Opening day for Tahoe's larger ski areas is Nov. 18, conditions permitting. Most are waiting until the last minute to announce walk-up ticket prices, but season pass sales and early-bird promotions are in full swing now. Here's what awaits.

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Alpine Meadows, 2600 Alpine Meadows Road, Tahoe City; www.skialpine.com

Alpine's merger with Squaw Valley offers new pass products and many enhancements down the road. New this year is a fleet of cutting-edge Volkl rental equipment and a high-performance demo center.

Deals: The Filtered, Slightly Filtered and Unfiltered passes, $459, $599 and $799, are valid at Alpine, Homewood and Red Lodge, Mont., with various restrictions (add Durango, Colo., to the Unfiltered version). Tripl3Threat College pass, $329, is good at Alpine, Homewood and Kirkwood. The Tahoe Super Pass, from $439, and Super Six Pass, $399, are good at Alpine and Squaw. Join the Alpine Club for $20 to get discounts on daily tickets or when passes are blacked out.

Bear Valley Mountain Resort, 1 Bear Valley Road, Bear Valley; www.bearvalley.com

Bear expanded its skiable terrain by 50 percent over the past two years. Now it's adding tree skiing in the Dardanelle Vista Bowl and guided tours into double-black-diamond areas. Also new are all-day lessons and specialized clinics for parks and powder. Bear will host the Senior Winter Games in March, and in preparation is offering a series of race clinics and certified instruction for riders 50 and older.

Deals: Unlimited season passes purchased before opening day are $469; restricted passes, good Monday-Friday, are $299. Ski-and-stay packages start at $85 per person. Two-night Adventure Weekend packages combine lodging with a range of outdoor activities including alpine and cross-country skiing, mountaineering and snowshoeing. Adult walk-up ticket: $62.

Boreal Mountain Resort, 19659 Boreal Ridge Road, Truckee; www.rideboreal.com

Boreal continues to court teens and families with price incentives and features such as Tahoe's only BagJump, a 50-by-50-foot cushion for landing a trick. Next summer it will launch Woodward Tahoe, a year-round youth action freeride and free-ski instructional facility.

Deals: 1-2-3-Ride Free program for beginners awards a season pass after three lessons. Unlimited adult pass is $279; passes for additional family members are discounted. Add-ons include an airbag jump pass for $129. Sign up for iRide reward card and get a free lift ticket after two full-price days. Parent share passes also available.

Diamond Peak, 1210 Ski Way, Incline Village, Nev.; www.diamondpeak.com

The resort continues its $29 Last Tracks program offering a two-hour lift ticket, wine tasting and appetizers at the mid-mountain Snowflake Lodge followed by a sunset run down a freshly groomed slope. Deals: Ski for as little as $35 a day with a transferable seven-day Mini Pass. Adult season pass is $454 if purchased by Oct. 31, $567 thereafter. Passholder perks include two barbecues and early ups on powder days. Daily ticket is $49 at the window.

Donner Ski Ranch, 19320 Donner Pass Road, Norden; www.donnerskiranch.com

One of California's few family-owned and -operated ski resorts operates six lifts on 500 acres and is committed to keeping prices low.

Deals: Adult season pass is $299 after Oct. 15. Teach your child to ski ticket, $10, provides adult access to moving-carpet lift. Tubing hill access is $18 for two hours and includes equipment. Check online daily specials for dates featuring "prices from the past." Adult walk-up ticket is $42.

Granlibakken, 725 Granlibakken Road, Tahoe City; www.granlibakken.com

This campus-like conference facility spread over 74 acres on Tahoe's west shore offers a single ski and snowboard run open on weekends and a groomed snowplay area open daily.

Deals: Ski packages, $143 per person midweek based on double occupancy, $147 per person on weekends, include full breakfast and lift ticket to Squaw, Alpine, Northstar, Mt. Rose, Sugar Bowl, Homewood or Sierra. Adult ticket for Granlibakken is $24, child ticket $14, snowplay ticket $10.

