The daily Unbuckle apres ski party at Heavenly Mountain Resort in Lake Tahoe is not your typical on-mountain scene.Because I have been writing on ski travel for over 15 years, I have visited nearly every major destination resort in the US, plus many in Canada, South America, Europe and New Zealand. Because I have been writing on culinary, wine and spirits topics for over 15 years, I have also experienced the après ski scene in nearly all these destinations. But I have never seen anything like Unbuckle.
New this winter at the Heavenly Mountain Resort in Lake Tahoe, Unbuckle has immediately become the best après ski scene on any mountain in North America – if by best you mean a club-style DJ, dancing girls, free gear giveaways, plenty of cheap drinks, great bar food, and a capacity crowd that totally loves what is going on. I know quite a few skiers who could accept that definition.
There are some mountain towns that have equally vibrant après scenes, but there is no resort that has anything like this on the mountain itself. In fact, you’d have to go Vegas to find a scene similar to Unbuckle, except that in Vegas, no one would be wearing ski boots, and people my age might feel out of place. But here, in a mid-mountain ski lodge that serves burgers and soup to hungry skiers and boarders during the day, the transformation to unique party venue is democratic, user friendly and welcomes all comers – even those who don’t ski or ride at all. In fact, one of the most shocking things about Unbuckle is how successful it has been at pulling people in from off the mountain. This is no easy chore, given that there is no road and getting here requires a 12-minute gondola ride from lakefront Stateline, on the Nevada/California border – a ride that non-skiing adults have to pay $32 round trip for, just to get to the lodge. Yet by the number of people dressed in street clothes at 3:30 in the afternoon, I’d estimate that fully a third of the hundreds packing Unbuckle had done just that, choosing this destination to start their evening fun over the myriad selection of bars, eateries and large casino hotels within steps of the gondola base.
At all other times, the LEED certified Tamarack Lodge is just a great on-mountain place to eat and drink. Photo by Chris Stamey.So here’s the story: new for this winter, Heavenly built a large lodge at the top of its gondola from town, and at the bottom of its main lift area. Located 9,150-feet above sea level, the Tamarack Lodge opened in mid-December. It is all wood and glass, with one vast, expansive transparent wall, and received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for its eco-friendly construction and operation. The structure spans 15,000 square feet, and sits 500 inside plus 250 more on an outdoor deck with sweeping views of the Sierras, and most of the time it functions as just another on-mountain ski lodge with restrooms and dining, albeit a very modern and environmentally friendly one with great food (and a full blown barbecue smokehouse outside). But every day from 3:30-5:30 it is transformed into the adult-oriented Unbuckle (rated M for Mature), instantly the hottest on-mountain après scene in all of skiing.
During the week, a live DJ plays, all drinks are half price, a special après menu is rolled out, and the Heavenly Angels – definitely not wearing ski clothes – work the room passing out prizes and giveaway items, mingling and posing for photos with guests. On Friday and Saturday the whole event goes Vegas with the addition of the EpicMix Chix dancing on boxes, something I have surely never seen on the slopes of any ski resort. But then again, half of Heavenly is in Nevada after all.
Unbuckle has been so popular so fast I’d be shocked if other ski resorts don’t emulate it, though don’t expect to see it at family-centric places like Beaver Creek or Deer Valley anytime soon.
The Tahoe region has the nation’s densest population of ski resorts, ten different mountains ringing it, and many visitors come just for that variety, basing themselves in Stateline or Reno or at one of the resorts and skiing a different place every day, but with the addition of Unbuckle, wherever you are staying, if you like this sort of scene, and lots of people do, it makes sense to schedule your ski day at Heavenly for Friday or Saturday and end it with the most unique après experience out there.
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(On my recent visit I was a guest of the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and was provided with lift tickets at multiple resorts in the Lake Tahoe region, including Heavenly Mountain Resort).
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