.6 km and it climbs 700 vertical meters.

Les Menuires information

Access from airport (Lyon At Exupéry): 183 km

Access from railway station (Moûtiers): 27 km

Heights: 1850 m – 2850 m

Number of ski lifts: 37

Number of slopes: 61 (160 km): 7 black, 25 red, 25 blue, 4 green

Ski passes: 36,5 euros / day, 177 euros / 6 days

Linked ski area: Les 3 Vallees (600 km of slopes)

Web: www.lesmenuires.com

Family Ski Resort #6 – Serre Chevalier

Serre Chevalier is home to one of the largest ski areas in France, le Grand Serre Che. The area includes 250 km of runs from an altitude of 1200 to 2800 meters for beginners and experts alike. Set between the Lautaret mountain pass and Briancon, Serre Chevalier is a south-facing valley dotted with hamlets and villages ranging from the traditional to the ultra modern.

Serre Chevalier is host to a wide range of activities for the whole family, including sports, relaxation and culture. Located at the foot of the most beautiful summits in the Ecrins National Park, Serre Chevalier is bathed in light. The air and water are pure, the sky is blue and the sun shines for more than 300 days a year. What could be better?

Serre Chevalier information

Access from airport (Grenoble St Geoirs): 120 km

Access from railway station (Briancon): 6 km

Heights: 1200 m – 2800 m

Number of ski lifts: 65

Number of slopes: 108 (250 km): 14 black, 39 red, 31 blue, 24 green

Ski passes: 40,5 euros / day, 194,5 euros / 6 days

Web: www.serre-chevalier.com

Family Ski Resort #7 – Val Thorens

Val Thorens is an interesting family ski resort. It guarantees an excellent quality snow cover all winter long. With five pistes’ summits higher than 3000 meters, and 99% of the ski area higher than 2000 meters, the snow in Val Thorens is guaranteed for up to May.In fact, Val Thorens is the highest ski resort in Europe, set an altitude of 2300 meters.

The ski lifts in Val Thorens are one of the most efficient in the world. And what’s best, whatever the accommodation, you don’t have to walk more than 100 meters to access or come back from the slopes. Val Thorens is part of Les 3 Vallée, the largest ski area in the world (600 km of runs that connect the resorts of Courchevel, la Tania, Méribel, St-Martin, les Menuires and Val Thorens).

This year Val Thorens is putting efforts on providing something new to beginners as they have invested more than 1.5 million euros to create a new 40 hectare, easy skiing are that is totally free of charge for beginners. The area is equipped with four new moving walkways, 2 of which are covered and high speed (fastest in France). Easy to use, they will improve access to all areas at the foot of the slopes.

Val Thorens information

Access from airport (Lyon St Exupéry): 193 km

Access from railway station (Moutiers): 37 km

Heights: 1800 m – 3230 m

Number of ski lifts: 28

Number of slopes: 69 (140 km): 8 black, 27 red, 26 blue, 8 green

Ski passes: 37,5 euros / day, 175 euros / 6 days

Web: www.valthorens.com

More and more skiers, especially freeriders from all over the world are coming to the Salzkammergut to ski Krippenstein. They don’t really come for the view, which still is spectacular with Dachstein to the south and Hallstätter See to the north. But there is something special about this place, and that is the snow. The snow is not better than in other ski-resorts in the Alps and there probably isn’t an above of average number of days with snowfall. But when it snows, oh my. Expect to be doing a lot of this to even get out to ski:

If a snowstorm comes through from the right direction (which is northwest to north, by the way) just “it is snowing” is no adequate word for the event of incredible amounts of white stuff getting dumped in the area north of Dachstein. And in the middle of this area lies Krippenstein. I have never experienced snowfall as strong as in Krippenstein anywhere else in the Alps and I have been to places which are famous for their strong snowfalls like Arlberg, Engelberg, Nordpark or Andermatt during heavy storms. It just makes you smile even if you are not skiing or snowboarding. Combine that with some nice terrain, lack of crowds and you have a pretty good resort for powder-skiing.

Krippenstein Resort Review: General Info

Krippenstein is different to many other resorts in many respects. One reason is that the infrastructure is not designed for skiing, but for the use during summer and for the Austrian military, which has a base just a bit south-west of the ski-resort.

There is just one important lift, “Dachstein-Krippensteinbahn”. It is a tram with three sections. The first two sections were renewed in 2007 and have pretty modern, comfortable, fast and quite big gondolas. Even on busy days you won’t have to queue for long. If it is very crowded you may not make it into the first gondola which leaves after you enter the station but you’ll always make it to the next one.

