With others driving, it’s all downhill from here
After four years of less-than-stellar snowfall (barely enough for even pygmy snowmen), it makes sense that skiers and snowboarders caught up in the giddiness of actual winter storms would forget the inevitable downside.
You have to drive through them.
Then again, maybe not. Depending on your budget, the time you have and exactly how much you hate the idea of Highway 80 as a 100-mile parking lot (or of trying to put chains on while tractor trailers roar by like mini El Niños), there are options for getting up to the snow and down the hill without getting behind the wheel.
Ride the rails
Amtrak’s California Zephyr (www.amtrak.com) runs between Emeryville and Truckee once a day (with bus service to Emeryville from San Francisco locations, or just take BART to the Richmond Station). The trip supposedly takes five hours and 28 minutes — but only when the train stops to pick up unicorns (heavy snow and priority for freight cars can add an hour or two). The Saver and Value tickets are $36 and $45, respectively, one way (depending on what’s available). Three times a day, you can catch the combo train-bus route, riding the Capitol Corridor to Sacramento and a motor coach from there to Truckee ($49 for the Value ticket). Travel time for the combo is only slightly shorter than that of the Zephyr once you factor in the layover in Sacramento. Several shuttles take Truckee train passengers to the resorts (see “North Lake Tahoe Express” below), although most of the larger resorts have their own service from downtown Truckee. Ask when you book your stay. Also: www.laketahoetransit.com.
Get on the bus
If it’s just a one-day affair, Bay Area Ski Bus (www.bayareaskibus.com) offers trips to seven Tahoe resorts from San Francisco and other Bay Area cities; it’s $149 for bus and lift ticket (ski/snowboard rental and lessons extra); bus only, $85. Resorts include Heavenly, Kirkwood, Northstar, Sierra at Tahoe, Squaw Valley and Sugar Bowl — check the schedule online. If it’s just transportation you need, Megabus (www. megabus.com) now offers a route from San Francisco to Reno (it doesn’t stop in Truckee) for a base fare of $15 ($7 more for a front seat upstairs), and, of course, Greyhound (www.greyhound.com) offers direct service between San Francisco and Truckee for $27-$34 online (rates higher at the station) that because of stops, can take just shy of six hours.
Hop the Sierra
United Airlines (www.united.com) offers nonstop flights from San Francisco to Reno-Tahoe International that take about an hour and run from $257 to $600 round trip, depending on date and demand. Delta, American, Alaska and United fly routes with one or two stops, usually through Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland and (yes, really) Seattle. North Lake Tahoe Express (call (866) 216-5222, www.northlaketahoeexpress.com) is an airporter-style shuttle that covers the Reno airport, Truckee’s train depot and most of the ski resorts on both sides of the border ($32-$49 per person). South Tahoe Airporter (call (866) 898-2463, www.southtahoeairporter.com) offers service 10 times a day between the Reno airport and South Lake Tahoe (adults $29.75, children $16.75).