Rubicon & Bliss Peaks
West Shore (Hwy 89, south of Tahoma) · near Tahoma / Tahoe City · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Backcountry Skiing
At a glance
- Vertical
- 2500
- Best season
- December–April · Storm-day and 'day after' powder skiing (minimal avalanche terrain on the classic lines)
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit. Tahoe National Forest / Desolation Wilderness edge. Roadside parking off Hwy 89 (limited — arrive early). A relatively low-avalanche-terrain zone, making it a popular storm-day choice.
Worth knowing
- Gear you must bring
- Beacon · Probe · Shovel · Skins · Helmet · Navigation
- Gear worth bringing
- Airbag pack · Ski crampons
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guides
- Alpenglow Expeditions · Alpine Skills International
Backcountry Skiing detail
- Nickname
- The West Shore Storm-Day Neighborhood
- Ates
- challenging
- Tour types
- day-tour
- Summit
- 9183
- Approach
- 2–3 miles round trip · ~2,000–2,500ft gain · Roadside access off Hwy 89
- First timer with guide
- Yes
- Guide recommended
- Yes
- Avi zone
- Sierra Avalanche Center · sierraavalanchecenter.org
- Signature lines
- Rubicon Peak NE face · Bliss Peak glades
- Intl tip
- Rubicon and Bliss are on the West Shore near Jake's Peak and D.L. Bliss State Park (summer swimming — see that guide). Tahoe City has Alpenglow Sports for rentals and beta. This zone's relatively low avalanche exposure makes it a smart storm-day choice when the forecast is spicy elsewhere.
The guide
Rubicon and Bliss Peaks anchor the West Shore's string of classic ski peaks — a line of summits offering 2,000-plus feet of asc…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Rubicon & Bliss Peaks — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.026, -120.121