Tahoe area – NorthStar California Sucks

“Not worth the lift ticket prices”

Rude personnel, extremely strict rules… inconsistent feedback from people working here regarding the resort rules.

Not worth the lift ticket prices and f**k vail resorts altogether

This place is an absolute nightmare! Do not come here unless you want to wait in line for a shuttle for over an hour minimum and wait to park your car for an hour as well. Just parking your car will make you wanna leave it’s so chaotic. Have fun looking at the backside when you arrive, there’s fresh powder everywhere, however they won’t open it and force feed everyone into lines once you hit the front side. It’s honestly the worst resort I’ve ever been to. Just a giant trap to take your money away from you. Oh and when it’s time to leave be prepared to wait in another hour line to get back to your car and then another hour to leave. Avoid at all costs

2 hours to download from village to parking lot. 100+ people line built up from 3:30 to 4 waiting on first bus. Supply trucks were dangerously pulling in and out through the queue of people. Cutting left and right with no direction. Total mess.

No lights in the pitch black parking lot at 6 pm to top it off. This resort needs a total overhaul on customer service and parking functionality. Frankly unacceptable from an upper level management perspective. They have the $$ to do it right.

Don’t come here unless you stay on site. 4x Epic Pass holder. Heavenly and Kirkwood are visitor friendly.

After paying for very EXPENSIVE ticket during Christmas, we were informed by staff that the mountain is closed for the day due to safety reason and extreme weather, after only less than 2 hours of total time spent at the resort. When asking about partial refund or credit, nothing was offered and staff told us that “this situation happens frequently at the resort”.

Source: Google reviews

“Come to this resort if you would prefer to sit in your car rather than skiing”

Come to this resort if you would prefer to sit in your car rather than skiing. If you come on a Saturday-Sunday at least, that is all you will do. 2+ hour bumper to bumper traffic delay over 8 miles backed up from the resort on 1/21 (all entirely resort traffic) – they sell WAY more lift tickets and passes than people they can fit on the mountain or their infrastructure will allow. This was with an original departure time that should have had us to the parking lot over a half hour before opening. And good luck getting any customer service for all your wasted efforts and money – if they already have your money via Epic Pass or prepaid lift ticket, they couldn’t care less what experience you have from there. Many Tahoe resorts suffer capacity issues, but nowhere to the extremes of Northstar. If you do get in (we gave up today at least after 4 hours of trying) the skiing itself is average at best – better snow and better runs elsewhere.
Tyler Knox via Google reviews

“Vail resorts & specifically Northstar are horrible”

Vail resorts & specifically Northstar are horrible! We came up to ski for the day. We are family of 4 & have a 14 year old disabled son & a 17 year old snowboarder. The plan was that I would ski with the 17 year old & my husband would hang back with our disabled son. When we arrived to the resort my special needs son would not let me out of his site. My husband & I decided to switch places. He was going to ski with our older son & I was going to hang back. So as my husband was getting on the gondola they confiscated the past because his picture did not match. We had no idea that the passes were non-transferable. We figured we had two skiers and two passes. It is written in the smallest possible letters on the back of the card which why would you even think to look there? When we explained our situation to the resort they were not only rude but had zero compassion for our situation. We were treated awfully!!! I will stick with the small non corporate ski resorts where they tend to treat people with respect & don’t belittle them, especially during a difficult situation.
Carmen Petti via Onthesnow.com

From the team: Yep, the whole Vail’s idea with “epic pass” is to sell as many passes as possible and cancel/revoke/suspend/etc as many passes as possible as well. The Vail & Northstar gestapo is making sure that stupid rule is enforced so their CEO gets her $6M+ bonus.

Vail Resorts Stamping Out on Those Leaving Their Equipment to Reserve Place in Line at Heavenly Mountain, CA

The reader who shared the picture says that “…people are placing their ski or snowboard equipment up in the front of the lift line in the morning, then go hang out in their warm cars until about ten minutes before loading the lift.”

Source: https://snowbrains.com

“Judge Grants Final Approval of Vail Resorts’ $13.1-Million Offer to Settle Labor Law Violations Lawsuit”

Vail Resorts will pay $13.1 million to settle five wage and labor lawsuits brought against the company in California for claims of labor law violations.

Preliminary approval of the $13.1 million deal was given in March 2022, and on Friday 19th August, 2022, Judge Michael McLaughlin granted final approval of the settlement offer in court in South Lake Tahoe. The decision will likely put an end to a similar class action lawsuit filed in Colorado.
snowbrains.com

“We need a skier’s Bill of Rights!”

We went up to Northstar for 4 days and could only ski for 1 day. 2 Of the 4 was simple conditions and being shut down for good reason (rain and unexpected amounts of snow). However, on the 4th day: New Years Day, the day AFTER 36 inches of fresh powder had been dumped on the mountain, we arrived early (lifts were to open at 9:am). We parked, we arrived at the Gondola, only to be informed that the Express Lift is Closed and would likely not open and then we were instructed to get on the gondola line, which was so long that it weaved down and around and back up to where we just were.

We have had the same problem with Northstar before: they are under staffed and this morning, the excuse was “our people can’t get here”. We need a skier’s Bill of Rights! They charge big money for blackout day tickets so that you can expect to get on the mountain during peak days. However, and once again, we felt like the customer doesn’t matter and the Vale group doesn’t take their responsibility seriously to get people on the mountain! That’s the business they are in!

I sat out two days waiting for this day and fought off the family who wanted to to go home rather than sit around saying “these will be the best conditions ever”. So why doesn’t the lifts open on the best day of skiing? I talked to a manager and said this: I said “You do realize that thousands of people have spent hundreds of dollars per person per day to enjoy skiing here today. It is Northstar’s business to provide safe and timely access to this beautiful day of perfect ski conditions. Do you realize that that’s the business you are in? The manager said – Do you know why we aren’t open? I said, because of lack of staff which happens here virtually all the time- he replied no, we have plenty of people, they just can’t get here. I said, with the money you are charging and all the costs for people to get here, you should have places for people to STAY HERE AND OPEN UP. He said- wait for it – ” We don’t have the resources to do that.” I said “I am done. We waited, got here, and now we are going to wait for two hours to wait for the gondola line to start which will be 2 hours minimum (that’s what they told us!) We
Are out of here. This resort sucks. Our friends arrived in Palisades and jumped on the slopes. What a waste of time and money.
Sean B. via Yelp

Watch out when you are buying gas in Tahoe/Truckee, CA area

Name of the gas station: Fast Lane.

Address: 2161, 11991 CA-267, Truckee, CA 96161

None of our credits cards worked at the gas station, the line inside was huge, so we left without buying gas.
There was an attempted charge of $200 to our debit card after we left the gas station.
Customer

Fast Line gas station, Truckee CA. Avoid!

From the editor: FYI Nevada County DA Office.