The first section takes you from the valley-station at 609m above sea level to the middle station, which is called “Schönbergalm”, at 1350m. There’s a lot of infrastructure here but all the buildings are closed during winter. The second section takes you from there to the top station, which is located pretty close to the summit of Krippenstein at 2100m. The station itself is big and has been a hotel once, but it has been closed for a long time. If you step outside of the station, you can not miss the “Lodge” which is restaurant, hotel and information centre. It is a nice place to have lunch, or a coffee on the terrace with a great view towards the Dachstein or a beer after your ski-day before you make one last decent to the valley. They also serve, hands-down, the best Topfenstrudel (traditional Austrian quark strudel) I’ve ever had. The third section goes down from the top station, towards the Gjaidalm , it has no real use for skiing, but it is a nice old gondola and there are some nice views from it. The Gjaidalm is a private hut, but run in a way that resembles an alpine club hut. It is big, and can get crowded in spring since it is close to the popular skitours towards the Dachstein.

If you ski down on the piste, you will suddenly enter a little village, which is called Krippenbrunn . It consists of a few houses which are all available as accommodation for tourists, and one restaurant and a bar. Krippenbrunn is a popular place to stay at during the season so the restaurant can get pretty crowded at lunch break and in the evening but they offer acceptable and cheap food and drinks.

Tired of dropping cliffs? Try roofs in Krippenbrunn.

There is a special military gondola, which comes from Obertraun and goes through Krippenbrunn to the military barracks behind the Gjaidalm. This gondola is not included in the ski pass and it can not be used as for skiing. You can get single rides on it in the spring and start touring towards Dachstein from the top though.
There is one chairlift at the resort, at the top, which is pretty short and two beginner t-bars, one at the top of the resort, close to the chairlift and one, which chronically lacks snow, down in the valley.

Piste skiing at Krippenstein

As stated above, there is only one real piste. It is a long one, 11km in total. It starts at the top station and goes east for a while, than it turns north and continues through Krippenbrunn towards the valley. It is a nice run, manageable for beginners, but long and demanding enough for more experienced skiers. The snow is usually quite good because it is pretty north-facing and well-groomed. There is another short run from the top station towards the chairlift, which is not really worth mentioning. But you do not come to the Krippenstein to ski on-piste all the time…

Krippenstein Resort Review: The off-piste

There are three really nice and long more or less official off-piste-runs, which are marked with sticks, some shorter variants of them, and countless hidden descents, which are hard to find. Because all of them are north-facing, the snow stays nice and soft for quite some time, especially in the higher parts.

But some words on the special dangers at the Krippenstein at first. The rock in the whole area is limestone, which is heavily karstified due to millennia of chemical weathering. This means that the whole mountain is full of holes and dolines like a piece of Swiss cheese. Some of them are big caves, which attract a lot of tourists in the summer, the dangerous ones are smaller, just a few meters wide. They can be really deep (40m and more) and are basically like crevasses on a glacier in winter, except that because they contain warm air don’t really get covered with snow that well. Falling into one of those holes could be fatal, so you should be very careful if you leave the marked runs. Hire a guide if you are not sure where you can ski safely. Getting lost is also easy if you leave the marked runs.. and that would be very bad because there are huge cliffbands in the area, and slopes which look really good from above may not lead down to the valley. Only a few people ski off-piste, especially on storm days, so there may be no-one to help you if things turn bad. Because of that you should never ski alone and always carry avalanche safety equipment and know how to use it.

Off-piste runs at Krippenstein

The three main off-piste runs, which are marked, but not controlled and not checked for safety, are Angeralm, Schönbergalm and Imisl/Eisgrube (I call the upper part Imisl and the lower part Eisgrube, some people call it upper and lower Imisl).

The combination of Imisl and Eisgrube is the easiest of the three. From the top station, you follow the piste until it crosses the cables of the third gondola section. There is a sign somewhere which shows the exact starting point. The first part is more or less flat and can be bad for snowboarders if there is a lot of fresh snow. There are some sections which are a bit steeper until you reach the start of the Eisgrube, which is a bit east or skier’s right from Krippenbrunn. You can exit here to Krippenbrunn and the piste, and you can also access the Eisgrube from Krippenbrunn if you follow the piste for a few meters until it turns right, and then left pretty soon. Just head straight ahead, instead of following the bend to the left. There is also a sign.

Eisgrube is steeper than Imisl and because it gets skied a lot it turns into a mogul run more or less during the season. It is still great to ski if there is fresh snow (or if you like mogul-skiing), and it is big enough that you will find some untracked parts even some days after a snowfall. You end up pretty low on the piste, from where you have to continue down to the gondola.

Angeralm is a difficult run, especially at the beginning and at the exit. It starts at the top station, just turn left after you leave the building. You can see the upper part of the run from the second gondola section. Its steep at first with some pretty narrow areas, then it opens up in a wide and open slope with scattered trees.

