he's talking about paying for 8 hours worth of gas while driving... pretty pricey now that it's 3 bucks a gallon.
and as far as the airport goes, you'd be in a bit of the same pickle timewise at least. you have to check in like 45 minutes before your flight, then you've got about an hour in the plane between flight time, boarding, and taxiing, then you have to wait for your skis at baggage claim, then rent a car or make some friends and drive another 45 minutes from reno to tahoe. i dunno, it sounds pretty techy. i'd stick to driving, cuz even though it takes awhile the mountains still definitely make it worth it. good luck man, and i'll look forward to seeing you on the hill.