Under the strong financial wing of the firm that owns next-door Squaw Valley since 2011, Alpine has

A big, ruby bar rises like a mountain out of the month of January in the Old Farmer's Almanac graph of the 2014 weather forecast for the Reno, Nev., area. It is buffeted by slightly smaller samantha brown and biography and travel channel red bars rising out of December and February.
It may not seem like it now, a day removed from 70-degree highs here in Santa Cruz. Plus, trusting in a book originally published in 1792 might require putting aside some skepticism. But, think of it this way: It's been much too sunny for too long, so we're due for a cold spell; and, hey, it's a book that people have been buying samantha brown and biography and travel channel consistently for nearly 225 years. That must say something about its accuracy.
If not, you can always trust the Almanac's website, which states with the utmost confidence "Though samantha brown and biography and travel channel weather samantha brown and biography and travel channel forecasting, and long-range forecasting in particular, remains an inexact science, many longtime Almanac followers claim that our forecasts are 80-85 percent accurate."
(Then again, the prognostications samantha brown and biography and travel channel come from a person named Caleb Weathersbee. Publishers of the book admit the name is manufactured, but the person -- who lives somewhere samantha brown and biography and travel channel in the United States -- is real).
So now that your faith that there will be snow this season has been restored, it's time to choose a destination. We've broken down the Tahoe area resorts into three categories to help you best find what you're primarily looking for: Families, Entertainment and Terrain. Of course, all the resorts will offer amenities samantha brown and biography and travel channel that spill over into other categories, but this is where they seem to fit best this season.
Under the strong financial wing of the firm that owns next-door Squaw Valley since 2011, Alpine has expanded its snow-making system and grooming fleet. The terrain parks will look different this winter with several creative new challenges. The resort is also building itself up as the place for tweens with its new Snow Rangers program that will offer winter adventures and on-mountain training such as backcountry touring, snow science, avalanche awareness and snow camping for past ski team members ages 12-18 who have a solid base of alpine skiing. ( skialpine.com ; 800-441-4423)
It's nestled within Yosemite National Park, but don't expect terrain like the face of Half Dome at Badger Pass Ski Area. A whopping 85 percent of the resorts slopes are devoted to beginner and intermediate levels, making this a great place to learn to ski or ride. Park employees have also done some major work on the day lodge, including a brand new deck, to improve the experience samantha brown and biography and travel channel for guests. Yosemite lodging offers a range of very low cost tent-cabin packages in the winter. ( yosemitepark.com ; 209-372-8430)
The aging lodges (Bear Valley and Red Dog) have been remodeled and upgraded. The learning center for young skiers and riders has been doubled in size to handle the rapid growth of Bear's instructional programs. And this winter, all fifth-graders who maintain at least a "C" average can ski free every weekend. ( bearvalley.com ; 209-753-2301)
samantha brown and biography and travel channel Great place to learn how to handle the park. Take three lessons in any snowboard program samantha brown and biography and travel channel and you'll samantha brown and biography and travel channel get a free season pass. If you or someone in the family really wants to learn how to catch air fast, take lessons through Woodward Tahoe. Plus, there's a tubing hill for the really little or less adventurous. And for the first time, the resort is offering prepurchase, discount lift tickets at Liftopia.com . ( rideboreal.com ; 530-426-3666)
One of the closest and easiest resorts to get to -- it's almost straight east of Santa Cruz -- China Peak has added a few amenities this season. Among them, a slopeside umbrella bar and a Mexican cantina, as well as a children's play zone. On the slopes, look for a new snowcat to keep up the groomers. China Peak is part of the Powder Alliance, so it shares some pass perks with Sierra-at-Tahoe and other resorts around the country. ( skichinapeak.com ; (559) 233-2500)
This is the place to go to introduce wee little ones to the snow. The centerpiece of the resort is its tubing hill. The new expansive day lodge on the back side that was promised for last season did not quite make opening day for 2012-13, but it will be open this season. ( donnerskiranch.com samantha brown and biography and travel channel ; 530-426-3635)
Known best as a conference and lodging center, Granlibakken also boasts a novice-intermediate hill for riders and skiers, along with a slick sledding and tubing slope. This is a nice low-budget choice as a family of four can ski, ride, sled and tube for $60 for the day. Granlibakken also started making snow a year or two ago. ( granlibakken.com samantha brown and biography and travel channel ; 877-552-6301)
Sleepy Homewood has some major changes in store starting with the construction of lodging and a village samantha brown and biography and travel channel near the North Base area beginning in 2014 as part of the resort's master samantha brown and biography and travel channel plan. In the meantime, the bunny terrain in the instruction program incorporates samantha brown and biography and travel channel new "sculpted" features such as berms and gullies to ease the learning curve for beginners. samantha brown and biography and travel channel And, buy a season pass here or at Diamond Peak and get four free non-holiday lift tickets at the other resort. ( skihomewood.com ; 530-525-2992)