There is the marked run to the left, and an unmarked one further right which requires a traverse to get there and another to get back again. If you ski down, you will notice orange “EXIT”-signs on trees at some point, which all point skiers left. You have to follow them to get to the exit. Do not ski past them. The exit is pretty bad, especially if there is not much snow or if it has been a long time since the last snowfall. It is steep, there are lots of trees and rocks, there is not much snow and it gets skied out pretty bad. If you are not a good skier or snowboarder, you will be in trouble here, at least the first few times. But it is short, and can be sidestepped if the conditions are really bad. After the exit, you come to the lowest part of Eisgrube, from where you get back to the piste and the gondola.

Schönbergalm is an intermediate run skiing wise, but it is really wide and has a lot of variations, which makes it easy to get lost there, especially if it is foggy and you leave or lose the marked run. You reach it with a traverse and a hike of about 15 minutes from the top station.

First, you ski down towards the beginner t-bar, which you cross at the upper end. From there you continue east. In general, there is a cat-track, but it takes some days after a big storm before they groom it properley. If there is no track, you should only go there if you know the way, because there are no marks until you reach the little hut which marks the start of the descent. Again, it is easy to get lost on the traverse in the fog, and there are dolines all over the area, so be careful. The hut at the start of the Schönbergalm run is open, so you can have a break in it if it’s really cold and windy and you feel like it. From the hut you ski more or less directly to the middle station, from where you can get the gondola to the top again. There is a bigger cave a little bit skiers left of the marked run which you can easily visit on your way down. You can see it from the gondola, which makes it easy to find. It may not be really big but it gives a taste of what can be seen at the Krippenstein in summer when the big caves are open for the public.

As stated above, there are lots of runs which are not marked, like Himmeleck, Minigolf, Little Face, Gelber Stein, Gamsjäger nein danke (which is my favourite at least in its name), Krippenbrunn direkt and a lot more. Some shorter stuff from Imisl towards the piste can be seen from the third gondola section, but in general most of the runs are hard to find and not always in good condition. I would recommend hiring a guide if you want to see more of the terrain that Krippenstein has to offer.

Avalanche danger could be considered low in general on the marked descents since they get skied regularly after each snowfall and the runs aren’t very big or steep. They’re also mostly protected from strong winds. But you can never say that anything is safe, so make your own conclusions, or get a guide. Here are just a few things I’d like to point out:

• Be careful at the Start of the Angeralm and Schönbergalm routes right after a storm, there is always windblown snow and the terrain is fairly steep.
• Stick straight to the markings at the beginning of the descent of the Schönbergalm. There are dolines and holes all over, especially to the left.
• Do not ski close to the cliff-faces skiers left in Angeralm and skiers right in Imisl/Eisgrube (especially at the start of Eisgrube), even if it looks pretty good and there are tracks. There are avalanches coming down from the top of the Krippenstein regularly, especially after or during storms, and when temperatures rise.
• Do not ski Schönbergalm late in the afternoon. If you miss the last gondola, you are in trouble, because you can not get down to the valley from the middle station on skis.
• Do not follow tracks which go straight instead of following the EXIT-signs at the end of the Angeralm. There is one possibility to get down there safe (except the normal exit) and it involves a 3m drop. And there is always just enough snow for one or two skiers. You will not find it if there are no tracks, and if there are tracks it is already skied and you have to downclimb it, or to go back up to the normal exit. Both of those options suck, believe me.

Here are the links to the local avalanche-bulletins (you may take a look at those from Salzburger Land and Styria too, because Krippenstein is located very close to the border):
Upper Austria
Styria
Salzburger Land

Ski-touring near Krippenstein

A lot of people ski-tours in the area, especially from Krippenstein towards Dachstein. As nice as the tours may be landscape-wise, most of the classic ones do not offer great descents. There are some nice ones, for example down to Hallstatt if there is enough snow, but the plateau between the Dachstein and the Krippenstein is pretty flat, and you skin from the Gjaidalm to the Dachstein ski-resort on a cat-track most of the time. In spring, lots of people take the gondola up to the Krippenstein, skin from there to the Dachstein (you can not reach the summit with skis), ski back to the Gjaidalm on the cat-track and continue from there on the piste to Obertraun.

