bay area ski bus

A colleague told me about the BASB. This is the kind of thing I have avoided my entire skiing career - but it's good all round. Convenient - they drive, you sleep. Value - breakfast, a lunch voucher, lift ticket (I went to Squaw), snacks, and wine-and-hot-dog bus party before leaving. Yes, it's dire having to make your way to 15th and Rhode Island for a 5 am pickup - but I will do this again. Like next weekend.

I was a more than a little dubious about getting up at 4am to catch the 5am SF pick up to Tahoe not least because of the early start but as my wife doesn't ski I was heading up to Tahoe as a weirdo loner.Not only was the bus expertly run and pitched perfectly but I easily made some new ski buddies with whom I could hit the slopes. If you don't own skis make sure you hire some in the city so that when you arrive at the resort all you need to do is pick up your lift pass from the ski bus folk and you're straight up the lifts. Breakfast is served as you get close to maximise the amount of sleep time on the way up. It being a bus it's not the best shut-eye but after a lot of fidgeting I nodded off and before I knew it we'd passed Sacramento and then, what seemed like ten minutes later, we were nearing the drop off. On the way home there's apres-ski by the bus with wine, hotdogs, smores and snacks and if you're on the adult bus you may even swing a couple more glasses of vino on the way home. Watch a movie on the return (chosen democratically by you and your fellow riders) or nod off as your legs hum from a day of bouncing down the piste. On board the Bayareaski folk are friendly but know to leave all well alone on the ride up. A really considerate touch was one host playing mum offering sunscreen as we arrived at the resort. Only one tiny criticism, why not hand out the lift passes before arrival to save lining up to collect them in the parking lot? Overall a great way to get up to Tahoe and excellent value. Thanks guys.

The Bay Area Ski Bus is a well run transportation service that picks you up around the Bay Area (SF, San Jose, Oakland, Walnut Creek, etc.) and takes you to various Sierra ski resorts for a day of skiing. The Buses have been running at least 10 years. The service is reliable, on time and easy. Each bus has competent and friendly hosts, and a light breakfast is served as the bus gets close to the day's resort. Apres ski there is hot chocolate, snacks and often wine and beer tasting. The buses are coordinated to accommodate families with kids, teens, singles, etc. They rotate through the various Sierra resorts, so, if you're new to Tahoe skiing, this is a great way to sample different venues. Couldn't be simpler. You sign up and pay online (www.bayareaskibus.com). There are various bargains and promotions from time to time. Also there are various combinations of bus ride only, ride plus lift ticket, plus lessons, etc. etc. I've skied with the BayAreaSkiBus off and on for years and can't recommend the them highly enough.