So maybe you don’t ski, snowboard or participate in other winter sports and have never been “up to the snow” at Lake Tahoe.
Well, for newbies as well as regulars, visiting a Tahoe-area resort on what is termed a “bluebird” winter day is equivalent to going to another country. The blue sky and blinding white snow are a dazzling continent away from the fog and gloom that so often characterize weather in California’s lowlands at this time of year.
Sure, it’s exciting and inspiring to watch the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on television, but it’s even more exciting and inspiring to watch similar events live at Lake Tahoe — and you don’t have to know an ollie from a cork 180 to be absolutely awed.
In a way, Tahoe’s winter competition agenda serves to amplify the aura created by the 1960 Winter Olympics at Palisades Tahoe (then known as Squaw Valley). The flame still burns, and the Olympic rings still reign at Palisades’ Tower of Nations entrance on Highway 89, and the resort’s many winter events continue to showcase former and future Olympic athletes.
“This is an Olympic year, and the energy is evident on the slopes,” says John Rice, president of Ski California, a nonprofit trade association representing 36 resorts in California and Nevada. “Ski California resorts have produced 11 Gold Medal winners, and 11 athletes are competing this year in ski and snowboard events alone.”
For visitors, the ability to watch top-tier competitors doing their thing is in itself worth the trip to Tahoe. Here’s a look at some of the larger alpine ski and snowboard events on tap between now and the end of the season.
HEAVENLY MOUNTAIN RESORT
Toyota Big Air & Apres, Feb. 27-March 1
What is perhaps the splashiest event to hit Tahoe this year is a three-day extravaganza of music, big-air acrobatics and other activities at Heavenly’s Main California Lodge base area. It’s the fourth year for the freestyle skiing and snowboarding event, “and it’s huge!” says spokesman Cole Zimmerman.
The resort has built a 45-foot-high jump to launch high-flying skiers and riders from 7 to 8 p.m. Saturday under 3D projection, special effects, music and fireworks, he says.
The big-air affair will be preceded by DJ sets, a pre-party and a showing of a highlights film by the late American ski and snowboarding filmmaker Warren Miller. Following the big-air show comes an after-party, more DJ sets and athletes signing autographs.
The show is free, but it’s standing room only for spectators “unless they bring their own chairs,” Zimmerman says.
Friday events include a free apres electronic music set performed at the Rockstar DJ Cat — a snowcat turned into a mobile DJ and mobile sound system — while Sunday events include open jam sessions at the Groove terrain park and an all-day mountain scavenger hunt.
Details: 2-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, 2-10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, and noon-2 p.m. Sunday, Heavenly’s Main California Lodge, 3860 Saddle Road, South Lake Tahoe; skiheavenly.com/explore-the-resort/activities/toyota-air-and-apres.aspx
Getting there and parking: You’ll need reservations to park, but there are many alternatives, including free transportation on three South Shore routes by the Heavenly Shuttle. More information visit skiheavenly.com; @skiheavenly on socials.
PALISADES TAHOE
Toyota U.S. Mogul Freestyle Championships, March 27-29
A wild time is promised with this high-flying event that will see top men and women bumping downhill in moguls and dual moguls (a two-person, side-by-side freestyle skiing event that includes two mandatory jumps) on the Red Dog face, easily viewed from the base area. More than 100 top Olympic hopefuls are expected to compete. The event is free and family-friendly. For viewing options, see the spectator guide at blog.palisadestahoe.com/experiences/spectator-guide-u-s-freestyle-championships-at-palisades-tahoe.
Details: Toyota U.S. Mogul Freestyle Championships take place Friday, March 27-Saturday, March 29, Red Dog Face, Palisades Tahoe, 1960 Olympic Valley Road, Olympic Valley; usskiandsnowboard.org/events/toyota-us-mogul-freestyle-championships.
Daron Rahlves Banzai Tour, April 10-12
And that’s not all. The Daron Rahlves Banzai Tour, April 10-12, returns to Palisades for the first time in 10 years. The cult classic, extreme-skiing event, which is not an Olympic sport, is named for the man the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame proclaims as the “most decorated and accomplished American downhill racer of all time.” According to the resort, the upcoming race on the black-diamond KT-22 run promises “high-speed, no-holds-barred action as athletes charge down in four-person heats over natural terrain features in a battle to the finish.” Palisades is offering $85 lift tickets on race day for those who want to get close to the action. Bring binoculars if you’re not up to skiing KT and want to watch from lower down on the mountain.
Details: The Daron Rahlves Banzai Tour takes place Friday, April 10-Sunday, April 12, at Palisades Tahoe, 1960 Olympic Valley Road, Olympic Valley; palisadestahoe.com/events-and-activities/events-calendar/rahlves-banzai.
Getting there and parking: Parking reservations are required before 1 p.m. on weekends. Alternatives include free, on-demand shuttle service on the Mountaineer and park-and-ride TART (Tahoe Area Rapid Transit) service from Truckee and Tahoe City. More information can be found at palisadestahoe.com/mountain-information/parking-and-road-conditions/parking-program.