Krippenstein accomodation/après-ski

You can stay in Obertraun or in Hallstatt, but I would recommend staying at the mountain, at the Lodge, the Gjaidalm or in Krippenbrunn. Unlike at other resorts, it is not really expensive (especially in Krippenbrunn) and you will not have to drive to the mountain in the morning. There are ski-buses, but you can not reach the first gondola with them. There is also a kind of a hostel in between Obertraun and the ski-resort.
There is no real après-ski at the Krippenstein. You will meet lots of people in the Lodge, after the last ride up with the gondola and sometimes there are nice spontaneous parties in the Bar in Krippenbrunn. Obertraun is a small village with less than 1000 inhabitants, but if you really want to party you can try the Haifischbar…

Best times to visit

The season starts in mid December and ends at some point in April. I would say that in general, February is the best time to ski the Krippenstein. Since the terrain in the upper parts of the mountain is quite rough and rocky it requires a lot of snow to be really skiable; I would say at least 2m base is needed at the top station. This amount can be reached in January, but not always. In a normal season, there are between 3 and 5 meters of snow at the top station by the beginning of March. Later in the season, it can get pretty warm at the lowest parts of the resort, but still be chilly enough at the top. I had one of my best skiing days in Krippenstein at the end of March, even when I had to carry my skis back to the gondola through pouring rain for about 15 minutes after each run. The higher elevation bit was still really great and you can always avoid going down into the valley by skiing Schönbergalm.

How to get there

You can get to the Krippenstein by car or by train. Do not forget to check the road-conditions if you choose the car! The nearest bigger airport is Salzburg and some cheap flights exist. From Salzburg you have to drive over the Pass Gschütt which can be difficult in heavy snowfall! If it really snows a lot, which it does sometimes in the area, the road from Hallstatt to Obertraun will be closed because of avalanche danger. Very rarely the train connection gets cut off also.

Stuff to do without skis

Hallstatt is definitely worth a visit. It is a really nice village with a long and rich history and culture, lots of nice old houses, some parts of them are build on wooden piles into the lake.

Hallstat during snowfall

The famous big caves in the area are closed during winter, but you can see the small cave in the Schönbergalm descent and you can visit the old salt mines in Hallein and Bad Aussee.

Got a comment or a question that wasn’t answered in this article? Go ahead and drop a note!

Snow in October is not really unusual in the Alps, but when it snows the snowline is usually very high up. This time it snowed more or less straight for 6 days all the way to the valley and at least us skiers got very excited…

The first storm came in on Monday last week, at first fairly high up in the mountains, but on Tuesday the snowline dropped to 1000m or even lower in the Northern Alps. Most of the areas which profit from precipitation from the north had a snowpack of nearly 1m by then, which meant that there would be enough snow for the first real powder-turns for us. Unfortunately at this point of the season all the ski-resorts are closed, except of  the glacier-resorts. And because skiing off-piste on a glacier in October always is a game of crevasse-slalom we decided against lift-served skiing.

On Wednesday we grabbed our ski-touring stuff in Innsbruck, and left for the close (and closed) Resort Rosshütte in Seefeld. We figured out there would be a lot of snow like everywhere in the northern Alps, and the parking lot is at 1230m, which was high enough to start skinning right from the car.

The weather was nice as we started to follow a skintrack towards the topstation of the Härmelekopfbahn. Soon, we were quite happy that we did not have to break trail in all the soft snow which was getting deeper and deeper as we gained elevation. The snow-covered trees, the white mountains in all directions and the fresh snow on the ungroomed slopes made us feel like in the middle of winter. After two hours of skinning we reached the topstation and decided against climbing higher because the snow was very wind-affected above the treeline. After a break we skied our first powder-turns of the season 2009/2010. So we made our way back to the valley, a bit awkward at first, how you always feel if you do something you havent done in a while, and always careful because we expected more hidden rocks or other obstacles under the snow, then faster and with more confidence. We even had a few turns in the trees, where there is really just enough snow. The snowpack got thinner and thinner as we skied down but there was just enough to reach the car without major problems.

As we drove home with a big grin we decided to do something similar again tomorrow.So we are back at the parking lot in Seefeld on Thursday. This time to climb the “Seefelder Joch”. The snow has melted a bit in the valley but it starts to snow again just as we start skinning. We take our time and skin on the piste covered in fresh snow to the Seefelder Joch where we are entertained by two nosy alpine choughs during our break.

The descent is even a little bit better than yesterday and we don’t mind about having to carry our skis back to the car the last couple of meters.

The snowfall gets heavier during our drive back to Innsbruck and it is snowing even in downtown Innsbruck, which is only 580m above sealevel! We watch the snow flurry getting heavier and heavier all evening and decide to skin up to Seegrube in the Nordpark ski-resort on Friday. Even there at 800m there’s enough snow to start skinning from the car. We follow a flat forest-trail at first, where we pass some big, snow-covered wood-cutter-machinery and continue steeper, with a lot of switchbacks under the gondola. There was plenty of snow in Seefeld the last two days we were there, but it can not be compared to the masses of snow here in Nordpark, even at fairly low elevation. It is cold and snowing a bit, which gets me in the same kind of mood that I had last winter when I had some really great days at Nordpark. We even meet the same people we meet in winter after every big snowfall. But this time we meet on the skintrack instead of the valley station where everyone tries to get into the first gondola after a big snowfall when the bombing is done and the resort opens.

