As the holiday atmosphere takes over your winter break, family stress and the pressures of consumer commercialism are bound to take hold.

To relieve those pressures, a good remedy may be to pack your snow chains and take a day-trip to the fine ski and snowboarding resorts that reside in the Reno/Tahoe area, just a couple of hours from Sacramento. There are a vast many of these resorts, andthese are a few that will be a sure-fire highlight of your winter break.

Sierra at Tahoe

Take the nearest exit onto Highway 50 East and an hour and a half away from Sacramentolies Sierra.

With its nine lifts and 46 slopes and trails, Sierra offers a good ride for riders at every skill level. The trails are 25 percent easy, 50 percent difficult and 25 percent more difficult. For experts and well trained acrobats, the park has invested in a HPG X-17 super pipe cutter, and a terrain park super cat that will assist in the construction of a brand new “SuperPipe,” and all new table top jumps that will be fit for the pros.

The price for a day is $48 for adults ages 23 and up, and $38 for young adults ages 13 to 22. Rentals are available at $25 for an adult ski package and $33 for an adult snowboard package.

Lodging is also available, as South Lake Tahoe is 20 minutes away with lodges and casino/hotels that begin at $45 a room. Another option is to rent a cabin in the nearby town of Strawberry.

Boreal

For those with beginning to intermediate skills, Boreal, off of Highway 80 East, may be the best option. An all day ticket is $32, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. With nine lifts and one free lift up a short bunny slope, Boreal offers a variety of runs. They pride themselves in their snowmaking machines that allows them to be the first park open in the fall, and the last to close in the spring. It is considered the best place to snowboard in all of Tahoe, with its premier half-pipes and selection of terrain parks. For those who want to spend some time off of the slopes, or out of skis, there are snowmobile rentals and helicopter tours available, starting at $35.

Other features over the winter break consist of two Burton Demo Nights on Dec. 20 and Dec. 27. There will also be a Tahoe Snowboard Series Slopestyle Contest held Dec. 22.

Rentals are available with the ski package costing $25 and the snowboard package is$32.

Kirkwood

A two hour trip over Highway 16 East, onto 49 South, and then 88 through Jackson, gets you to what Ski Magazine called the best resort in Tahoe for powder. Also boasting itself as one of the top 10 in North America for snow, terrain and challenge, Kirkwood is a resort that caters to the more experienced skier/snowboarder.

For young adults (under 23), tickets are $39, and $49 for ages 23 and up It provides access to 12 lifts, 65 runs and a day on the infamous powder.

Kirkwood also features the pedestrian Village Plaza, which contains a variety of shops, an ice-skating rink, and a place to relax.

For more information on these three resorts, as well as the many other resorts located in the Reno/Tahoe area, check out www.skitahoe.com.