I'll be in Vegas on business next year with my mtgs ending March 2nd. Would I be better off going to Tahoe for a few a days or to Mammoth? Also would it be best to rent a car and drive or fly?

Monk, Did the Vegas to Reno to Truckee thing a few years back. How do you get to Mammoth from Vegas? Have you been to either place before?

I've never skied in CA before (just UT and CO for Western skiing). I have no idea how I'd get to Mammoth from Vegas. Looking at a map it seems I'd drive north from Vegas and then hang a left somewhere and cross over into CA; perhaps around Lida or Basalt? Of course I have no idea what kind of roads these are and if they are even passable that time of year.

Vegas to Mammoth = 8.5 hrs driving
Vegas to Tahoe = 12 hours driving

If you fly to Reno from Las Vegas (I think America West fly that route) then drive:

Reno to Mammoth = 4+ hrs
Reno to Tahoe = 1.5 hrs

For sure, either place is not a day trip from Vegas.

How much time do you have to ski? Mammoth would be about 2-4 hours closer than most Tahoe areas and give you all you can handle for about 4 days. If you want to do a whole week then you might consider a Tahoe smorgasbord. Another option if you want less driving from Vegas and don't mind a smaller ski area for 2 or 3 days is to consider Brian Head in southern UT (about 3 hour drive from Vegas)(http://www.goski.com/resorts/rusaut/brian.htm). My brother has been there several times and says skiing is very good for smaller place (pretty high altitude) and extremely scenic.
Also, there's a small ski area (http://www.skilasvegas.com/) around Charleston Peak only one hour from Vegas in Nevada, but I hear snow quality there can be iffy.

You can always try Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort it is about an hr away from vegas and you can even see the snow caped mountain from the city. But i would guess it would be about the size of an eastern resort just with real and better snow.

JimK, langleyskier, that there resort is famous.

I've looked into this issue a couple of times and was in Vegas in May.

1. Brian Head Resort: 3 hours from Vegas (half way to SLC). 1,700 feet of vertical and over 400 inches of natural snow. It's very high altitude, however, so go easy. Base is at 9,600 and the summit, 11,307.

http://www.skitown.com/resortguide/stats.cfm/ut03/BrianHead

I drove by it in May when I was visiting Bryce and Zion. There was still skiing and a good amount of snow. There was snow above 9,000 feet at Bryce as well on Memorial Day weekend.

2. Park City area resorts: An easy 6 hour drive on I-15 according to reports of those who have done it.

JimK, langleyskier, that there resort is famous.



I remember the story, fascinating and tragic, forgot where it took place. Imagine the panic and helplessness of watching a wall of snow coming down to sweep you off a chairlift. No escape. Wonder if he would have survived if his safety bar was down keeping him in place on the chair?!? Or would he have been pummeled to death anyway?

I didn't realize he didn't have the bar down. From that article you can't really tell.

I'll probably have 3-4 days of skiing. I'm leaning towards Mammoth as that is a place (along w/ Tahoe) that I've always wanted to try. I'm definitely not driving all the way back to the SL areas as I would have skiied there a few weeks prior. Thanks for all the information BTW.