No, I’m not kidding, it’s October..

Just before we arrive at Seegrube, the clouds start disappearing. We have a short break next to the Seegrube gondola station before we start the descent.

View from Nordpark towards Innsbruck and the Stubai Valley, hidden by the clouds

And it is really deep today. With every turn I sink into the snow and get spray on my face. We are almost flying towards the valley. Had I forgotten what skiing is about during the summer I would have been reminded now at the latest, and in a quite impressive way. But despite the low temperature, the October sun is burning and the south-facing slope starts to get heavier down low. So we head into the trees. At first, we are not sure if there will be enough snow, but there is. This is the first time I get to ski trees in October. And then, way too fast, we are back in the valley, where we carry our skis back to the car on the forest-trail.

It is getting warmer during the day but the precipitation is increasing again. It is raining up to 1000m in the night, but not just raining. It is pouring down like the world is coming to an end. Naturally, we want to do another skitour on Saturday. We choose to drive to the Arlberg, and so we drive through heavy rain, then sleet and then snow towards the Arlbergpass. We cant manage the last short part of the passroad in St. Christoph without snowchains and after a short break we continue our drive towards Lech.

The snow looks pretty windblown at  the pass but better and better as we drive through Lech and finally park the car in Zug. We decide to skin up towards Kriegerhorn and start the ascent. It is cold, snowing hard, and it seems that no-one except us had the idea to go touring in the area, so we have to break trail right from the beginning. Slowly we gain elevation, sinking into the snow till the knees with every step. Everything looks like in February, except from the occasional sight of snow-covered broad-leaved trees and red berries on bushes.

We make our way higher, past the treeline, but decide against the summit and ski down from around 2100m because the snow gets windaffected higher up. And again the descent is good. Real good. I get so much snow in my face, that I have to stop every few turns to breathe and to wipe the snow off my goggles. I haven’t skied that much and that light snow since February.

I also learned about the effects of hidden logs and a massive amounts of snow.

Down in the valley I feel my legs burning from the breaking the trail during the ascent but despite that I’d like to go up again. Unfortunately it is too late in the day so we decide to head home and come back to Arlberg tomorrow.

The word about great snow is spreading around, or maybe it’s just the weather that’s supposed to get better, either way we are a way bigger group on Sunday. We start from Zürs towards the Zürser See. After a short ascent, we ski down towards Lech. The snow has settled a bit since yesterday but the skiing is still great. Visibility is way better than yesterday so we can ski faster and have a lot of fun again, so we decide to climb up again and descent towards the road from Zürs to Lech this time, from where we walk back to the cars in Zürs.

It is snowing again, as we drive home. The weather in the forecast is cold and sunny for tomorrow, then warmer from tuesday on. The days of this short winter-episode seem to be counted, so we decide to do another tour on Monday. Because it is supposed to be sunny, we want to start from the Hahntennjoch. Not only because we can start from almost 1900m, but also because the Hahntennjoch is closed during the winter, so the opportunity to go skitouring there is rare.

We start pretty early in Innsbruck in drive carefully on a slippery road up to the pass, where we need some time to get out of the car and into the cold. The air is clear and very cold as we start skinning. I’m wearing two jackets even though we have to break trail again.

We head towards Muttekopf, but the depth of the snowpack decreases as we gain elevation since the strong winds have been blowing the snow off. We decide to ski down on a big, open field from a random point. After a few last turns in the crippled trees, we reach the Passroad, and are back in Innsbruck around noon and on our way to university.

The mountains are still white, but temperature is rising, and it is supposed to rain up to 2400m this week. So I guess October reality with the occasional visits to crowded glacier resorts is back..

Photos & Skiers: Lea Hartl, Lorenzo Rieg

Stubai Glacier offers a lot for a piste skier

The Glacier offers a wide variety of pistes, mostly aimed at beginner to advanced skier. There are only a few black pistes available. Compared to a lot of other resorts the pistes are usually well groomed and taken care of. Piste-carvers will be happy to note that the pistes are also nice and wide. The base of the resort is at 1750m while the top lift takes you to 3200m. Here’s the slope map for a general idea about the area:

The offpiste has some nice but short runs

The offpiste area in Stubai is fairly easily observed from lifts. There are not many runs that won’t be easy to spot from the lift. The terrain is not very steep, it’s a glacier after all. A very serious offpiste skier might want to look into other options such as Chamonix or Verbier but for a normal skier Stubai Glacier will do just fine. On a powder day it’s usually best head straight up to the four-seater chairlift “Rotadlbahn” and have a look at the options around and under the lift. If you’re more into mellow glacier-skipping then the new “Daunscharte” T-bar is worth checking out. Be aware of the hidden crevasses lurking below the snow, especially in autumn, early winter and late spring! There are plenty and falling into one wouldn’t be nice. Consult locals or hire a mountain guide and carry proper equipment and know how to use it. For the experienced the touring options around the resort are plentiful, including the highest mountain of the Stubai Alps, Zuckerhütl. There are also many alpine huts that offer great skiing (see photo below) within a days tour.

