Lifts
Bottom: Exhibition, Funitel Gondola, Red Dog, Squaw Creek; Top: Shirley Lake Express, Solitude, Emigrant, Siberia Express
It is true that Squaw Valley lacks gentle long groomed intermediate boulevards of the type that you can see at Northstar or Heavenly, but you can still find plenty of terrain to get your cruising fix (and don’t forget that now you can ski Alpine Meadows on the same ticket which provides a lot more of great long cruising options). The classic intermediate terrain is Shirley Lake, which lets you lap he groomed runs very quickly thanks to the high-speed 6-pack. Most of the groomed runs (called the Tree Runs, numbered 1-5 on the old map, and named after the Squaw school directors on the new map) are skiers right from the chair, the father along the ridge you go the easier the pitch becomes, so I would recommend starting from the farthest run skiers right and moving up from there. Shirley bowl at skiers left provides good intermediate off-piste skiing, and often develops good bumps. If Shirley is crowded, consider the nearby ( but older and slower) Solitude lift that serves very similar terrain that has more off-piste skiing and has a slightly more rugged backcountry feel. Emigrant lift provides less varied and more boring skiing, but great views. You can also go around the back of the Emigrant chair on a groomer to connect to the main Shirley bowl on a fun and often groomed cruiser run (Attic).
Siberia chair provides the main alternative to Shirley for intermediate skiing, but be aware that the top of the bowl is very steep for an intermediate skier and often gets bumped out. Starting 2012 season Squaw started grooming a double-wide path on Siberia, and that seemed to help with the bump-out problem. If the slope looks difficult, consider going skiers right, the pitch and the bumpiness get easier. If you get scared, you can always bail out by taking the ridge trail at the skiers left. If you ski Siberia, make sure to traverse far skiers right and look up at the super-steep slopes of Palisades directly above you.
Watch for the skiers coming down from Palisades if they are open, the runouts are usually very high speed, so get out of the way. A less-known intermediate run, which is also on the steep side is the Cornice 2, which is accessed from the Headwall chair. Take the main run under the chair and than hang a right when the run begins to drop down the Headwall Face, follow the groomed road around the cliff (unofficially known as Ho-Chi-Min trail) and onto the Cornice 2 face, which is usually a nice steep run that is never crowded. The drop off on the right side leads to some pretty serious cliffs, so don’t go crazy fast. Light Towers, another legendary Squaw extreme playground will be directly above you. The run empties into a nice wide valley that deposits you onto the Mountain Run for the last pitch back to the Headwall chair. Check if Cornice 2 run is groomed on the grooming map before going to this area. If you missed it or if the run is not groomed, the escape route is Bullet, but be aware that it is a steep narrow trail that is often more challenging than Cornice 2.
The Big Blue chair that will get you to Shirley from the bottom of the Siberia chair (and also from the top of Squaw One chair), so now you can alternate your cruising runs between these two areas a lot easier than before.
Another great intermediate choice is the Resort Run, the trail that follows the ridge top from the Squaw Creek chair, it is a reliably great choice, unless it is late spring and the snow is mushy. On a storm day this is probably the best bet for an intermediate skier. A couple of good and more challenging variations involve turning left from the Resort Run in the middle of the upper ridge (that turn takes you to a fairly obvious undulating field that ends up in somewhat steeper pitch that brings you back onto the main run. Do not go skiers left off the bottom ridge trail, those runs are for experts only and get gnarly right after the first turn.
Mountain run is the longest run on the mountain, and is probably one of the best intermediate choices BEFORE 3pm. Lapping it involves taking a fairly comfortable and sheltered ride up the Funitel. Later in the day when everyone starts to ski down to the base Mountain Run becomes a human zoo and I consider it downright dangerous.