I’ve wanted to visit Squaw Valley — the birthplace of extreme skiing and backdrop for many of the ski movies I watched as a child — since I was young. I was thrilled when we arrived there in early January.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t had much snow since Christmas, and the crowds of holidaymakers that visit the hill and left little behind. So, the first two days were less than ideal for sampling extreme terrain that the locals rave about.
On the night of the second day, however, it snowed nearly a foot. So, on the third day we did a bit of hiking and put in some of the best turns of the season.
All’s well that ends well, especially when you walk away with photos like these!
**Special thanks to Bryon of Exploring Elements for the photos of me (the snowboarder in the blue jacket). You can find all of Bryon’s photos here.
What do you think? Is Squaw Valley the best ski area in the USA?
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Jealous! Looks amazing and would love to be there after a dump of snow like that.
I haven’t ridden in the USA but hear good things about the back country at Squaw Valley. How does it compare to Jackson Hole?
Great looking shots mate!
Hey so I went to Squaw Valley Academy for two years during high school-Junior+Senior year. I had been born and raised an Alpine Meadows girl, and our house there is close enough that on powder days my friends and I take a detour down the backcountry from Promised Land right to my house, but when I went to SVA, I skied there every day for school. Plus if it was blue skies and had snowed over a foot the night before, class would be cancelled for skiing. Every day at 12:30 we would get out of class and go up to the mountain until 4 because the shuttle would come by and pick us up or we could just walk since we were right by Squaw Creek Resort. We got credit for the skiing as our PE class, so my friends and I got plenty of time to explore the mountain. It was interesting this past season because the year before had been an “El Nino” year like no other and every day was a powder day, but the mountain still stood up even without the crazy snow of 11′. The back country at Alpine is famous and not at all exaggerated as long as you have a local with you to show you the safe areas and what to look for in an area prone to a slide, but Squaw’s out of bounds is almost as good but not nearly as publicized. Granite Chief is by far the local favorite hot spot for after a dump because of the awesome terrain and the steepness that allows for that “I’m flying” feeling when floating on a fresh pow day, but KT or Red Dog are close seconds. Anyway, just wanted to add my experience here because I’ve skied Whistler, Big Sky, Snow Bird, and every single resort in Tahoe, but now that Alpine and Squaw are joined, they beat them all!! Also, there’s a hidden teepee and a treehouse on the mountain, but I’m not telling where. 🙂 Happy hunting, and ring the boot!
Thanks for all the info Kat! I’m looking forward to one day exploring Alpine’s legendary backcountry. And you’re right, Granite Chief is an awesome place to play after a storm. Totally fun terrain!
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