Homewood Mountain Resort
Posted on February 16, 2008
Homewood may pale in comparison to the vertical drop or acreage of other resorts, but bigger isn’t always better, even at ski resorts. The terrain is not as extensive as it would be at Squaw or Alpine, and there are much shorter runs and few bowls to speak of.
However, Homewood is a favorite resort for many reasons. When conditions are right, there’s marvelous off-piste skiing through the trees of Hobbit Land. Though lift capacity is small, Homewood tends to be less crowded, even on weekends.And let’s not forget the glorious views. Many Tahoe resorts offer snippets of lakeviews from the top of the lift. At Homewood you have to try hard to find a run without a view. Everyone, even beginners, can ski down Rainbow Ridge to the mid-mountain chalet and enjoy the sensation that one is about to schluss directly into the lake.
Homewood is also a great place to ski on stormy days. While Squaw and Alpine can suffer from wind-hold on 70% of their lifts, Homewood’s lifts are lower to the ground and protected by trees. You can ski during a blizzard and not freeze your butt on the way up. Homewood is less costly, both for lift tickets and other services. The staff is far more friendly and relaxed.
As far as cons, Homewood is lower in elevation: sometimes getting rain when other resorts have snow. Also, they do not get the sheer snowfall that Squaw or Sugarbowl receives, nor do they have much artificial snowmaking capacity. So in drought years Homewood may not have the best coverage.
Finally, the return run options for the North Base Lodge are either 1) a windy, sometimes icy Lombard run, or 2) a plunge down the choppy mogels of The Face (right under the lift, for maximum humiliation when you biff). But you can avoid this choice-of-two-evils by skiing down to the South Lodge and taking the shuttle back to the North Lodge, if that’s where you are parked.
AREA’S SKIING STATISTICS
Elevation: Top 7,880
Base: 6,230
Vertical Drop: 1,650
Average Snowfall: 450″
Number of skiable acres: 1,260
Number of lifts: 8
% Expert Runs:
% Advance Runs: 35
% Intermediate Runs: 50
% Beginner Runs: 15
» Filed Under Skiing & Snowboarding Tags: Tags:Homewood Mountain, resort, Skiing & Snowboarding, Tahoe
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