Getting to Stubai Glacier resort, accommodation & best times to visit

Stubai Glacier is some 25 kilometers away from Innsbruck and its airport. The flights to Innsbruck can be expensive so another option is to fly to Munich, which is 2 hours away from Stubai if the roads are clear. From Munich you can get to Stubai valley by either renting a car, getting a flight taxi or taking the train to Innsbruck and a bus from there.

The busiest times at Stubai Glacier are the European school holidays but especially the last weeks in the end of November and beginning of December when other resorts normally haven’t opened yet but people are already getting into “ski-mode”. The lift lines during this time can be very long, and if you do decide to come during the high autumn season then take my advice and take the lift down from the glacier before 3pm. This will save you a long wait in a line. But really the best time to ski Stubai would be during the late season, the weather is usually great and snow still plentiful. Crowds are also non-existant during the late season.

The base of the ski area is not in a village. There’s just a big, ugly parking lot and one hotel. Most of the guests skiing Stubai stay further down the valley, in villages such as Neustift or Fulpmes. There’s a free skibus running from the villages to the glacier quite often. The ride takes about 20-30minutes depending on which village you stays in, but during high season the bus can be very packed. If you’re staying in the Stubai valley there’s couple other resorts that are included in the Innsbruck Superski pass and are close by, such as Schlick and Elferlifte. Stubai Glacier is also part of the Snowcard Tirol.

For more information about the Stubai Glacier click here. For an article about skiing close to Innsbruck check Ville’s Resort Review of Innsbruck Area and more information about the villages and accommodation in Stubai Valley check out the tourist information site Innsbruck and its holiday villages.

Got questions about Stubai or was something not mentioned? Drop us a comment and we’ll answer soon!

Ville Eskonen, our man from the north also reported that they already got some snow up there. Check out Ville’s usual “model”, his brother Veikko, on some classic early season action in Ounasvaara, Rovaniemi, Finland. Despite getting a few wet flakes already here (some 800 kilometres more south), we are still a bit jealous.

Some Finns (and friend of ours) started their season already in September with a road trip to Lyngen, Norway. This link is in Finnish but check out the great pictures from the excellent Vapaalasku.com site.

In the European Alps several glacier resorts are open and if you get lucky you might be able to score a few powder turns here and there, here’s a photo from two days ago snapped by friends of HomeboySki.com at Pitztal, Austria:

Skier: Lea Hartl, photo: Lorenzo Rieg

Expect some more pics from Austria in the end of this week as a snow storm has hit parts of the country, dumping over meter of fluffy snow on mountains at some places.

The first Scandinavian resort to open for skiing was Ruka in Northern Finland on 13th of October with one lift spinning for skiers, Check out the night pic below of one of the two open slopes at Ruka. Over on the other side of the pond in US the first resorts that have opened for skiing are Arapahoe Basin and Loveland in Colorado. At all of these places expect spotty coverage and icy slope conditions or man-made snow. But hey, it’s still better than nothing and sign of the coming winter.

Think snow!

For their honeymooners there’s even a rose petal soak accompanied by sparkling Chilean wine on ice and chocolate dipped strawberries..!

Sounds like we can forget Atacameñan powder and focus on gastronomic euphoria..

Pathway to the stars programme at Tierra Atacama

Discover the night skies of the Atacama Desert from Tierra Atacama.. The guests can view the planets, and marvel at the wonders of the southern hemisphere skies. The experience is developed in a fully Atacameñan cultural context  and focuses on Atacameñan vision of heavens.

In Tierra Atacama you get to discover the importance of the heavens to the local cultures, both in anthropological terms and practical terms – San Pedro has been an important oasis for thousands of years, and nomadic people arrived there through navigation by the stars.

This activity can be done at any time of year, but of course the celestial movements mean that the phenomena viewed are constantly changing.

Tierra Atacama has also extended their value added promotion,  for more information on pricing of this experience check www.tierraatacama.com

See what Homeboys say about skiing in Chile.

I personally like the this new pass since it includes some of the better resorts that were left out from the old Tirol Regio Card. The Tirol Snow Card is valid in nearly all of the Tyrolean ski areas, some of the most well known ones being Mayrhofen, Zillertal, Hintertux Glacier, Kitzbühel, Fieberbrunn, Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, Pitztal Glacier, Stubai Glacier and Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. The resorts near Innsbruck are also covered by the pass. (Check out Ville’s great article on them here.)

