Kirkwood Ski Resort

California’s rugged Kirkwood ski resort, one of the most remote and au naturel, is located about 50 km south of Lake Tahoe, deep within the Sierra Nevada. Kirkwood’s founder Bud Klein, a bean broker from Stockton, Calif., saw the undiscovered potential in the surrounding mountains and received his approval to start a ski resort here in 1968. The ski resort might lack the stunning Lake Tahoe views but it makes up for it with its massive headwalls and extreme, natural elements.

A freeskier’s paradise

Famous for some of Sierra’s driest snow conditions, preferably knee-deep, it’s long been an all-time favourite among local freeskiers. Add to the mix razor-sharp chutes that even give big-mountain skiers butterflies, never-ending couloirs, few crowds and magic, expansive scenery. The top part of the mountain, above the treeline, is like a steep obstacle course while the lower mountain, below the treeline, has nature-made halfpipes. A Kirkwood trademark are the drop-ins (some fairly narrow), almost all of the double-blacks runs feature them. Expect to be free-falling for the first seconds. 

“The K-Factor”

The Sierra storms continually refill the amount of pow as well as shut down lifts and roads for days. Yep, as any powder-hound knows, you take the good with the bad. Especially when it’s the most reliable, high-quality snow in the area. It comes down to Kirkwood’s location, situated at the tip of a high U-shaped valley, and its base altitude, which is higher compared to other ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe area. From December to March, storms consistently roll in, soaking up precipitation off the west coast, generously dumping an average of two to four feet. It’s simply called the, “K-Factor.”