Tag: Diamond Peak

“This is the worst ski area I have been to”

This is the worst ski area I have been to. I have skied here off and on over the years and Northstar never fails to disappoint. Let’s begin with a few glaring weaknesses: Mountain Access/Parking: If you can afford an expensive slopeside condo, skip this section. It isn’t for you. Daytrippers park a mile from the mountain village and are shuttled on busses to the mountain village. A hundred yard walk with stairs will get you to the access lift which is an aging gondola. It is not up to the task. My day there the gondola stopped twice while I waited in line, and twice while I was on the lift. Time between parking and my first run, was over 45 minutes(unacceptable). I went straight to the lift and did not stop off for overpriced coffee and scones. I didnt even pee. Northstar has the worst mountain access of any ski resort I have visited. Period. Advanced/Expert Terrain: Most designated black runs at Northstar would be blues at other ski areas.There is no expert terrain at Northstar. Period. Expensive: Lift ticket prices are exorbitant, and in my opinion, unjustified for what you get(terrible mountain access, no Advanced/expert terrain). Food is very high priced. Enjoy washing down/choking on that $20 bowl of chili with that $15 IPA. Northstar is expensive. Period. A note on family friendliness: Northstar has touted itself as family friendly. If you are a family and can afford an expensive slopeside condo, this may not apply to you. My criteria for family friendly(I have two kids that ski): Easy mountain access, Affordability, Kid friendly programs. Northstar fails two out of three here. Dads and moms, have fun lugging your gear, your kid’s gear, associated snacks, lunches(unless you can afford $20 chili), and sundries, on the shuttle, and to the access lift. Northstar is not family friendly. Period. If you want family friendly in North Tahoe, Sugar Bowl, Mount Rose, Diamond Peak, Homewood, Tahoe Donner, and Donner Ski Ranch are better bets than Northstar. Period. Northstar is not a good ski Resort. Period.

David via Onthesnow

Heavenly: “Idiots running the show”

Ok I’ve been here before and it’s exceptional. Today we found that the iconic gondola was shut down. For how long? Nobody knows. It’s there infinite wisdom the Heavenly Valley intellectual juggernaut’s decided to cram everyone onto the California lodge lift. At the same time the two other lodges are closed and leaving the innate idiots that run this place to keep everyone jammed into the California lodge. This created a logjam and over 4 hour wait to get off the mountain by unfortunate patrons. Got a heart attack, broken leg or massive bled well we will get you down after we let our own employees down first. This is a perfect example of people in positions they should not be in. Having an alternative plan, alerting the public or Just using common. Sense. Perhaps these are the same fools discharged from the state department that led our glorious evacuation from Afghanistan? Either way I’m sure the trail lawyers awaited at the bottom with their salivary glands in full effect

Jim M via TripAdvisor

Visited Tahoe for the holidays and unfortunately there wasn’t much snow. You would expect reduced rates under such poor skiing conditions but instead the prices at Heavenly were outrageous. $200 for 1/2 day lift ticket, $800 for a private lesson… Fortunately I found other mountains with similar conditions and great views at much lower prices.

David B via TripAdvisor

Absolutely poor customer service. Ski resort announced opening on 17 Nov, only to delay it opening to after our trip. No refunds, poor communication. We also only found out upon arrival to Tahoe with no email notification.

Stay01608001420 via TripAdvisor

I wanted to like the experience of Heavenly, but the skiing was way too crowded especially during the weekends. It’s never fun to be at risk of bumping to a skier and have to wait until going down an entire run. On the plus side, the snow wasn’t bad and the scenery of seeing Lake Tahoe was beautiful.

Noah W via TripAdvisor

Heavenly is a corporate resort that regards skiers as profit centers while their real customers are Wall Street analysts. For spring skiing they have reduced lifts and grooming to a bare minimum. Sky lift is the one that reaches the highest altitude so it has mid year weekend lines. The trouble is this means 2 non heavy slush runs max vs 6-10 runs in winter. Grooming has been cut to almost nothing. I observed far more corduroy at Diamond Peak and Mt Rose. This made my decision on renewal for me as Northstar parking and crowds make that resort a no go. I would have renewed if spring skiing was even an average experience. By the way thanks for eliminating the ski carts at NS which has one of The most onerous walks in NA. We figure the green eye shades saved 20-25 cents per Skier visit on that one.

Willy K via TripAdvisor

I am a season pass holder with the Tahoe Local Pass. The experience here is truly disappointing. I went on a low traffic day (Monday) and the the experience really sucked. The only thing decent was the grooming. Vail resorts is run strictly by Wall Street guys and pointy pencil bean counters interested only in the bottom line. To this end they sent all of their low paid J1 visa employees packing on 3/31/23 and now they are running with a skeleton crew of locals. At least two key lifts are closed and the lines (Sky and Dipper) on a Monday were crazy at 10-15 minutes per ride. Vail resorts are the kings of no-customer service. As a long time pass holder, Vail resorts may have crossed the line for me NOT to renew my pass for the 23-24 season.

Michael A via TripAdvisor