KT-22 is why expert skiers come. It is a lift served face of chutes and steep open terrain that has produced much of American freeskiing, and it has a reputation that carries well beyond California.

Alpine Meadows over the ridge is quieter and better for intermediates, and since 2022 a gondola has linked the two mountains that ran separately for sixty years. Sierra snow is heavy and abundant.

The 1960 Winter Olympics were held here, and what is left is a compact village with hotels, bars and restaurants, plus rentals around Lake Tahoe fifteen minutes away and the real town of Truckee up the road. Reno is an hour.

A Pacific storm can shut the interstate, so keep the plan flexible and keep a lake day in reserve for when wind holds the upper lifts.