Heavenly Lake Tahoe, 3860 Saddle Road, South Lake Tahoe; www.skiheavenly.com

Heavenly last year added the elegant 15,000-square-foot Tamarack Lodge at mid-mountain; this year it's adding an architecturally complementary kids ski and ride school at the top of the gondola. Nearby will be Black Bear Hollow, a children's area with animal carvings and an entry-level progression park. Three new intermediate trails in the Galaxy lift zone on the Nevada side add 20 acres of terrain and bring Heavenly's total run count to 97. On the California side, five often-congested trails are being widened to reduce slope density and aid grooming. The new Snow Beach bar area will feature a sea of Adirondack chairs and relocated Umbrella Bar. The High Roller terrain park has doubled in size, and the wildly popular EpicMix application for season passholders has been expanded to include photo sharing.

Deals: Tahoe Value Pass, $379, provides daily access to Heavenly and Sunday-Friday access to Northstar. Epic Pass, $649, offers unrestricted access to Vail resorts in California and Colorado. Sign up for the free PEAKS reward program to get the guaranteed best price on advance-purchase tickets. Discounted tickets also are available through REI and Save Mart grocery stores. Walk-up price varies with demand, weather and point of purchase. Expected range: $70-$90.

Homewood Mountain Resort, 5145 West Lake Blvd., Homewood; www.skihomewood.com

The resort this year becomes the second in North America to install the Magnestick chairlift safety system for kids. It features a magnetic vest worn by children that sticks to an electromagnetic chair back and will be used on the Quail triple chair.

Deals: Kids' Lesson 10-Pak, $650, is good any 10 days of the seasons for all-day lesson, lift ticket and equipment. A Lesson 3-Pak, $237, is good any time including holidays. Homewood-only season pass, $399, is valid daily. Filtered, Slightly Filtered and Unfiltered passes (described above in the Alpine entry) also are available. College pass, $329 for the daily version, $199 midweek, is good at Alpine, Homewood and Kirkwood. Multiday tickets and those purchased online offer savings at prices to be announced soon.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort, 1501 Kirkwood Meadows Drive, Kirkwood; www.kirkwood.com

The resort is launching Expedition Kirkwood Outfitters, a $1 million facility that will serve as a one-stop shop for its backcountry education and access programs, which are being expanded to include daily snow-cat tours in the Martin Point terrain, nighttime cat tours and hike-in tours in new zones. The Mountain Club, damaged in a fire last May, has undergone a $5 million face-lift and will reopen as a hotel with upgraded lodging and workout areas.

Deals: Season passes deals range from a $199 5Wood weekday pass to a $799 unrestricted premium pass also good at Alpine. Tripl3Threat College Pass, also good at Homewood and Alpine, is $329. Pass-holder perks include free or discounted buddy tickets and merchandise discounts. Ski and stay packages start at $79 per person.

Mt. Rose, 22222 Mt. Rose Highway, Reno; www.mtrose.com

Enhanced snowmaking will provide early season access in the Slide Bowl. Season ski-equipment leases are offered at $189, and an updated iPhone app includes push notifications, special offers and extensive snow reports.

Deals: Unlimited pass is $377; Raw pass with holiday and weekend blackouts is $199. Pass-holders get discounts on food, equipment repair and merchandise. Daily specials, which must be purchased online, include Bonus Mondays ($49), Ladies Day Thursdays ($49), TGIF packs ($69 for lift and lunch), Family Packs ($138) and multiday tickets. Adult lift ticket is $69 at the window, less if purchased online.

Northstar-at-Tahoe, 100 Northstar Drive, Truckee; www. northstarattahoe. com

New owner Vail Resorts is investing $30 million in improvements geared to raise Northstar's already glitzy profile. New this season is a high-speed quad lift doubling skier capacity in the popular Backside area. It will feed into newly opened glade terrain and two new trails. At the top of the Zephyr Express, the new Zephyr Lodge, with timbered ceilings and expansive views, will offer 500 indoor seats and seating for 200 more on an outdoor deck. Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, who has signed a multiyear deal making Northstar his primary training resort, will put his brand on a 22-foot superpipe. The resort is also expanding its boundaries to encompass 170 acres of sidecountry terrain where guided tours and snowcat-accessed riding will be introduced. Northstar joins sister resort Heavenly Lake Tahoe in introducing EpicMix, which uses radio frequency ID scanners at the base of every lift to track vertical feet, map runs, earn pins, collect points and share stats and photos with social networks.

