West Coast resorts

Find Mammoth and Lake Tahoe on a map. If you are driving from LA to Vegas you can divert via Mammot. If you are flying Reno is relatively close to Tahoe, with lots of flights from all over the place. There are regular shuttles up to the resorts.

 

Yeah, Mammoth is about 5 1/2 hour drive from LA and Las Vegas, or if you're not driving, there are plenty of great resorts around Lake Tahoe that only require a shuttle of less than an hour from Reno airport to the edge of the Lake. One of those options would be well worth the effort for someone who hasn't skied in the US.

 

Mammoth should be very worth it at that time. The drive is easy from LA. Once you're half way it's pretty scenic too.

 

Fly from LAX to Reno. Hire a car. Pick a Lake Tahoe resort to ski, there are plenty

I have skied the Vail resorts. I rate Kirkwood highly, Heavenly and Northstar were pretty good too.

 

Would the ski day(s) be on a weekend? How early in January? What type of terrain do you like?

Worth the effort. But probably not worth bringing skis. Worth bringing boots.

 

Are you flying or driving from Vegas to Kansas City? If driving, I70 goes thru UT and CO.

 

Hi all. I'm hoping for some guidance regarding an upcoming family trip.

It's a long way off but I've convinced the extended family to do a white Christmas trip to either the US or Europe for Christmas 2019.

The main focus is that we have 3 kids (girls) aged between 6 to 15 who are all beginner's. They are not full green but will only have done a year or two skiing Aus green runs... but they have the bug so I want to nurture it.

We are looking for the full White Christmas experience with some decent advanced skiing for myself if possible & Cash is not a major issue.

We are leaning towards the US simply to avoid the language barrier but we are not opposed to a good European option?

At present, I'm thinking Mammoth Mountain Cal with the aim to hit the mountain by the 22nd December and depart around New Years.

BUT we have a lot of flexibility so I just wanted to get some informed advice to see if California is a good early season option or should we head further inland towards Colorado or Utah or even head north to Oregon?

OR is Europe more reliable for late December?

All advice will be greatly appreciated. Cheers

 

Well played sir

It's tough to pick who will have a more reliable season for Xmas snow fall. I'd be more looking at facilities that suit your group, lessons, snow making and group accommodation

 

That's what I was thinking. Mammoth is big. The base sits at 2,500m so height is not a major issue? I'll research their snowmaking but would assume its half decent?

I'll trawl through the historical snowfall data but my gut tells me that coastal range with altitude is a decent bet for early season?

 

I like the below link. Day by day, yearly snowfall figures for all US resorts.

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Snow History | OnTheSnow
https://www.onthesnow.com/california/mammoth-mountain-ski-area/historical-snowfall.html?&y=2011

 

No way I’d book Mammoth for the Christmas week. Too busy.

 

Try Tony Crocker

 

Ah nice. I'll have a read. Cheers

 

For family trips, here's Tony's webpage for early and late season snow in N. America. His top rating (5) for Christmas are Steamboat, Alta, Brighton, Grand Targhee, Whistler-Blackcomb, Mt. Baker. Mammoth is a 4.

http://www.bestsnow.net/fam_ski.htm

For a family with tween/teen beginners going overseas, I would pick Alta, Steamboat, W-B over Mammoth. Haven't been to W-B but have skied at the others. For that matter I would consider staying at Solitude and have a car to go over to Alta for a day or two. While the Solitude ski school is good for beginners, it's not at the level of the Alta ski school. I have a lot of experience with the Alta ski school for kids and adults of all ability levels after doing multiple spring break trips to Alta Lodge meeting up with other families.

As for a White Christmas experience, Europe over the U.S. I haven't skied in Europe but have traveled there a fair amount. The N.A. Rockies are scenic but can't compare to the Alps.

 

Personally if I was choosing a US destination for a family trip like this where clearly off-slope activities and ambiance are important, I'd strongly consider one of the classic ski towns (and there aren't that many of them). The OP's problem is that XMAS to New Year is very busy everywhere (and is relatively early season snow-wise).

I'd recommend Steamboat, but I don't want it any busier than it already is!

 

One of the big inland mountain kingdoms with loads of on snow accoms is in order here. Sounds like epic terrain is less important than the full white Christmas experience. More experienced ski travelers might scoff, but places like Park City, Copper, Breck, Aspen etc have zillions of rooms with ski in/out access and vast swathes of impeccably groomed novice and intermediate terrain. That makes for good value for money on rooming and a better chance of finding something at peak season this late in the piece.

I'd also throw in Canada as an option, the southern interior resorts like Sun Peaks, Big White and Silver Star are likewise loaded with ski in/out lodging and the requisite green and blue terrain. Plus the Canadian dollar buys more than the greenback.

 

Aspen will be as quiet as any. Pretty hard not to have a good time there too.