When I go to Lake Tahoe, the resort that I ski at most often is Heavenly. After skiing there for many years, I have some tips for maximizing your experience there, and also some general tips!
1. Since most people take the gondola up, runs around the gondola tend to be very popular. Comet and Dipper chairs tend to be especially busy. Sometimes it can take around 20 minutes to line up!
On the other hand, Powerbowl express and Canyon chair on the California side have much shorter lines. On the Nevada side, Olympic and Stagecoach chairs also have much fewer people people. Skiing from the top of Olympic to the bottom of Stagecoach is a very long and fun run with not as many people! All of those chairs are fairly accessible, so it is a good idea to explore there and avoid lines!
2. If you are planning on only skiing part of the day, it’s a better idea to ski in the morning than the afternoon! In the morning the snow is fresher, while in the afternoon, it can get very lumpy or slushy after it has been skiied in a lot. In addition, there are much fewer people in the morning, so you can avoid crowds. However, in the spring, the snow is very icy until later in the morning, so it can be a good idea to come around 10 and ski the rest of the day.
3. If you come in the morning, the runs that are more shady tend to be icier, while the runs with sun shining on them are softer, so its a better idea to stay away from the icy snow. As the day progresses, the sun moves to different places, and more people skiing on runs softens the snow.
4. For learning to ski, taking a private lesson with a few friends is a great idea. Private lessons are more effective and safer for learning, and they can be less expensive if you have a few friends to take the class with you. It’s also good to form a relationship with an instructor and request them for lessons so that they know you better!
5. There are some places on the mountain that provide very beautiful views of Lake Tahoe! One popular place to see the lake is on California Trial. You can also see it on Skyline Trail from high up, as well as on Gunbarrel express (if you’re going down).
To help, here is a map of Heavenly with the lifts and trails I mentioned marked in indigo.
If you ever choose to ski at Heavenly, I hope these tips are useful!