Squaw Valley

The snow at Squaw Valley and the other Lake Tahoe resorts (there are plenty nearby, including Heavenly and Northstar) is world renowned – overnight dumps of snow here can be staggering and more often than not you'll be skiing the next day under an azure Californian sky. You ski both Squaw Valley and neighbouring Alpine Meadows on the same lift ticket, with a short complimentary bus ride between the two areas, giving you access to 6000 acres of terrain, 270 trails and 43 lifts. The two resorts were due to be lift connected for 2018/19 but that looks unlikely for another year. 

At Squaw Valley, the mantra is 'if you can see it ski it' and the terrain is a mix of cruisy beginner and intermediate runs, more challenging pitches for strong intermediates and for the experts, there's no shortage of cornices, tree runs and steeps to play on.