Best Place for Beginners?

[Bpatter49]

I will probably post a similar one in the Snowboarding section, but since I occasionally go up with people who haven't skiied before, what are people's thoughts on the best places to go to learn? It should be a combination of good mountain to learn, decent deals on rentals, and decent people teaching the ski lessons. The last time I went through lessons I wasn't even a teenager at the time, which is why I ask.

[beno]

i've brought beginning skiers to sierra-at-tahoe, and they had a good time. i'm a snowboarder, but i skied once when i was in 8th grade. on that trip, i went to boreal and squaw. i think both were good for beginners... but squaw's expensive. boreal's great for groups.

[grashoper7]

I brought my fiance earlier this season to the learn-to-ski events at Northstar and Sierra. $25 for rental, beginner lift ticket, and 2-2.5 hour lesson. It was such a good deal that I even traded in my snowboard for skis for those two days. The only thing is that the rental line was a bit crowded. Otherwise... best deal I've ever heard of! This is the first year tat I've seen it, but apparently a bunch of ski resorts have that same deal early in the season every year, so look for it next Dec/Jan.

Personally, the cheaper and less crowded the resort the better for learning. That means small places like Bear Valley and Homewood are ideal places to learn. However, my favorite beginner run is Sugar & Spice at Sierra.... when it isn't crowded that is.

If you're ever in the area, beginners would have a great time at June Mountain, which is next to Mammoth. They've got a great beginner run that is similar to Sugar & Spice. You know, it's long with a few turns and a few "steeper" sections. One other huge advantage of June is that no one EVER goes there. I've been there on MLK and President's day weekends and there are still very short lift lines. On non-holiday weekends, your beginner friends will have the entire mountain to themselves. And as an upside to you, June is owned by Mammoth, so the park and pipe are always in top notch conditon... if you're into that sort of thing. (It's not a rare sight to see pros filming there, which is fun).

[Hairfarmr]

I have to agree w/ grashoper North star is the best large mtn for a party w/skiers-riders of various abilities and the Beginners can handle the front side from top to bottom if they choose to . the one thing I have to say though is that it's tough to learn on grabby snow, so Squaw might be a good bet as they have a huge beginner area at the 8200 ft level so the snow will stay in better condition longer than it will at say Homewood or Northstar or anywhere else where the beg areas are near the base of the mtn. have a great time wherever you decide to go :)

[beno]

I have to agree w/ grashoper North star is the best large mtn for a party w/skiers-riders of various abilities and the

although northstar is very crowded thanks to the double whammy passes, for that very reason, i have the highest chance there of running into somebody i know. it happens often there and at sierra. that's a cool thing. furthermore, it's good for my beginner friends because, even if they're having a crappy day trying to learn to ski or board; at least they'll have fun when they run into their friends and laugh at each other and stuff. yeah, northstar's got a decently social environment.

[Bpatter49]

I have taken many a beginner to both Mt. Rose and Diamondpeak since they are not usually as crowded as some places (though Mt. Rose has been picking up lately due to an increase of people in Reno), and they can have good deals. I think I learned at Boreal, Northstar, Squaw, and Kirkwood but that was over 20 years ago. I would think it would be better for beginners to be at places that are less crowded due to the whole stopping, turning thing.

[TahoeLocal]

Kirkwood is a great place for beginners, especially with this years TahoeCard free rental and liftticket. Kirkwood's "hole in the wall" chair aka "Chair 7" and chair 1 "SnowKirk" are prime lifts for beginners. You could probably get away for a few runs on chair 6 and 10,if your more experienced, while the beginners take their time down.

[trklocal23]

Another great place for the begginers is sugar bowl. Sugar bowl is perfect because they have the little park specifically for the begginers and there is terrain for begginers both on the front and on the back of the mountain so you can get a contreverse aspect of the mountain instead of being stuck on one run all day like you would be at squaw or northstar doesnt have enough begginer runs. A few other places you may want to check out would be Tahoe Donner ski resort or Donner ski Ranch located right across from sugar bowl.

[Squawlaholic]

If you have kids the ski school at Squaw is second to none. it is more geared toward those who want to get serious about skiing and not so much a learn to ski center. I'd reccoment Homewood or Diamond Peak for the Bay Area family who just wants to get thier kid proficient. If they really dig it and want to takt it to another level make sure you go to Squaw Kids Camp!

[Bpatter49]

The beginners I was talking about was more in the adult range rather than kids. If I did have kids, I would probably take them to a place like Squaw so I could get some good runs in while they took lessons in the morning, and then ski with them in the afternoon. Much like my parents used to do when I was a kid.