Palisades is the Most Iconic Freeskiing Playground

Featured Image: Jeff Engerbretson | Skier: JJ Dolan

As part of our Volume 28 People & Places issue, we curated a list of the Top 10 Ski Resorts in North America. Each resort on this list is here for a reason and who better to explain than the people who know the resort best. Every article is penned by journalists who have lived in the ski towns they’re writing about. They know these mountains inside and out, and their love for them shines through every word. From terrain, atmosphere and accessibility, to pure, unfiltered badass-ery—consider this your bucket list for the season. Smack dab in the middle of our top 10 is California's Palisades Tahoe.

Photo: Jeff Engerbretson

What if Instead of judging a ski area by its best days, we considered it on its worst? You know the type of days—it rained on top of the mountain and then froze overnight, so now everything off-piste is zipper crust. The weather is socked in, rendering the light milky and flat. Now what? Palisades Tahoe has some downright glorious moments—powder days from three years ago that we’re still talking about, storms that stack snow to the roofline and brilliant spring corn—but like anywhere, it also has days that absolutely suck. 

And you know what? Those can be some of my favorite moments on skis. Because this mountain is that fun. And the people who ski it religiously are so damn dedicated, they don’t care if it’s pouring rain and their gloves are soaked or if the snow is thick and heavy—they’re still out there having a good time.

Pro skier Amie Engerbretson once told me that it doesn’t matter what the mountain she grew up skiing is called. The name of this place used to be one thing, now it’s another, don’t stress about the details. What does matter, she said, is the way this mountain makes you feel. I get that, entirely. After a storm, Palisades Tahoe has a palpable energy. The parking lot buzzes with anticipation, like a bird about to take flight. 

Most skiers come here for some of the steepest, most continuous shots in the Western U.S., stacked up one after another. Skiing Chute 75—a north-facing elevator shaft of a run that drops off the top of KT-22 and almost always has good snow—would be a crowning achievement at another resort, but here, it’s just one of many hallmark lines. You could spend all day just lapping KT and it’d be one of the best days of skiing you’ve ever had. There’s a reason why Shane McConkey once called KT-22 the greatest lift in America. 

Photo: Jeff Engerbretson | Skier: Amie Engerbretson

Other notable zones include the Slot—a rocky notch off the Headwall chair—and the locals’ favorite tree runs off Red Dog Ridge. Add in perfect spring corn under Tower 16, hidden powder stashes on Granite Chief, and every steep, does-this-go-or-not chute on Silverado, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a mountain.

It’s hardly a secret that Palisades has the goods. Famous skiers have put this mountain on the map. Rippers like Cody Townsend, Michelle Parker, Julia Mancuso, Travis Ganong, Connery Lundin, Ross Tester and Lily Bradley all became the skiers they are at this place—and they’re all still out there shredding. Plus, the atmospheric rivers that nail the Sierra often make national news. It’s not uncommon for the Tahoe area to receive 700 inches in a season, with low-pressure systems producing back-to-back-to-back, two-foot powder days. And, yes, it can get crowded at times. We’ve all waited in lines longer than we want but all your friends, or new friends you haven’t met yet, are there. Everyone’s having fun while they stand in the queue for another round of face shots. 

When you’ve sufficiently stuffed yourself with pow, it’s time to stop and refuel and this mountain is good for that, too. Follow the tiny Mighty Mites and the pro skiers straight to Wildflour Bakery, in a downstairs nook of the Olympic House. Get yourself an em-bomb—a freshly-baked, meat-stuffed dough ball—and a pile of chocolate chip cookies for a full restoration. Or head to Le Chamois, better known as the Chammy, for a slice of pizza and a cold beer, to feel like all is well in the world. 

And finally, it’s the community that makes this place truly shine. The hard-charging locals are as dedicated to this mountain as evangelicals are to their megachurch. They’re out there at 6 A.M., waiting in the KT line with coffee, helping the lifties shovel the corral. They’re coaching kids, bumping chairs and patrolling in red coats. They’re pond-skimming in swimsuits, wearing snowblades and saucers for McConkey and ripping KT laps on 200-cm straight skis from the ’90s to raise money for charity. 

Don’t sleep on spring here. This resort literally trademarked the phrase “Spring Skiing Capital.” For good reason. When all the powder chasers leave and the Bay Area weekend warriors switch to climbing or biking, that’s when Palisades really finds its stride. The mountain stays open until Memorial Day on most years, and even into June or July on the best ones. California skiers love their spring vibes: Hawaiian shirts and retro onesies, bluegrass music on the deck and giant wiggles carved into slushy snow like a good-time waterslide. 

Last May, I threw on a pair of jeans, sunglasses and a hot-pink sweatshirt to go skiing with my friends. Everyone dressed like they were going to a music festival as we bootpacked up the Palisades, the famed chutes above the Siberia lift, where McConkey used to throw naked spread eagles. This, of course, is the notorious zone that the resort is now named after. From the top, I watched my friends drop into National and Main Chutes, with a shimmering Lake Tahoe sprawling out behind us and a glowing sun shining down from above. There’s magic in the air here, and you don’t have to look too hard to find it.