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My thoughts on the NorCal slopes -- Lake Tahoe area is SO COOL! There are a ton of resorts to choose from, and they are not very far away from the Bay Area. My favorite is Kirkwood (www.skikirkwood.com). It's about 3 and a half hours from Palo Alto, is a little removed from the Lake Tahoe area so it's not quite as crouded as some of the other places, and it has a great variety of slopes, including several terrain parks if you're into those.
Other good ones are Northstar, Squaw Valley, and Sugar Bowl -- all in the North Lake Tahoe area. Squaw is particularly good, but also can be quite crouded. Most of the resorts are within a 4 hour drive and are very easy to access as long as you're not driving in the middle of a snow storm. Most of the resorts cost around $50-60 for an adult one day pass. Kirkwood is having a promotion right now where you can buy 4 passes at Costco for $41 each. (and no, I don't work for Kirkwood! :wink: )