Deals: The $379 Tahoe Value Pass provides daily access to Heavenly and Sunday-Friday access to Northstar. Epic Pass, $649, adds unrestricted access to Heavenly and five Vail resorts in Colorado. PEAKS reward program guarantees the best available price on tickets purchased a week or more in advance. Sign up for a lodging e-newsletter to be informed of discounted deals for overnight stays.

Sierra-at-Tahoe, 1111 Sierra-at-Tahoe Road, Twin Bridges; www.sierrattahoe.com

On its own since sister resort Northstar was purchased by Vail Resorts in late 2010, Sierra is focusing on building its brand as a family-friendly mountain offering a big dose of adventure on the side. New this year is the Burton Riglet Park, which uses pulley-driven technology to introduce 3- to 6-year-olds to snowboarding. For expert skiers, Huckleberry Cat tours provide transportation and guided trips into the backcountry. The Blizzard Mountain snowplay and tubing area also has been revamped. Come midwinter, Sierra will sport the South Shore's only superpipe.

Deals: Ski or ride for $51 a day with a ticket 3-Pak purchased before December 16. The price goes up to $54 a day after that. Join My Sierra Rewards to earn points on purchases and gain access to priority lift lines. Adult season passes are $219 with restrictions and $369 unrestricted.

Soda Springs, 10244 Soda Springs Road, Soda Springs, www.skisodasprings.com

This modest ski hill courts families with two lifts and three moving carpets, one serving an expanded Tube Town, which now has 20 lanes. Children 8 and younger rule in the Planet Kids area with tube carousel, climbing volcano and more.

Deals: Adult season pass is $199, while a family pass for two adults and their children age 12 and younger is $399. An adult walk-up ticket is $35. Tube Town ticket, $25 for all ages, includes equipment. Planet Kids ticket, $25, includes equipment and a parent pass. Mini snowmobile rides are $10 for 10 laps.

Squaw Valley USA, 1960 Squaw Valley Road, Olympic Valley, www.squaw.com

Squaw is merging operations with neighboring Alpine Meadows while going ahead with a $50 million "renaissance" geared to make the resort more approachable and friendly. First-year changes include new on-mountain signage, a new terminal at the top of the Funitel lift, a new ticket and service center at the base area, numerous dining upgrades, new grooming machines and an Olympic House remodel that includes new food service and a day lodge. In addition, the resort's terrain park and pipe program will get a major makeover in partnership with Snow Park Technologies.

Deals: The Tahoe Super Pass, $439 for the adult bronze version, provides access to Squaw and Alpine daily except 10 holiday blackout dates and Saturdays in January and February. An unrestricted pass is $799. The Tahoe Super Six pass, $399, can be used for six days at either resort anytime during the season.

Sugar Bowl, 629 Sugar Bowl Road, Norden, www.sugarbowl.com

The enhanced Backcountry Adventure Center offers guided backcountry tours and avalanche safety instruction.

Deals: Season pass and daily ticket-holders get complimentary equipment rental and lessons at any level on midweek "General Admission" days, which also encompass early- and late-season weekends. Join the CORE rewards program for $19 and get $15 off a daily lift ticket for you or $15 off for a friend if you're a season-pass holder. CORE members earn points toward rewards. Pass offerings range from a midweek non-holiday deal for $329 to an unrestricted daily pass for $799. A best-seller is the Sunday Summit Plus pass, $429, good daily until Dec. 25 and after March 12, and daily except Saturdays and holiday blackout dates the rest of the season.

Tahoe Donner Downhill, 11603 Snowspeak Way, Truckee; www.skitahoedonner.com

This off-the-beaten-path ski area near Donner Summit bills itself as "the best place to begin" and offers many incentives for families with young children.

Deals: Unrestricted adult pass is $279; a midweek, non-holiday pass is $219. Seniors 70 and older and children 6 and younger ski free. Follow the resort on Facebook or Twitter for last-minute discounts. Everyone skis free on Dec. 18, customer appreciation day.

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