Driving from Alta to Heavenly

"Walt" wrote in message
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AH wrote:

Ahh.. of course.. for some reason I thought AWD when I say FWD.. anyway..
this is all good news..

There's actually a subtle difference between Four Wheel Drive and All
Wheel Drive that escapes me at the moment. Subaru makes a big deal out
of the fact that their cars are AWD not 4WD. The common TLAs are

4WD Four Wheel Drive
AWD All Wheel Drive
FWD Front Wheel Drive
RWD Rear Wheel Drive

Send in your membership application with the box tops and we'll send you
the decoder ring.

what is the Stratus like in general? Are they OK?

Yes, they're OK. I wouldn't buy one, but I'll gladly rent one.
Especially at $100/week.
See http://makeashorterlink.com/?A6C012D99


Yeh.. seemed pretty cheap to me after living in Europe for 3 years..

However, will cost me another $140 a week because I am under 25 (23).. very
annoying.. still not too bad..

"lal_truckee" wrote in message
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AH wrote:
"lal_truckee" wrote in message
...

Dmitry wrote:

"AH" wrote

On the other hand, the Original Poster is screwing up royal going to
south Tahoe instead of north Tahoe, but why should I point that out and
crowd up our superior slopes with another couple of bodies...


Squaw was number 1 on the list, however I got a really good deal.. $220
total for 2 nights at the Tahoe seasons and 2 days lift passes for 2
people.. other places really couldn't come close to that price.. and I'm
sure Heavenly will be sufficient for me for only two days.. it'll give me
a taste so I have an idea where to come back to..

Decent - that represents a discount on the lift tickets and the lodging
for free.
Just don't lose everything you saved at the casinos. But the casinos do
put on pretty decent dinners cheap, just to get you to walk by their slot
machines. You can eat cheap too, with will power.

Yeh.. they are having a buy one, get one free deal on skiheavenly.com now..
starting at $85pp (I think).. couldn't believe it.. only for early season,
but you guys seem to be copping it now, so hopefully I'll get reasonable
snow conditions..

A big contrast to Utah, where I'm paying $120 a night for accom + lift
passes..

And the casino's are a bit of an attraction to me, difficult to find similar
in a place like London, at least without a bit of effort.. looking forward
to it..

AH wrote:
"lal_truckee" wrote in message
...

Dmitry wrote:

"AH" wrote

On the other hand, the Original Poster is screwing up royal going to south
Tahoe instead of north Tahoe, but why should I point that out and crowd up
our superior slopes with another couple of bodies...


Squaw was number 1 on the list, however I got a really good deal.. $220
total for 2 nights at the Tahoe seasons and 2 days lift passes for 2
people.. other places really couldn't come close to that price.. and I'm
sure Heavenly will be sufficient for me for only two days.. it'll give me a
taste so I have an idea where to come back to..

Decent - that represents a discount on the lift tickets and the lodging
for free.
Just don't lose everything you saved at the casinos. But the casinos do
put on pretty decent dinners cheap, just to get you to walk by their
slot machines. You can eat cheap too, with will power.

"lal_truckee" wrote

Aren't the ones with cable on the sides and what look like aluminum
beads on the tread surface supposed to work? Painful closure method,
at least those nasty red things on conventional chains didn't slice your
fingers open and could be dealt with nicely with Channellocks if they
gave trouble.

Sort of. But don't buy them, just pick them up alongside the road. Cable "chains" fall off regularly and are free for the taking.
Plus they really don't work worth a dam anyway.

Are you sure you know what you're talking about? Cable chains
are good for keeping you on the road and being able to stop.
Yes they are not that good if you're concerned about getting stuck,
but that's absolutely not a problem if you're on major roads and
hotel parking lots.

"pigo" wrote

I can't believe you said that! "Chains required" condition on I-80 is
a VERY GOOD THING,

Only if you are one of those that *doesn't* live in the mountains.

and you should be driving your wheels off
to get to the mountain ASAP, and NOT holing up in a hotel. Ugh!

Not from the POV of one that lives in the mountains.

I was wrong, sorry. If it snows everyone should just stay home.

"lal_truckee" wrote

If there's night skiing at Heavenly (I don't remember, but Squaw
has night skiing for sure and you'll have to drive by anyway),
so if you start early enough you might still make some tracks
that day.

Squaw is nowhere near Heavenly. Squaw is 80 out of Reno, Heavenly is 50, through Carson City.

Will that be much faster than via Truckee and 89 to the lake?

Dmitry wrote:

Squaw is nowhere near Heavenly. Squaw is 80 out of Reno, Heavenly is 50,
through Carson City.

Will that be much faster than via Truckee and 89 to the lake?


50 to Heavenly is definitely faster than 80 to Truckee, then 89 to
the lake, then around the lake. Truckee to Stateline can take an
hour or more.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://ski.terrymorse.com/

Terry Morse wrote:
Dmitry wrote:


Squaw is nowhere near Heavenly. Squaw is 80 out of Reno, Heavenly is 50,
through Carson City.

Will that be much faster than via Truckee and 89 to the lake?



50 to Heavenly is definitely faster than 80 to Truckee, then 89 to
the lake, then around the lake. Truckee to Stateline can take an
hour or more.

89 skirts around the lake on the west side. It will close for the winter
soon - happens every year. "Avalanche Danger" is the stated reason.

Tahoe City to South Shore is then around the lake on the east side (NV
28) and is longer. Figure a good hour Heavenly to/from Squaw, IF the
traffic is light, and the road is clear and dry; recognize that near ski
times the traffic WON'T be light as you near Squaw under any
circumstance. It plain doesn't make sense to plan to ski north and south
Tahoe - each shore should be considered a separate trip IMO. Yet people
keep planning such trips. Go figure.

Dmitry wrote:
"lal_truckee" wrote


Aren't the ones with cable on the sides and what look like aluminum
beads on the tread surface supposed to work? Painful closure method,
at least those nasty red things on conventional chains didn't slice your
fingers open and could be dealt with nicely with Channellocks if they
gave trouble.

Sort of. But don't buy them, just pick them up alongside the road. Cable "chains" fall off regularly and are free for the taking.
Plus they really don't work worth a dam anyway.


Are you sure you know what you're talking about? Cable chains
are good for keeping you on the road and being able to stop.
Yes they are not that good if you're concerned about getting stuck,
but that's absolutely not a problem if you're on major roads and
hotel parking lots.

I assume you are defending "cable chains" because you've been suckered
into buying them? I can't imagine any other reason.

Chains are superior for all purposes, just as easy to install if you're
moderately competent, just as quiet if properly fitted and installed,
and CHEAPER.

But in any case - cables litter the highway after a snow - just pick up
what you need, if you want to try them. It'd be a favor to us who live
here if you would collect the roadside trash.

"Walt" wrote in message
...

If it dumps while you're in SLC, follow pigo's advice and drive to the
bottom of BCC or LCC and take the bus up to the slopes. You can also
take public transportation around to Park City, but it's a bit more of a
hassle.

Yep. The F(ront)WD is my recommendation as well unless he's got too much
money. The Stratus is like a bigger Neon. Every once an a while you can get
an SUV for about $150/wk. He'll have to decide if it's worth $150 extra for
the trip.

He's staying at the Cliff. **NO** need for a car at all. Same at Heavenly.
Once he's there, he **HOPES** that the roads close.

Hwy. 50 up out of Carson City is a pretty big road. Unless it's a huge dump,
that inconveniences everyone, he shouldn't get locked out of Tahoe. Going
through the N. Shore (as someone suggested) seems like an unnecessary detour
though.