Alpine Meadows.
Here's a post I made in a similar thread a while ago, comparing the main two worthwhile resorts in North Lake...
Alpine's not as big as Squaw, and it doesn't have as much gnarly terrain, but its got some really good stuff in bounds. Idiot's delight, keyhole, beaver, estelle, scott's chute, etc.
Alpine's boundry policy owns squaw's, basically you can go wherever the fuck you want so long as you don't have to go through closed terrain to get there. This said, be smart about it- the ski patrol doesn't really do any work out of bounds, save over the access road. BUT the sidecountry of Alpine is amazing- you can do a huge amount of great backcountry ripping, using lifts to get most of the way there- check Munchkins, Grouse Rock, Finger Lakes, and what's known to locals as the Condo Run.
The inbounds terrain works in a good way, too- the lifts don't get you everywhere. You have to hike a little (15-20 min. tops) to get to the best stuff, which means fewer people do it. Which means better snow, for longer after a storm.
Plus there are fewer people in general (while everyone's going to squaw next door, only those who already know about alpine/are too cheap for squaw are there. Which is really significant).
Trust me, you'll like it.
Northstar is a pancake with Time's-Square-on-new-years-eve crowds, and it is NOT worth your time.
Squaw on a pow day gets skied out in a matter of minutes, whereas at Alpine you can ski pow 3, 4 days after a storm.
Boreal is good for early season and night skiing, as already said, and the park is pretty fun. Creative jibs are good.
Sugar Bowl is fun on a pow day, but there's not as much vertical to play with as other resorts. It's still a ton of fun.
Rose is cool, but pretty small. The chutes are fun, but its pretty out of the way and there are better resorts around.
Heavenly isn't really worth your time... I find it to be mostly flat, with the exception of a few areas, and pretty crowded. Not to mention that it gets a lot less snow than the rest of tahoe.
Kirkwood gets TONS of snow and its sick terrain.
Sierra-at-tahoe has some really fun zones and a cool park, but again, it's out of the way and pretty isolated.
Homewood is a pretty flat spot- but it's well protected from the wind. AND your Alpine season pass works there... so when Alpine is closed because it's blowing 80 up top, go to homewood to ski pow with a few locals who know whats up. There won't be crowds since the general group of people who go to homewood are fairweather skiers there for the view.
Of the above listed resorts, Alpine is definitely my favorite- it combines a lot of stuff. Also, Jonahs, the park manager, is the absolute bomb. If you watch Eye Trip, you'll know why... remember that gigantic snow feature in the trailer... step up to snow table to step down? That was at Alpine.