The Tirol Snow Card costs 590 euros for non-Tyroleans and a bit less for Tyroleans, making it an alternative also for those who are planning on doing a one longer or couple shorter ski-vacations in Tyrol. That’s about two hundred euros more than the Tirol-Regio card which has been available to locals for some time but does not cover as many areas as the Tirol Snow Card. There has been a lot of critique especially from the Austrian families about the season passes getting more and more expensive. For skiing enthusiasts this might be a good tradeoff, getting more ski areas but paying more, while the Tyrolean families might still stick with the older alternatives.

The only big resorts missing from the pass that I could spot are Sölden and Ischgl, which are not included in any regional season passes. There are many little and less known resorts in the pass for someone who prefers less crowds. Achtung freeriders, some of the smaller areas are great for getting pow turns off the lifts days after the storm.. For someone who regularly skis in Tyrol this card is a great alternative, the biggest upside of course being freedom of choice in where you want to ski on a particular day.  If you ski a lot and can spend the extra money it makes little sense to pay  over 400 euros for a season pass to a single resort.

For more information and a full list of resorts included in the ticket check the Tirol Snow Card webpage.

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is bordered by Iran to the south and west, Pakistan to the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China to the far northeast. Some describe it being located within Central Asia, some like it to be in South Asia while the rest prefer the Middle East. Who cares though, we in HomeboySki.com are more interested about the skiing.

Afghanistan is the land of mountains

Afghanistan is a mountainous country. The main mountain range is called the “Hindu Kush” with the highest point in Afghanistan being Nowshak at 7,485 m (24,557 ft) above sea level. Hindu Kush is a subrange of the Himalayas.

So, mountainous Afghanistan would provide pretty awesome runs for backcountry skiers and riders, but accessing the country does not sound tempting, although some brave hearts do seem to organize trips to Afghanistan.  The site was last updated in 1999 and it states “The Taliban government is fully aware of the importance of tourism and its impact upon economic and social development. Therefore the Taliban government will endeavor to encourage the healthy growth of Afghanistan’s tourism Industry“. Well, don’t really know about that. The current government probably does understand the importance of tourism but there might be some other people in the country who don’t.

Skiing over landmines in Afghanistan

Despite the unstable country many climbers have reached the summit of Noshaq (7492 meters), the highest mountain of Afghanistan. There are hundreds of virgin peaks available near Noshaq for climbers wanting to be first ever to the summit.

Pakistan has reported that some of Kabul’s expat aid workers have experimented with off-piste skiing and snowboarding near the Salang Pass north of Kabul, which used to be the only ski resort of Afghanistan. There is always a risk of skiing over a landmine, but because of all the pow pow you should not really get hurt if one explodes.. right?

It is interesting that there used to be one real race skier living in Afghanistan. As the only skier of Afghanistan he used to travel to competitions in France and Japan. Another interesting point is that an Afgan warlord planned to build a $100 million ski resort. What might be the status of his project right now?

Let’s hope the country becomes peaceful soon so that the skiers and climbers can enjoy the peaks again. Skiing in Afhganistan would be an awesome experience, but at the moment I must be satisfied with my local hill called Talma anyway. While dreaming of skiing in Afghanistan, I can at least wear a “Ski Afghanistan” T-shirt.

Hi Homeboys,

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a wintry forecast for North Lake Tahoe with a snow level of 5500 feet and an average daytime high temperature over the next several days of just 49 degrees. The forecast is more in line with ski season than it is with the second week of autumn.

Everyone knows that Reno Tahoe is the economically pleasing choice for top notch skiers and snowboarders. The incomparable beauty of the Sierra Mountains along with the thrifty packages for outdoor lovers packs the Slopes every winter.

But remember that there are several places located throughout the city where those who take eating and drinking to an Olympic level can have a rousing/rollicking good time after the last of the Slopes close for the evening. Here are some gastronomically pleasing choices to find in Reno Tahoe that will satisfy your appetite while not draining your wallet after hours.

For example:

• The 3 a.m. “gut bomb” aka, The Little Nugget’s Awful Awful. The Awful Awful, so named because it’s awful big and awful good, is a perfectly greasy cheeseburger the size of your head accompanied by the biggest pile of French fries you’ve ever seen. Don’t miss the funky alley access through the back or the front of the casino – right by the Reno arch.
• The Lincoln Lounge easily makes the list of favorite thirst parlors for experienced locals – and visitors in the know. Super thirsty patrons stop in on Tuesdays when six-packs of PBR or Olympia go for just $7.
• Louie’s Basque Corner. Delicious Basque faire served family-style in copious amounts – think mouthwatering lamb stew, oxtails and sweetbreads.

Read the whole story below.

