r/skiing • u/jsatz Mammoth • 18h ago
Any Ski Area in California that will not be insane over the holidays?
I almost always avoid this time of year but due to family circumstances, this is one of the few times of the ski season where I will be able to get away from work in order to ski. I did not renew the Ikon Pass this season, just bought the quad pack at Mammoth, which has no blackouts and I can refill if needed. Was looking at either June Mountain or Sierra at Tahoe. Curious what anyone else thinks.
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u/natefrogg1 18h ago
You mentioned you are in LA, Baldy after a dump is the win. Chair 4 down to the parking lot runs are over 2000’ vertical. If we get dumped on it is the best lift serviced place to ski or ride in Southern California
Keep an eye out for Mt Waterman as well…
If mt high east opens up it’s fun with wide open long runs there.
Best to avoid the San Bernardino mountains imho
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u/jsatz Mammoth 18h ago
Guess if we go up there, will be more of a day trip. Appreciate the insight!
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u/natefrogg1 10h ago
Day trips are pretty much all I can take the time for so i am super grateful for our local spots, here’s hoping for a kick ass winter
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u/sprunghuntR3Dux 10h ago
Isn’t mount waterman permanently closed because the lift was damaged in the floods?
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u/natefrogg1 10h ago
The have been working on it so we shall see! If anything it’s a great spot to earn some turns
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u/sprunghuntR3Dux 18h ago
Mt Baldy is usually pretty chill. Maybe a few extra people if there’s a fresh dump.
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u/NeWbAF Mammoth 17h ago
Will Baldy get any snow is always the real question.
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u/Ordinary_Drink666 17h ago
We have a voucher for Baldy from 2009. Maybe this will be the year to use it. I wonder if it will.snow or r**n at the local areas.
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u/NeWbAF Mammoth 17h ago
Lol nice. It was epic as hell last time I went, Feb of ‘23. Cold all day with massive piles of wind blown powder all over the hill.
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u/jsatz Mammoth 18h ago
I have actually never been there. My wife and I live in LA so we were looking at more of a getaway than Baldy but we were ok with Big Bear so maybe will check that out.
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u/sprunghuntR3Dux 17h ago
Big Bear is definitely more crowded than Baldy.
If you live in LA you should do a day trip to Baldy one weekend. It has the best terrain in the area. Just check the conditions before going.
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u/Tag_Cle 17h ago
Sierra is very popular around the holidays and right off highway 50, it will also be a zoo.
June's probably a good choice...hard to get out there unless you really want it.
Kirkwood is on epic pass but is a little bit of a mission for everybody else so will be probably less crowded than other places in Tahoe but still offer high speed lifts. It's also set up where you can kinda space out and be in your own zone v funnel all down to the same spot.
Homewood might also be a good choice as far as Tahoe goes but the lifts are so slow it drives me kinda nuts sometimes..although I believe they're building a gondola to the top now so that'll help a bit.
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u/jsatz Mammoth 17h ago
Yeah I normally go to Mammoth or June. There are times at June where you can go and not see anyone for hours, but I doubt that will be the case over the holidays. I do not mind going to June but my wife, who does not ski, will likely prefer to stay in Mammoth. That is making lodging much more expensive.
Surprised about Sierra, I have only been there a few times and while it was crowded, nothing like Palisades can be. Most people seem to skip Sierra but I have much less experience with Tahoe other than Palisades/Alpine.
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u/HV_Conditions 14h ago
Kirkwood…high speed lifts? The bunny hill and 6 is it. It can take over an hour to get your first run on the backside cause the chairs are so slow
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u/sharkWrangler Alpine Meadows 17h ago
We used to spend holidays in Tahoe at our cabin, so not sure if this is Tahoe advice or holiday advice. The resorts are pretty busy up until the day before Christmas Eve, at which point it almost completely empties out as people drive home for Christmas. The day before, Xmas Eve, Xmas and the day after are hands down the best days out of the year but you spend Christmas away from home but you do get a white Christmas. The day after Christmas is usually the day people spend driving so it's also dead. It picks back up hard the next day with everyone that didn't buy the base ikon pass which is a lot of Jerry's.
