s4wood

Ok..let me lay the groundwork...finally broke down and spent about $2.5K to equip the kids with snowboards/boot/binding/clothes to go snowboarding for the FIRST time ever. Kids are 12 (boy) and 15 (girl). They are pretty athletic..and psyched to go snowboarding. I want to put them in a lesson..and think they should be in an all day lesson..my daughter thinks only the morning..but what does she know about how far she will progress in 3 hours..ya know. My question is..since they are never evers..should I take them to Heavenly or Sierra. We are staying at Stateline..so other areas are probably too far. Here is how they stack up so far:

Heavenly: Expensive..really expensive...Lift tickets are about $71 for her..putting them either a class lesson..or a private lesson with both my kids in it. That will be $300+ at heavenly..just for the lesson. Was thinking of going to the nevada side..how is snowboarding at the bottom of the nevada side?

Sierra: less expensive..lift tickets less..ski lessons less..how about snowboarding here..good/ok/decent/fair/poor? The good part about Sierra is that we can check out of the hotel and already be out of the valley before the rush hits. That is a BIG plus..I have been stuck in So Lake Tahoe for 6 hours one time..that was hell..never again.

So, what say you folks. BTW, I use to be an alpine ski instructor at Vail for two years back in the 80s. Yes, I know how to ski..but I am clueless with snowboarding. I am breaking my equipment out of mothballs..hope I don't break my leg. :-)

Thanks.

dan farmer

The first day involves falling a lot on the easy slopes. No need to pay for the big mountain when you're on the learning hill.

Get 'em wrist braces. Broken wrists are really common among new snowboarders. For you, demo some skis. The new stuff (last 3 or 4 years) is a-may-zing. So easy to turn. Fat skis that float you in the crud and still turn in the bumps.

Have fun-
-df

laseredpete

It takes a while to get to the "smaller" runs. Sierra is a little further but a lot more family oriented. And yeh you have to check out the new shaped skis. It's a whole new world. Have fun. I think we will hit bear or dodge at least one day this weekend.

Avant XP

I've put my son (12) there (ski school) quite a few times and he has had good experiences.

Vtec_Killer

Christine and I have a bunch of Heavenly tickets. If you are interested in them. Give her a call.

Ummm..ya. Get them those wrist braces. They will fall, A LOT. Heavenly California side has a lot of green runs to learn on. Sierra would be friendlier as their greens are way easy.

We should try and get a norcal gtg for snowboarding/skiing!! It looks like it's going to dump this weekend have fun!

piaadoll

their bunny slope is really wide

quattrogirl

I did my 'learn to ride' lesson there and it was great. They'll put maybe 4 or 5 ppl in a lesson versus 10 to 12 on the CA side. Since you're staying in Stateline, it's WAY closer than the CA base.... hit me up if you need lift tix, I have a whole bunch of the $59 ones that Fred & I haven't used yet....no blackout dates or anything.... :-)

Sin4lly

isn't Homewood near by? go there. Much cheaper

P. Bauer

Heavenly for the kids.

s4wood

Tooooo faaaaar awaaaaaay

But thanks for the suggestion..I have skiied Homewood.