THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING

Two generations after the 1960 Winter Olympics made Lake Tahoe a household name, the region that spans the California-Nevada border remains unparalleled in the diversity of terrain and experiences it offers skiers. Rebecca Misner bombs down black diamonds and indulges in après pleasures to provide a primer on the area

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The view of Lake Tahoe from the California Trail at Heavenly Mountain Resort

A thick layer of morning mist is burning off Lake Tahoe, and the water looks like it's steaming. It's a beautiful bluebird day, as is common for the legendary ski area, which sees about 300 days of sunshine annually, but in mid-February it feels like a gift. My heart thuds in my chest as the lift begins its final steep push up the mountain. I'm on KT-22, which provides access to some of the gnarliest, most storied expert terrain in the world. The lift is so central to the identity of its resort, Palisades Tahoe, that it's simply called The Mothership.

To ride up KT-22 is to ride through the history of modern skiing in America. To my left is Women's Downhill—not the snazziest trail name but a tribute to the run created for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, which were hosted at Palisades Tahoe, then known as Squaw Valley. (The offensive name was changed in 2021.) When Palisades Tahoe won its Olympics bid in 1955, it was a fledgling resort with a single chairlift and two rope tows. Those Games, the first to be televised in America and only the second Winter Olympics ever held in the United States, kicked off a flurry of infrastructure development and building around Tahoe, as well as a recreational skiing craze throughout the US.

On a chairlift at Heavenly

Off to my right is Moseley's, named for homegrown Olympic gold medalist Johnny Moseley. Only the bravest souls hike up to McConkey's at the top, an expert run that honors another Palisades great, the late X Games champ and extreme athlete Shane McConkey. Both skiers defined what freeskiing looks like today: big aerial tricks and lots of flair.