By Eliza Ridgeway

Courtesy of Kirkwood The top of Kirkwood’s double-black-diamond slope, “The Wall,” seen above, includes a jaw-dropping near-sheer face at the top.

Despite enough rain in the Valley to raise skiers’ hopes, the snow season is off to a slow start in the Sierra. Most resorts have enough snow to open a few lifts, but truly ideal skiing conditions may not happen until after Christmas.

For some of the best snowpack in the Sierra, venture off the beaten path, south of Tahoe, to family-friendly resorts such as Kirkwood and Bear Valley. Even farther afield is Mammoth, a picturesque and high-end mountain village on the eastern side of the Sierras.

Kirkwood is the resort closest to the bars and casinos of Tahoe, about 45 minutes south of town on Highway 88. From Los Altos, it takes about four hours to reach the mountain.

With 500 inches of average snowfall, Kirkwood receives the most snow of any Tahoe mountain. Last year, its 70 feet of snowfall was the most of any resort in North America. The resort aims at the adventurous family, and you may get trounced on a black diamond by a 9-year-old kitted out with avalanche gear. Kirkwood has 2,000 feet of vertical rise on its slope and a top elevation of 9,800 feet.

The resort includes a range of lodging options, from plush condos to basic hotel-style amenities, which don’t come cheaply on the weekends. For more independent types looking for a quiet mountain retreat, Sorenson’s Resort offers bed-and-breakfast-style accommodations, a cafe and cabins. For a cozy family-style experience, stay at Sandy Matlock’s J. Marklee Toll Station, located in the tiny town of Markleeville, about 30 minutes from Kirkwood. The Toll Station features five simple motel-style rooms, one of them pet-friendly, and one cabin. In the morning, Matlock fires up her wood-burning stove and espresso machine and makes breakfast, and lunch to go, for guests in her little cafe.

Bear Valley, a ski resort halfway between Yosemite and Tahoe, features more modest slopes, with an 8,500-foot summit and 1,900 vertical feet of snow. It averages about 30 feet of snowfall annually. The Bear Valley lodge offers basic lodging within skis reach of the slopes. It takes three and a half or four hours to reach the mountain from Los Altos.

The long drive to Mammoth (from Los Altos, it could take 10 hours on a bad day, six hours on a good day) makes it most appealing as a long weekend or weeklong getaway. But an attractive, fairly big wintry village awaits intrepid travelers, as does a gigantic array of options on the mountain.

The ski resort includes an impressive 3,100 vertical feet of runs, with an 11,053-foot summit. The mountain’s longest run is 3 miles. During the summer, Mammoth runs its lifts for mountain bikers, offering brave souls (often heavily armored) a chance at some of the longest, steepest rock and dirt trails in the area.

Mammoth lift tickets are $78 for adults and $37 for children. Kirkwood day passes are $67 for adults, $14 for children. Kirkwood’s season pass is $339 for adults and $129 for children, one of the best values in the Sierra. Bear Valley offers the least expensive tickets - $48 for adults, $16 for children.

For more information, visit www.kirkwood.com, www.bear

valley.com and www.mammoth

mountain.com.