Best regards,

Margo Donohue

RENO, Nev. (Winter 2009-10) — Celebrate on-slope conquests with Holly Go-Lightly – just one of the sassy signature cocktails available only in Reno. After appeasing their inner powder hound at one of 18 ski resorts located within 90 minutes of Reno, visitors can feed their inner party animal at one of the numerous bars, lounges, dives, parlors and clubs all in easy stumbling distance – or at least within a $20 cab ride – of downtown.

Just a few blocks north of the new Aces Ball Park – the Freight House District – is the laid-back Lincoln Lounge. Modeled after a speakeasy in the Prohibition era, the lounge is dark and funky with trippy paintings of Abe Lincoln in the main bar and red and metallic gold brocade wallpaper in a side bar. A lack of signage keeps crowds to a minimum and gives the place a secretive kind of vibe. With its expansive patio and many weekly specials, the Lincoln Lounge easily makes the list of favorite thirst parlors for experienced locals – and visitors in the know. Super thirsty patrons stop in on Tuesdays when six-packs of PBR or Olympia go for just $7.

Another Reno staple is Louie’s Basque Corner. Delicious Basque faire served family-style in copious amounts – think mouthwatering lamb stew, oxtails and sweetbreads. You know you’re in for a good night when the first item placed on your table is a carafe of bottomless wine. And while the food is great, the Picon Punch is even better. Concocted from Amer Picon (a bitter orange spirit), grenadine, soda water, brandy and topped with lemon peel, you only need one to get that warm and fuzzy feeling.

Strega is one of Reno’s newer additions to the downtown bar scene, named after the owner’s childhood nickname, “Strega Piccola.” Located in a converted 1912 bungalow-style house on South Arlington, the place has an artsy vibe that still feels like home. Start that feeling on Strega’s front porch, a perfect place to sit and chat in the cooler evening air while enjoying a Greyhound with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.

Around the corner from Strega on Reno’s “Cal Ave” is St. James Infirmary. Named after an American folksong of anonymous origin, “St. James Infirmary Blues” is about a sailor who loses his life to prostitutes and booze. A neighborhood bar with a diverse crowd, St. James is dark, moody, hip, yet unpretentious. White leatherette booths line the perimeter and one large wall is entirely plastered with black and white photos of 1950-60s personalities. A giant white neon sign that says “Society” in scripty letters is a piece of Reno nostalgia and the old Society dry cleaners. The joint also features a black and white photo booth, cushy barstools and a padded barfront (makes marathon sessions at the bar easy on the knees), a large rooftop patio and house drinks are unusual but oh-so-tasty. Try the Moscow Mule, Holly Go-Lightly and the Jefferson.

South of downtown, check out the Chapel Tavern with its cozy couches, fresh flowers, pool table and artwork. Don’t miss the tavern’s distinctive cocktails like the Blood and Sand, a 1920s concoction named after a Rudolph Valentino film, uses the smokiness of Scotch to balance the sweetness of cherry liqueur or a Juniper Smash, which showcases fresh juniper berries and gin.

Also on South Virginia is the Polo Lounge, which offers “drinks with sophistication and humor,” according to owner Frank Perez, who has spent his life in the nightclub business. This is a classic lounge singer’s haven. The free music – ranging from jazz to light rock – is offered five nights a week. Don’t miss the tasty complimentary hors d’oeuvres that Frank’s wife whips up daily.

After all that drinking, Reno locals know there is really just one option for 3 a.m. gut bomb – The Little Nugget’s Awful Awful. The Awful Awful, so named because it’s awful big and awful good, is a perfectly greasy cheeseburger the size of your head accompanied by the biggest pile of French fries you’ve ever seen. Don’t miss the funky alley access through the back or the front of the casino – right by the Reno arch.

In recent years Reno has taken simple barhopping a step further with quirky imbibing activities. Consider the Reno Beer Crawl held monthly on the fourth Saturday or the popular Wine Walk, every third Saturday of the month along the Truckee River and neighboring streets in downtown Reno. Too tame? Check out the annual Santa Crawl when hundreds of Santas descend on downtown Reno to enjoy Yuletide cheer. Or, explore your alter ego in the Superhero Pub Crawl.

With so many options for nightlife in Reno Tahoe the only challenge skiers and riders may face is mustering up the energy to hit the slopes after an exciting night on the town. The action and excitement happening is unparallel to any other ski and snowboard destination in the country.

Reno Tahoe offers visitors a year round, 24-hour destination—a play all day and night atmosphere you won’t find anywhere else. Reno Tahoe boasts the highest concentration of ski resorts in North America, with a 30-foot average snow pack and 22,000 acres of skiable terrain.

For more information about Reno Tahoe, call 800-FOR-RENO (800-367-7366) or visit www.VisitRenoTahoe.com.