By Pat McCloskey
For many years, I drove up the Mt. Rose Highway out of Reno and passed the Mt. Rose Ski Area on my way to Incline Village, Nevada.
It seems like Mt. Rose has been a favorite of the Reno locals for years and when I finally skied it a couple of years ago for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised. It has become a regular stop on my ski trips to the Lake Tahoe region in Nevada.
Lift To Lot Access: Personally, I like areas where you can drive into the parking lot, put on your boots, walk a couple of hundred feet and get on the lift. You can do that at Mt. Rose.
Snow and Terrain: The area has a nice family feel to it. Great groomers to warm up with and then you can make your way to a series of lift-serviced chutes aptly named, “The Chutes.” This skiing is not for the faint of heart and if you can’t make quick turns on some pretty steep vertical, you really should not pass through the gates.
Every year I go there, it is the first wake up call for me that I am once again out West on non-groomed steep terrain where you better be paying attention. If we are fortunate enough to have powder conditions, The Chutes are wonderful. They are steep enough that you have to view the snow report and make sure that the avalanche conditions are in check. Not often do you get steep terrain like this inside the boundaries of a ski area.
Culture: One day, a few years back, we saw a group of guys with baggy clothes and full-face helmets blasting down the Chutes howling and laughing and having a great time. We saw them at lunch in the lodge and when they took off their helmets, there were gray beards and gray hairs everywhere.
I introduced myself and remarked that we thought they were a bunch of kids with their garb and how well they skied. They appreciated the comments and said that they have been skiing together since they were 16. These guys were all in their 60s. They motocross together all summer.
Great bunch of guys who have called Mt. Rose their winter home for close to 50 years. Similar groups like these are common at the resort, especially the retired set from Reno who only travel 25 minutes to the ski area.
Bottom Line: Mt. Rose has special Silver Ski Clinics designed for wiser, more experienced skiers ages 50 and older who are at skill level of lower intermediate to advanced, interested in the newer movement patterns used with shaped skis and/or improving their skiing technique. That’s on Fridays and Mondays in the morning for $25 plus the price of a lift ticket.
Mt Rose also has other specials if you look for them. The standard $104 day ticket ($94 if you buy online) is not the only option. Midweek specials include Two-Fer Tuesdays ($104 for two adult tickets), and Ladies Day Thursdays ($29 per adult ticket), great pre-season pass rates and a $20 shuttle from Reno.
Pat McCloskey’s story first appeared in SeniorsSkiing.com.
