I've lived and skied in Tahoe for over 35 years. Worked at and/or had passes at Palisdes (Squaw), Alpine Meadows, and Mt Rose, in addition to Diamond Peak. The size , challenge, and variety of terrain at DP cannot hold a candle to those other mountains. And you know what, I don't care.
I've grown sick and tired of the endless hassle experie
nced at the bigger resorts: traffic jams, parking nighmares, long lift lines, and crowds of people. Diamond Peak is almost pure pleasure: easy parking, a shuttle every 5 minutes (if you need it), virtually no lift lines, and friendly people.
And the skiing is pretty darn good. Advanced skiers will spend virtually all of there time skiing the one high speed quad (Crystal Express), which provides 1400 vertical feet of intermediate and advanced high speed groomers and a handful of advanced off piste runs.
The biggest fun for an advanced skier is the glade skiing, especially on a powder day. One can ski powder for days after a storm, vs. one or two hours at other resorts. There are some good glades on the lower mointain, too. With a bit of creativity, there is plenty of challenge to be found.
I still ski the other Tahoe resorts, but I pick and choose my times - preferably on a storm day (or just after), when the crowds can't get here. Day in and day out, I choose Diamond Peak.
One caveat: all bets are off Christmas week and Presidents week, when the number of skiers at DP quadruples. Other than those two weeks, you'll virtually never wait in a line.