SUGAR BOWL
Silver Belt, March 30-April 4
One of the oldest ski resorts in California, founded in 1939 (with help from Walt Disney), Sugar Bowl boasted the first chairlift and first gondola in the state – and also one of the first major competition ski events, the Silver Belt Classic. What started as a madcap downhill race on long wooden skis in 1940 was revived in 2024 as a freeride competition attracting top athletes from around the world. While freeride skiing and snowboarding are not currently Olympic sports, they are on track to be included by the 2030 Winter Olympics.
The terrain is rough, containing jumps, ramps, banks, rails, half-pipes, bumps and other natural and constructed features. Contestants spend almost as much time in the air as on the ground — and seemingly half of that upside down! The event, held off the Disney and Lincoln lifts, is expected to attract more than 100 athletes throwing down for a shot at the finals.
While at Sugar Bowl, be sure to visit the recently refurbished Village Lodge with its two-tier deck, fire pits and new Yarrow restaurant. To get an idea of what the event is all about, watch the movie here.
Details: Silver Belt 2026 takes place Monday, March 30-Saturday, April 4 at Sugar Bowl, 629 Sugar Bowl Road, Norden; sugarbowl.com/silverbelt
Getting there and parking: For parking information, go here. Spectators can watch the finals from alongside the Silver Belt Gully or aboard the Lincoln Express chairlift. Check the website for details at sugarbowl.com/directions.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ALPINE SPORTS AT THE OLYMPICS
What’s the difference between freestyle and slopestyle?
Ski and snowboard events are ever-evolving, and it can be hard to know what you’re watching without a little research. It’s especially confusing when an announcer calls out, for example, “quintuple-twisting triple backflip!”
Best, perhaps, to start with the basics. The five basic alpine ski/snowboard events at the Olympics are: downhill (fastest, sometimes over 80 mph); super-G (blends downhill with technical gate turning); slalom (the most technical event, requiring tight, fast turns); and giant slalom (wider turns than slalom). New this year is team combined, using two-person teams.
Now it gets more subtle. There’s traditional freestyle, which includes moguls (mounds of snow created by skiers making turns in the same places) and aerials (in which skiers launch off curved ramps to make as many twists and turns as possible). Also in this category is slopestyle, a modern discipline that incorporates rails and boxes.
Other disciplines include halfpipe, big air and ski or snowboard cross.
Read about all of them at olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/slopestyle-halfpipe-and-big-air-whats-the-difference.
PARTICIPATE OTHER WINTER SPORTS YOURSELF
Cross-country skiing: The last of 12 cross-country competitions at the Olympics are set for Feb. 18, when sprint qualifiers and finals will be held. At Tahoe, the cross-country opportunities are endless, from parks and forests to resorts with extensive networks of groomed trails. Here are some options.
Ice skating: Figure skating events at the Olympics continue through Feb. 19, but there are numerous rinks at Tahoe, both indoors and outdoors, where you can practice your triple axels.
Curling: This shuffleboard-on-ice sport is a fan favorite, with competitions in Milan continuing through Feb. 22. At Tahoe, you can learn to curl at Tahoe Epic Curling at 128 Market St., #1A, Stateline, Nev.; laketahoecurling.com.
Ice hockey: Ice hockey at the Olympics continues daily, with the gold medal round set for Feb. 22. At Lake Tahoe, you’ll want to cheer for the Tahoe Knight Monsters, who play at the Tahoe Blue Event Center at 75 Highway 50 in Stateline, Nev.; tahoeblueeventcenter.com.
GOLD MEDALISTS FROM SKI CALIFORNIA RESORTS
According to Ski California — a nonprofit trade association representing 36 ski resorts in California and Nevada — its facilities have been home to eight Olympic gold medal winners in the last 25 years. Here is the list:
Chloe Kim: Snowboarder, gold in 2018 and 2022. Home resort: Mammoth Mountain
Jamie Anderson: Snowboarder, gold in slopestyle in 2014 and silver in big air in 2018. Home resort: Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort
Shaun White: Snowboarder, gold in halfpipe in 2006, 2010 and 2018. Home resorts: Northstar California Resort and Mammoth Mountain
Eileen Gu: Freestyle skier who competes for China, gold in big air and pipe and silver in slopestyle in 2022. Home resort: Palisades Tahoe
Hannah Teter: Snowboarder, gold in halfpipe in 2006 and silver in halfpipe 2010. Home resort: Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort
David Wise: Freestyle skier, gold in halfpipe in 2014 and 2018 and silver in halfpipe in 2022. Home resorts: Sugar Bowl and Northstar California Resort
Julia Mancuso: Alpine ski racer, gold in 2006, two silvers in 2010 and bronze in 2014. Home resort: Palisades Tahoe
Jonny Moseley: Freestyle skier, gold in moguls in 1998. Home resort: Palisades Tahoe
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