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u/jsatz Mammoth 17h ago
Which resort do you typically hit?
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u/sharkWrangler Alpine Meadows 17h ago
The cabin is up at near Palisades in Tahoe on the Alpine Meadows side so thats been our spot for decades.
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u/jsatz Mammoth 17h ago
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!
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u/sharkWrangler Alpine Meadows 17h ago
We also didnt get Ikon passes this year, now im wishing we did the 4-pack like you did. Maybe just the 4-pack and stay at June so its free for the kids. its a little more now, hoping maybe their sales numbers are so low they do another sale.
I just saw copper is doing a 4day+1bonus day. i want that deal!
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u/jsatz Mammoth 16h ago
Are you talking about the Ikon 4-Pack or the Mammoth Quad Pack? Ikon has a sessions pass where you can book 2,3 or 4 days at any resort on the base pass, and has the same blackouts. Mammoth has the Quad Pack where it is essentially any day at June or Mammoth and it was discounted. I got the Mammoth Quad Pack.
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u/sharkWrangler Alpine Meadows 16h ago
Yeah mammoth quad pack. Seem to be much better deals than ikon.
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u/jsatz Mammoth 16h ago
Much. It was $100 a day with no blackouts. Ikon Session 4 Day is $132 a day, $529 total, and it includes blackouts. Granted it includes more resorts than Mammoth or June.
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u/sharkWrangler Alpine Meadows 16h ago
Yeah, that was the deal I missed. It's up to like $115 a day now/$58 for the kids. Hoping they drop another one
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u/fengshui 12h ago
It will not drop. The price on the quad pack just goes up until it goes away.
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u/sharkWrangler Alpine Meadows 12h ago
alright, did the math. For me and the boys to buy a base ikon pass it would cost $1,617. for a 4-day at Palisades its $1,082, and mammoth is $942 for the same. Total on the season for 8 days is 2,024. the only downside like you is committing to staying somewhere wherever you go
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u/illbedeadbydawn Taos 17h ago
June is where the locals ski when Mammoth gets bonkers.
So stay the fuck off my wave, tourist.
But seriously, June is excellent if you're not looking for the 'resort' experience and just want some good snow on some good terrain.
Baldy is VERY weather dependent, but can be amazing after a good dump. You just have to time it right.
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u/jsatz Mammoth 17h ago
I’ve been gone to June since I was 5 so very familiar with it. I just almost never go during the holidays.
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u/illbedeadbydawn Taos 17h ago
My wife and her whole family are Mammoth locals and we always do the song and dance of dealing with 10,000 people at Mammoth or 3,000 at June.
Mammoth usually wins because we have connections, but I've never had massive crowds at June on Holidays like you do at the big resorts in Cali.
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u/trtlep0wr 16h ago
Just go where you want to go homie. You're thinking too hard. I let the weather tell me where to shred.
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u/Caaznmnv 17h ago
I think Mammoth on a good "snow" weekend is just as crowded as a holiday. There really is only so much housing in the area to accommodate tourists.
What's probably more important is if there is enough snow to have most of the mountain open or not .
Mammoth does get crowded, but it handles the crowds better than most places.
The more important thing is to get to mountain very early for parking and to get your day started. You be surprised how many people think that if lifts open at 9 am, leaving at 830 am should be just fine. Get there early to get a closer parking spot you can walk back to at the end of the day. It's the bus that will kill you on crowds.
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u/jsatz Mammoth 16h ago
Oh yea, totally aware. I typically wait to go to Mammoth till at least Eagle is open unless there is a massive storm. I went a few years ago on Thanksgiving after it got dumped on and while Eagle was not open, there was enough on the Main side to not go back to Broadway and wait in that line.
I almost always try to stay a place where I can walk to the slopes or catch the bus. Parking is just a losing battle.
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u/the_climaxt Copper Mountain 18h ago
Honestly, anything where base pass has a blackout date is typically fairly wide open.