March 20-24, 2005, Kirkwood, CA

We set out on a road trip to ski in fresh snow and found it at Kirkwood. During the 5 days we were there it snowed about 5 feet, I thought, although the resort was reporting 10, it was mostly great soft dry powder. The terrain and "resort" are somewhat backcountry like, where small traverses lead to relative solitude and fresh snow. Kirkwood is laid back place with some great terrain. We got really lucky with our timing and had a great time. <br><br>Here's a photo of my partners, Buck and Hambone, on our last day, the 24th, after two storms hit the previous 4 days.<br> <br>

I'm completely jealous. Unlike you, my friend & I had the dubious timing of visiting Kirkwood the week BEFORE the recent dumps. Despite that, we had an awesome time there, spending 3 of our 5 days in the Tahoe area at Kirkwood.<br><br>The resort layout is damn near perfect & I don't know if you saw what they're proposing as improvements on the backside (Emigrant Basin). It's my new favorite resort ANYWHERE..

Yes, we all concur that Kirkwood is awesome. I can't think of a better resort either, but I haven't been to that many. We had initially planned to ski just one day there en route to Mammoth area. However, everything we were looking for, and more, was at Kirkwood, so we stayed 5 days and didn't have to drive anywhere. I think the only regret we had is that we didn't buy the spring season pass for $149 on the first day. But, I doubt we would've stayed so long if it wasn't for the daily dumps of dry powder. The friends we met there were extending their stays too.<br><br>BTW, the resort permits camping in their RV lot and does not charge any money. We heard they may start charging a fee though.