Diamond Peak ski area gives value to families

Crystal Ridge, a blue ski run at Diamond Peak, offers
spectacular views of Lake Tahoe.
                           Photo: Diamond Peak/Robyn Scarton

The views of Lake Tahoe should put Crystal Ridge at Diamond Peak ski area in any discussion of the most scenic ski runs in the country. Located on the northeast corner of the lake in Incline Village, Nev., Diamond Peak lives up to its name as a jewel for beginners and families.

“We’ve just been coming here for years. We love the mountain. The price is right and no one is on the slopes, love that,” said Paula Ashcroft, a visitor from Brentwood, Calif. “You go to Squaw Valley and you’re fighting everyone and here you can ski straight on the lift and we just love it.”

Randy Paranick brought his young son, Mason, up from Sacramento, Calif., to teach him to ski. “We chose Diamond Peak, because we heard it had a good family-friendly atmosphere and had a good friend who taught their four-year-old son how to ski here last year,” Paranick said.

The area started as Ski Incline in 1966 and changed its name to Diamond Peak at Ski Incline when the upper mountain with more black-diamond runs opened in 1987.  The Diamond Peak part of the name that has stuck seems ironic in light of the mountain’s reputation for beginners and intermediates.

Solitude Canyon can hold powder for advanced skiers
at Diamond Peak ski area.                 Photo: Eric Wagnon

The advanced terrain on the upper mountain such as The Glades and Solitude Canyon can keep good skiers reasonably entertained for a day. Real adrenaline seekers, however, would likely be happier at Squaw Valley or Alpine Meadows. One exception might be on a storm day, because those other resorts have a much greater probability of wind holds for the lifts.

Diamond Peak draws a fair number of visitors from the nearby Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe. A complimentary ski shuttle carries guests the mile distance between the hotel and the ski area.