For those who want to venture to Mount Shasta in the Cascade mountains, the ski area just opened a 300-foot long tubing hill with several lanes. There's no need to hike up to the top, as a new conveyor belt surface lift takes tubers up the peak. The lift also can be used by skiers and riders to access nearby slopes. ( skipark.com ; 530-926-8610)
Tired of the kids saying they get too cold when you go skiing? Tahoe Donner has built a 700-square-foot yurt with a large sun deck on its slopes that will be used mostly as a warming hut. The kid-friendly area has 14 runs spread over 120 acres plus a cross country ski center that has added an intermediate trail. ( tahoedonner.com ; 530-587-9444)
North of Yosemite and just southeast of Jackson (186 miles from Santa Cruz), Dodge Ridge is one of the closest ski areas. In addition, it has boosted its black-diamond terrain by adding a new T-bar surface lift to the top of its "second summit." The lift opens up about 1,000 vertical feet of in-bounds black-diamond runs. The resort also now offers children's programs, teaching kids as young as 2 to ski and 3 to snowboard. ( dodgeridge.com ; 209-965-3474)
June Mountain, which was closed last winter for financial samantha brown and biography and travel channel reasons, expects to reopen this season. In 2009, Transworld Snowboarding Magazine dubbed it the resort with the fifth-best terrain park in the United States. Located some 20 miles from Mammoth, it's offering free skiing and riding samantha brown and biography and travel channel for children 12 and under, every day, all season long. ( junemountain.com ; 888-586-3686)
A second year as a Vail Resort property has brought more improvement to Kirkwood, this time mostly in the form of places to pick up food or beverages. Look for the new K-bar, an outdoor umbrella bar, on the Chair 6 side of the village, plus the Cornice Bar and Grillin the village has been extensively remodeled. But with the highest base in Tahoe, and some of the most vertical feet, the terrain still reigns. Enough so that 60 of the best big mountain skiers and riders will compete there in the Swatch samantha brown and biography and travel channel Freeride World Tour from Feb. 27 to March 3. ( kirkwood.com ; 800-967-7500)
One of the largest ski resorts in the country, Mammoth is celebrating its 60th anniversary with several improvements. The terrain parks -- once ranked No. 3 in the U.S. by Transworld Snowboarding -- have been beefed up and it has been named an official training ground for Olympic skiers and snowboarders. They will hone their skills at a Mammoth event Jan. 18-19 before heading to Sochi, Russia. The trip to the resort may also become less of a headache. Check with United Airlines on the start date for direct flights from SFO to the Mammoth airport. ( mammothmountain.com ; 800-626-6684)
samantha brown and biography and travel channel Being the winter home of Olympic snowboarder and skateboarder samantha brown and biography and travel channel Shaun White should say something about Northstar's terrain. Inside the resort, trails samantha brown and biography and travel channel have been widened and trees removed in the Promised Land area to improve skiing and riding. Outside, Northstar's Adventure, Guiding and Learning Center has new offerings, including some high adventure journeys into the backcountry. Several Olympic skiers and snowboarders like White will stop at Northstar for a major competitive event Jan. 9-12. ( northstarattahoe.com ; 800-466-6784)
This mega-resort continues to invest samantha brown and biography and travel channel and expand. Significant samantha brown and biography and travel channel snow-making additions will guard against samantha brown and biography and travel channel another low-snow year, and more grooming cats have arrived. It's famous for its natural steep and deep slopes, but it is also adding features to its terrain parks. A large yoga studio will open, and a new entertainment amphitheater has been carved out at the base. Squaw Valley also has become the first ski resort in California to install charging stations for electric cars. The stations are free and are open daily. ( squaw.com ; 800-403-0206)
Sugar Bowl just finished building a major new triple chair lift dubbed the Crow's Peak lift. The $3 million samantha brown and biography and travel channel lift will give new lift access to advanced and expert samantha brown and biography and travel channel terrain. Previously, the only way to get on those slopes was to hike up. Terrain enhancements around the lift will include two new groomed runs and some nifty tree-skiing through glades, chutes and cliffs. Off the slopes, it has invested $12 million into a Sugar Bowl Academy Campus. ( sugarbowl.com ; 530-426-9000)
The popular Last Tracks ski-party samantha brown and biography and travel channel program that incorporates wineries and breweries has been expanded to include some Fridays, so check the resort for new dates. And Diamond Peak and Homewood have announced a combo deal: Buy a season pass at either resort and you get four free non-holiday lift tickets at the other resort. Coming samantha brown and biography and travel channel in handy right now is a 50-percent improvement in snowmaking, plus tree trimming has opened up new off-piste skiable terrain samantha brown and biography and travel channel just off Crystal samantha brown and biography and travel channel Ridge. ( diamondpeak.com ; 775-832-1177)
Forbes magazine rated Unbuckle at Heavenly's Tamarack Lodge as the No. 1 apr s-ski party in North America. A new bar opens at Tamarack, and the party expands o