The 47 Hardest Ski Runs South Lake Tahoe Has to Offer

By: Aaron Robbins

This is a follow up article to The 42 hardest ski runs North Lake Tahoe has to offer

As feet upon feet of fresh powder fall on our Lake Tahoe ski resorts it seemed fitting to give South Lake Tahoe their fair shake at a “hardest ski runs” list.

While I am a North Lake Tahoe guy, I think you’ll find my bias did not effect this list as South Lake Tahoe has a 5 run advantage of hard ski runs over North Lake Tahoe. With that being said here is The 47 hardest ski runs South Lake Tahoe has to offer:

Sierra at Tahoe

Sierra-at-Tahoe is located on the west side of Echo Summit and is accessible by Highway 50. They don’t have the highest concentration of hard ski runs there but they do offer some hard skiing both in bounds and out of bounds. Although it didn’t make the list, I can remember skiing Preacher’s Passion at Sierra-at-Tahoe when it had about a foot of fresh powder on it. Man . . .that was a good day. Here are Sierra-at-Tahoe’s hardest ski runs:

Double Black Diamonds

1. Jack’s Bowl

2. Avalanche Bowl

Gate Controlled Expert Ski Areas

3. Castle Creek (Gate 1)

4. North Bowl (Gate 2)

5. Big Pine (Gate 3)

6. Pandora’s (Gate 4)

7. Huckleberry Canyon (Gate 5)

Heavenly

Heavenly is South Lake Tahoe’s biggest resort. In fact, it’s the highest and biggest ski resort in the whole Tahoe area. There is a good concentration of hard ski runs here as well as gate controlled expert ski areas. Although I don’t remember the first time I skied Mott Canyon, I do remember the first time I heard about it. A school mate of mine came in one Monday morning bragging about skiing Mott Canyon over the weekend. I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time so I went home and looked the area up on a Warren Miller ski video. I knew right away I had to ski it. Here is a list of Heavenly’s hardest ski runs and expert ski areas:

Double Black Diamonds

8. Gunbarrel

9. East Bowl

10. The Face

Gate Controlled Expert Ski Areas

11. Killbrew Canyon Area

12. Sweetwate Chute

13. Boulavard

14. Stateline Chute

15. The Fingers

16. Ramarrah’s

17. Pipeline

18. Outer Limites

19. Boundry Chute

20. Mott Canyon Area

21. On Hold

22. Souther Comfort

23. Pinenuts

24. Hully Gully

25. Widowmaker

26. Snake Eyes

27. Bill’s

28. The “Y”

29. Rocky Point

30. Ernie’s

31. Hemlock

32. North 40

33. Promised Land

34. Rim Trail

Kirkwood

Kirkwood Mountain Resort is nestled at the end of a beautiful meadow along Highway 88 located on the far south and slightly west side of the Lake Tahoe area. They have a cool disc golf course during the summer and some of Tahoe’s hardest ski runs during the winter. Kirkwood has some of the highest concentration of double black diamonds and expert ski runs in all of Lake Tahoe. The skiing isn’t as long or sustained as Squaw or Heavenly but it’s hard, fairly easy to access and well worth the drive out there. Here is a list of Kirwoood’s hardest ski runs:

Double Black Diamonds

35. Two Man Chute

36. One Man Chute

37. Bogie’s Slide

38. Headwater

39. The Wall

40. Dick’s Drop

41. All The Way

42. Notch Chute

43. Sister Chute

44. Shaffer’s Chute

45. Saddle Chute

46. Cliff Chute

47. Chamoix

There you have it. Two lists comprising Lake Tahoe’s hardest ski runs. If you are planning on checking any of these runs out please be careful. Every year there are serious accidents on these runs. Just because it’s accessible doesn’t mean it’s safe. Make sure you have the skills, equipment and knowledge to stay safe in these extreme playgrounds.

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