Help-Skiing in SF vs Seattle?

So, I am contemplating taking a job in the Bay Area (Emeryville). I am painfully aware that the skiing is all much further away than we are used to, but how else does the BC touring compare to WA? The resorts are all much busier, right? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

The touring is fantastic. If anything, the snow quality is a little more reliable and the access usually involves less bushwhacking (but not always...).

But the drive is a killer, as you noted.

I used to split a seasonal ski cabin rental in the Tahoe area with a bunch of friends and that really helped to off set the drive. You can rocket up late Friday PM, after the traffic is gone and stay put for the weekend. My cabinmates included other BC skiers, so it was easy to find partners and arrange carpools. If you poke around you can probably find a similar arrangement.

Check out thebackcountry.net for an overview of Tahoe touring destinations (click the 'free guidebook' link. They also have some useful message boards.

The rest of the Sierra is worth a look too. Pear Lake Hut and Ostrander Hut are classic trips.

The Eastern Sierra and Mammoth will be a lot closer too. Its an even bigger drive, but feasible in the spring. There are few places in the US with the kind of vert that the Eastern Sierra has to offer, or as long a season.

Best of luck.

I agree with JimH's comments. I live in the Seattle area and spend 3-4 months skiing downhill and backcountry around Tahoe and the Eastern Sierra. We are retired and camp in our 20' campervan during that time and ski downhill during the week and backcountry tour on weekends. I've joined the SF Backcountry Ski group of the Sierra Club and have met numerous skiers. BUT, I don't have to deal with the drive back to SF. The amount of backcountry terrain available around Tahoe is enormous. Do a SEARCH on Telemarktips for TR around Tahoe plus there are a few guide books. Also, you can talk to the folks at The Backcountry store in Truckee or Tahoe City. Zap

If you are working in Emeryville and interested in making shorter trips to the Sierras your location priority then you can live out east in Contra Costa or beyond and shorten the drive to the mountains considerably.

For instance you could live in Davis, a great little progressive college town (albeit hot as hell in the summer) take Amtrak to Emeryville to work (lots of trains every day) and drive 100 fast miles to Donner Summit (timing the traffic in Sac is key). The drive from Davis can take about as long as Seattle to Crystal, maybe faster if everything comes together right. Amtrak takes a while, but relaxing and you can work on the train no problem.

Or live in Walnut Creek area, BART to Oakland, quick bus to Emeryville. That will be about 2.5 hours to Donner Summit.

On the other hand it is a lot of fun living in Oakland/Berkeley or SF, and very relaxing and beautiful in Marin, so maybe the 4 hour drive to the snow is the better option.

Oh, and the ski areas aren't necessarily more crowded -- there are a lot of them and some good ones don't get a lot of traffic (Homewood, for instance, or Bear Valley), others offer good options lift-served hiking and skinning (like Alpine Meadows, Sugarbowl). And if you have a little time Kirkwood and the surrounding areas are fantastic -- high, (relatively) dry, very deep snowpack, awesome terrain and scenery, etc.

Don't despair, I go to Reno twice a year just to hook-up with a buddy from Taos for bc skiing and/or climbing in the Eastern Sierra! The conditions are awesome, there's lots of bc, hut-to-hut, and smaller soulful resorts. Enjoy!

Thanks all! Various non-skiing factors weighed in, and I am remaining a resident of WA.