Skiing

Palisades Tahoe. Known for some of the toughest skiing in the Tahoe area, this park was the centerpiece of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Today it's the definitive North Tahoe ski resort and among the top-three megaresorts in California (the other two are Heavenly and Mammoth). Although Palisades Tahoe has changed significantly since the Olympics, the skiing is still world-class and extends across vast bowls stretched between six peaks. Experts often head directly to the untamed terrain of the infamous KT-22 face, which has bumps, cliffs, and gulp-and-go chutes, or to the nearly vertical Palisades, where many famous extreme-skiing films have been shot. Fret not, beginners and intermediates: you have plenty of wide-open, groomed trails at High Camp (which sits at the top of the mountain) and around the more challenging Snow King Peak. Snowboarders and show-off skiers can tear up the five fantastic terrain parks, which include a giant super-pipe. Ski passes are good at neighboring Alpine Meadows, which is part of Palisades Tahoe; free shuttles run all day between the Alpine and Olympic Valley base camps. (By early 2022, a gondola will connect them.) Facilities: 178 trails; 3,600 acres; 2,840-foot vertical drop; 30 lifts. 1960 Palisades Tahoe Rd., Olympic Valley, California, 96146. 800/403–0206; www.palisadestahoe.com. Lift ticket $179.

Tahoe Dave's Skis and Boards. If you don't want to pay resort prices, you can rent and tune downhill skis and snowboards at this shop. 3039 Hwy. 89, at Palisades Tahoe Rd., Olympic Valley, California, 96146. 530/583–5665; www.tahoedaves.com.

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