Diamond Peak - Incline Village, Nevada - Family Ski Resort with Great Snow and Small Crowds

All ski resorts can tout some feature that sets them apart from others, but Diamond Peak, in Incline Village, NV, has a longer list of boasts than most, and with good reason. Its spectacular views of Lake Tahoe, its deep snow and well-groomed trails, its steep mountain and family-friendly atmosphere all make Diamond Peak a favorite among the locals - who, as residents of the town that owns the resort, make all the decisions regarding its development.

Founded in 1966 as the centerpiece of a planned vacation community, Diamond Peak has managed to keep current with the times and to run successfully while staying under the radar - and beyond the madding crowds - that highlights such larger neighbors as Squaw Valley.

There's something at Diamond Peak for everyone. To start with, the panorama that its slopes afford of one of the country's most beautiful lakes, and the sawtooth ridges of the Sierra Nevada Mountains beyond, will take your breath away. It's got some of the deepest snow on the West Coast, at an average of 33 feet, and has consistently stayed ahead of the completion through its cutting-edge use of technology.

For one thing, Diamond Peak had the first snowmakers west of the Rockies. For another, its emphasis on a family-friendly image made it the first resort in the country to modernize its ski lifts with the so-called "launch pad'' loading system - a system that uses a felt conveyor belt to take the fear out of getting up the slopes. Having dedicated a large ;part of its budget to two separate youth programs - its Child Ski Center and, for young snowboarders, its Learn to Ride Center - the resort's focus on children is among the greatest in the country.

Diamond Peak has not neglected other skiers either. For intermediates it has a blue run named Crystal Ridge that goes on for 2.5 miles. Even more astonishingly, because of the resort's reputation as a family destination, there's virtually nobody on the black diamond upper runs that have names like Lightening, Thunder, and Solitude Canyon.

Indeed, because there are hardly any lift lines at Diamond Peak even on the weekends, no skier of any skill will run into crowded slopes.

No matter how hard you search, you won't find a bad word about the place from anybody. Exclamations like "Wow!'', and adjectives like "Fabulous,'' and "Wonderful,'' and (in Spanish, even) "Espectacular,'' are the norm.

No crowds, great snow, great views, great lifts, great runs, and tickets for less than $50? How can you go wrong with that?