A few months ago, I purchased 2-day
Squaw Valley lift tickets for a planned trip to Truckee, CA. However, due to the extreme snowfall, all of the roads to Truckee were closed.
After our recent epic snowboarding trip to Mammoth, we decided to head back to
Squaw Valley (before the warmer temperatures melted all of the freshly fallen powder). My plan was to head to Truckee on Friday night, snowboard at Squaw Valley on the first day, and
Alpine Meadows on the second day.
When I looked for accommodations in Truckee or
Squaw Valley, there was absolutely nothing available. Luckily, I found an excellent Airbnb rental in Truckee for a reasonable price ($460 for 2 nights) with a superb cancellation policy (in case of unexpected road closures).
On Friday, March 1, Alex and I drove to Truckee, arriving at around 8:00 p.m. I was worried about and encountered heavy traffic in the San Francisco Bay area, but the winter road (US-80) was surprisingly straightforward. Since we were hungry, we decided to eat at the
Old Town Tap (as recommended by my wife, who evaluated some of the restaurant reviews).
When we arrived in Truckee, the
Old Town Tap restaurant was bustling, and no tables were available. After contemplating eating at the bar, we found a table for 2 and pointed it out to our hostess. She sat us down at the table, and we ordered a few dinner items. I selected a Caesar salad to share with Alex. It was significant.
Besides, I also ordered the "
Potato Pizza" (sweet/red/purple potatoes, roasted garlic, mozzarella, rosemary oil, thyme, parmesan), while Alex selected the
Margherita Pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil, parmesan). The pizzas were acceptable - not at the level of our local Pizza My Heart eatery, but not bad overall.
After dinner, we drove to our Truckee Airbnb rental, where my hosts, Susan and Carlo, greeted us. They were very kind, offering us wine and snacks and showing us the house and our rooms. Since we were tired, we didn't stay up very long and went to bed around 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
I showered and dressed for snowboarding after waking up at around 6:45 a.m. Carlo and Susan prepared a delicious breakfast, including freshly baked frittata, yogurt, and hot coffee and tea. We enjoyed our breakfast (but it may have been too much for me).
After finishing breakfast, we started our drive to
Squaw Valley at about 8:00 a.m. The drive was supposed to take 25 minutes, but it took about 40 minutes (due to traffic and snow removal machinery). We parked in the main
Squaw Valley parking lot, put on our snowboarding boots, and headed for the slopes.
He is a GoPro Hero7 Black
video of our snowboarding at Squaw Valley.
It was cold and cloudy, with light, wet snowflakes sprinkling down. (Eventually, it started raining, and we were completely soaked!). Visibility was also abysmal. It felt like snowboarding inside a cloud.
We decided to explore the mountain by riding on a few different lifts and trails:
- KT-22 Express
- Red Dog
- Gold Coast Funitel (gondola)
- Siberia Express
- Gold Coast Express
- Big Blue Express
Since we like fresh powder (and it is easier to find in the trees), our favorite runs were in trees. We enjoyed Chute 75 and Moseley's (accessible from the KT-22 Express).
We stopped by the KT kitchen for lunch, which sells burgers and sandwiches. I ordered a chicken sandwich ($16.00) with fries ($8.50), while Alex settled on a burger ($16.00) with french fries ($8.00). My chicken sandwich was overcooked (not to mention highly overpriced). Resort entrees at Mammoth, Whistler, and other resorts are far superior to Squaw Valley.
We stopped by for a snack at the Gold Coast Lodge, which offered a better variety of resort fare. We may stop by there next time (and avoid the KT kitchen altogether).
At about 3:30 p.m., we snowboarded down the mountain. Since it started to rain, I decided to call it a day and head back to our Airbnb to dry off.
Suzanne and Carlo - our Airbnb hosts - helped dry off our soggy snowboarding gear. My pants were soaked entirely, and our ski jackets were wet. Carlo even lent his rain gear for our dinner excursion. Even after 2 turns in the dryer, our snowboarding pants were still damp. It was one soggy snowboarding day!
At about 6:45 p.m., we drove into Truckee for dinner. At first, we stopped by the
Truckee Tavern and Grill, but the wait was 1-2 hours. We kept walking, stopping by the
Old Town Tap, where we were promised a 30-minute wait for a table. After about 30 minutes, we sat down at a high table, from which we could watch all of the sports. The Golden State Warriors were playing the Philadelphia 76ers and leading in the 4th quarter by a score of 116 - 113. The Golden State Warriors eventually won!
We ordered a slightly different dinner than the previous day. After asking for 2 hot teas, we also ordered a Caesar Salad (shared), a Margherita Pizza, and a Hummus plate. Alex enjoyed his pizza, while I enjoyed the hummus (though it's not at the level of Oren's Hummus Shop in Palo Alto). Our waitress was fantastic and managed to keep our hot tea refills coming. I had 4-5 hot teas and multiple glasses of water! For dessert, Alex ordered soft-serve ice cream with hot fudge on top. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and returned to our Airbnb by 9:00 p.m.
Although we enjoyed Squaw Valley, we felt that the slopes were not at the level of Mammoth Mountain.
