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 Set high in the mountains 200 mites east of San Francisco, on the borders of California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe has the highest concentration of ski resorts in the US, with 14 downhill and seven cross-country centres. It is a very beautiful region, ideal for driving around on a tour, visiting a different ski area each day - as well as having two or three areas welt worth spending several days exploring. The two areas that are best-known in Britain are Heavenly and Squaw Valley. The ski areas of the Lake Tahoe region are mostly just that - ski areas, rather than fully fledged resorts with their own villages and vibrant nightlife. Some have no accommodation, others a little. But most of the areas earn their money from weekend or day-trip skiers from the local area, or from people who drive or fly up for a couple of days from the big cities on the west coast. Don't expect a 'resort' in the European sense of the word. And you may be surprised by the influence that gambling has in the area. The California-Nevada border cuts through the region and through Lake Tahoe itself. At the border you'll find a clutch of amazingly popular, bright, brash casinos.  

The other main resort is Squaw Valley - which has a limited amount of accommodation but little nightlife outside that. It is about a 90-minute drive from South Lake Tahoe, or a pleasant cruise across the lake on the Tahoe Queen (with live music and a jolly apres-ski atmosphere on the way back).

The area does have huge amounts of artificial snowmaking capacity, so lack of snow shouldn't be a problem. Heavenly, at the southern end of the lake, has the greatest vertical drop of the region, with skiing to suit all standards and splendid lake views.

Nearby Sierra-at-Tahoe is a smaller, tree-lined area - more sheltered, so useful in bad-weather. Kirkwood, also at the south end of the lake, is renowned for its steep runs. It has fine intermediate groomed trails too (which in total account for 50 per cent of its skiing). The major resort at the north end of the lake is Squaw Valley. It still makes quite a play on having hosted the Winter Olympics, even though that was way back in 1960. Squaw is unusual in having no named runs at all - and no trails marked on the piste map, just blue squares and black diamonds. The skiing is in 4,000 acres of open, above-the-treeline bowls on six linked mountains. The skiing for expert skiers is phenomenal, with lots of steep slopes, chutes and big mogul fields - many extreme skiing movies are made here. Perhaps surprisingly, it is good for intermediates too, with lovely long groomed blue runs including a top-to-bottom three-mile cruise - 45 per cent of the terrain is rated as suitable for intermediates. Squaw is a big snowboarding centre. Alpine Meadows has the longest season and some of the most varied terrain in the Tahoe region - skiing can last until July some years.

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