Heavenly Mountain is widely considered one of the premier ski resorts in the nation, and I knew I would enjoy this day.  I started early, and arrived at the Gondola at about 10am.  I couldn’t have picked a better day.  The temperature was in the mid 40’s, no wind at all, and not a cloud in sight.  I stopped off at the Gondola’s Scenic Deck. What a view!  Not that I hadn’t seen it before, but anytime you see Lake Tahoe from 9000 feet (3000 feet above the lake) it is entirely breathtaking.  I made my way through the Adventure Peak Outdoor Dining Area and bar and also got to watch some people tubing on their massive tubing hill that sports huge banked turns.  It's even outfitted with its own chair lift.  I saw as many smiles there that I usually would from the skiers.  

That's the great thing about Heavenly - it's just not for skiers & snowboarders!  Everyday you'll find people riding up the gondola without any ski gear. That's because the sledding, scenic overlooks, and the great food and drink are fantastic stand-alone activities!

But I came up to do a little snowboarding. So I took the Tamarack chair to the very top of the mountain and again, amazing views. Next was the Sky Express lift and an awesome ride down Ridge Run where the snow was perfect.  Perfectly groomed wide open runs and fantastic lake views.  I rode from the very top all the way down to “Snow Beach”.  Snow Beach is another great place to relax.  They play Reggae music and have Adirondack style seating so everyone can kick up there feet and take a nice break from the grueling efforts of skiing and riding.  After a brief stop I rode Patsy’s lift over the Groove Terrain Park.  This is the beginner terrain park and all ages were sliding the boxes and rails and taking big jumps over the table tops.  The younger crowd has really stepped up and make it all look so easy.  Finally I made it to the Lakeview Lodge at The Top of the Tram.  I took the extremely exhausting ride down Gunbarrel, one of Heavenly’s most renowned & daring runs.

All this and I've only scratched the surface.  Heavenly is an enormous resort, you could easily spend an entire week exploring the California side of Heavenly, and never get bored.  And there is a whole other side of Heavenly to go - the Nevada side!  We'll explore that area next time - stay tuned.

Related Articles:

• Lake Tahoe Ski Resorts