Powder Day!

Pow! Feast your eyes upon the cushy mountains on the backside of Diamond Peak. 

Diamond Peak is the most underrated mountain in North America. There, I said it. It's really more ski mountain than ski resort. Its no-nonsense facilities mean $5 chili for lunch, parking 30 feet away from the lodge and the ability to absolutely pack in the runs. Easy up, easy down. It doesn't hurt that just about every run comes with the same view of the Lake as Heavenly's famous California Trail. The lack of fancy frills (and crowds) is exactly how the locals like it.

Please do me a favor, though, just because I called it the most underrated mountain in North America doesn't mean you should check it out. Stick with Heavenly or — if you're feeling more adventurous — Squaw Valley. The last thing we need is a bunch of people filling up lift lines and driving up the prices of the chili.

This photograph was captured with an ancient Canon PowerShot S200 that I bought in Barcelona after the previous one was stolen in Barri Gòtic... but that's a story for another day.