Alpine Meadows is a place to
snowboard (or ski) between
Lake Tahoe and
Highway 80. In terms of
facilities, size, price, etc, it is pretty middle of the line. It isn't as small and
cheap as places like
Boreal or
Homewood but lacks the massive yuppification of places like
Squaw Valley or
Northstar. The base of this resort is a little under 7000 feet and the
vertical drop is around 2000 feet. Alpine Meadows recieves (and makes) a fairly large amount of
snow.
Although the snow isn't as good as that at Sugar Bowl, it is more abundant and Alpine Meadows often opens sooner than many resorts. The terrain is varied; there are a lot of black diamond runs and intermediate runs, and a few easy runs, although I haven't spent much time on these. Alpine encourages people to leave the marked trails and go cross-country, which allows for more freedom, but only when there is a lot of snow. Most of the non-groomed runs are rocky early and late saeason.
The summit runs are neat, there's a big lip there, and a few neat bowls. Some of the steeper runs tend to get infested with moguls which I find annoying. If they're open, be sure to check out the areas on the other side of the ridge. If you're on a snowboard, avoid the 'weasel' trail, it is too flat and if you dont have enough speed you will have to take off your board and walk out.