Tag Archives: ski resorts

No April Fool’s Joke

April powder snow at Lake Tahoe

Best April Fool's day ever.

12-21 inches of powder – the light and dry ‘white room’ kind- fell at Lake Tahoe yesterday, making today a very memorable (if busy) day at the ski resorts. Despite the hoards of hungry powder-seekers, we were able to find fresh tracks most of the day, though admittedly we did spend our afternoon in a secluded backcountry location.

This storm – heck, this week’s storms – have helped make March a true miracle this year. Snow totals for the month are upwards of 100 inches, making up for some of the pain felt here this season. And with a few more weeks to the ski season (first resort closings are April 15), it’s not a bad time to make hay (or ski tracks) while the ski lifts are still running.

A Wasatch-ilicious adventure

What better way to celebrate a ‘significant’ birthday than with a ski vacation? Some may laugh at this, given that I live in place that’s considered a world-class ski destination, but it’s been awhile since I’ve taken a leisure trip to ski.   So I convinced my dad & brothers to join Nils and me in Utah to fete my birthday on what we hoped was powder snow.

Juneuary has hit Tahoe hard this year, so our trip was timed perfectly.  It’s been a weird January in Utah, however, and days before we arrived there had been what was termed as a ‘rain event’ – precipitation to well over 9000 feet, which froze into a thick, smooth, bulletproof layer.  Snow came after that, but what it meant was that there were ‘surprises’ on certain aspects.  I hit one of these surprises on Friday, and while I twisted my knee pretty badly, it wasn’t so significant as to preclude me from skiing the rest of the weekend.  But I was much more cautious after that.

We flew into Salt Lake City early enough on Thursday to be able to take advantage of the Park City Chamber’s Quick Start program which allows you to ski at one of three ski resorts for free the day you fly into Salt Lake City – all you need to do is show ID and your boarding pass.  It’s been over a decade since I’ve been to Park City Ski Resort, so I thought an afternoon there was on the agenda.  Plus it gave me a chance to finally meet Eric Hoffman, Park City Ski Resort’s Interactive Marketing Manager, who I’d gotten to know through Twitter.   He’s a (very solid) telemark skier too, so it was fun to chase him around the resort for a few runs.  While it was the first day of the Sundance Festival, the resort was blissfully quieter than the airport had been, which meant we felt like we had the place to ourselves, finding untracked snow in the trees and enjoying the wide open groomers.  It wasn’t a bad way to kick off a vacation.

With family in tow, we hit up Snowbird on Friday.  This is a nostalgic resort for us, having taken family trips there as kids.  I love the European feel to the terrain, which includes some serious steep pitches above treeline, and plenty of slower double chairs to balance out the efficiency of the tram.  Seeing how we have a family tradition of someone getting hurt here (there was a backboard incident the last time we were here 9 years ago), I should not have been surprised when I went skittering across a seriously icy patch and felt a sharp pain in my right knee.  The last time around, I got kicked out of the ER (for laughing at the injured party), so this had to be some form of karmic payback.    That said, overall the snow was very good, and despite my run in with ice, I was able to enjoy seasonal winter snow the rest of the day.

Fine dining in your slippers

While I love Alta for its snow and terrain, I also love it for its on-mountain restaurant, the Collins Grill.   It’s the perfect respite on a cold, windy & snowy day, which is the exact weather I have encountered both times I’ve skied here.   The older cabin-like structure that used to house the Grill is no more, which was a bit of a disappointment, but the new building, located right off the Collins lift, is airy and light, with big windows that would normally offer expansive views, were it not snowing and blowing.    After a memorable (and huge) meal at Log Haven the night before, we weren’t starving, but a hearty soup and a glass of wine were just perfect, as was the “heart of darkness” cupcake, possibly the best named dessert I’ve heard.    The hardest part about lunch here is the leaving part.  But the promise of a few inches of fresh snow created incentive.

Mmmm..meringue

On our last day, we hooked up with more friends I met through Twitter (and Snowcial).  Photo John and Jenni were kind enough to show us around their home mountain, Solitude.  It was my first time in Big Cottonwood Canyon, which, true to its name, is wider and longer than Little Cottonwood Canyon.  Solitude received more snow than the LCC resorts in Saturday’s storm, and it meant we got actual powder turns on our first (and second and third) runs, making for the best snow conditions of the trip.  The ski resort has some fun hike-to terrain in the Black Forest (and in the nearby area, boasting what I think is the best name ever for a run, “Here Be Dragons”), which has a spectacular backdrop in the mountains that are on the other side of the drainage.  Snow-capped, the peaks looked like giant meringues, and I found myself with a sugar craving as we skied through the trees on the other side.   Not sure if this indicates how small the world is, but we bumped into another friend from Snowcial, Joe Myers, who even sported his famed PBR pajamas per a request from John.   Hilarity ensued as we all stopped for an impromptu photo shoot.

After a full day of skiing, Nils & I repacked our bags in a parking lot, headed to the airport, and were home by 9pm.  Four days, 4 days of skiing, family, friends and winter conditions did not suck.  The karmic payback on the other hand….

If all significant birthdays – hell, all birthdays- could be celebrated like this, I would be a lot more excited about the aging process.

Lake Tahoe Winter – It’s On!

Big snowbanks in south lake tahoeWhen I left South Lake Tahoe on the Friday before Thanksgiving, there was no snow on the ground.  I returned a week later to 3 feet of snow in the driveway along with a 4 foot berm (thanks municipal snowplow driver).  There was more up high – much more. Final snow total for this month? TEN feet.  In November? That’s unheard of.

Apparently La Niña has arrived.

I was in LA for family shenanigans last week, but wasn’t so busy to not keep tabs on the snow and storms, partly for work and partly for my own edification.   Over 8 feet fell during the course of 4 days or so at the upper elevations, which meant that by Thanksgiving weekend, most Tahoe area ski resorts were open for business.  Mid-winter conditions and more open terrain than is typical for this time of year meant that skiing and riding at Lake Tahoe was truly all-time.  My Twitter & Facebook feeds were filled with powder photos, gloating, and ‘Viva La Niña!’

While we missed the Tahoe hilarity (including the sub-zero temps), we did get 4 great days of skiing at Mammoth, 3 of which were powder days.  Our return home was heralded by another storm, which dropped another foot-plus of snow.  And it was cold smoke.

So, despite the fatigue of driving without snow tires and shoveling out large volumes of snow on Saturday night, N and I were up fairly early on Sunday to get our first backcountry day in.   We figured that our favorite easy access tour was popular enough that someone else had already set the skin track.  Not so much.  But the trail breaking was so worth it.  Face shots in November? The fluffy turns convinced us to try another lap, and while it became apparent that neither of us is in top backcountry condition, we made it to the top without collapsing.  And promptly forgot how tired we were as we whooped and giggled our way down through the nearly thigh-deep snow.

Oh winter.  I’m so glad you’re back.

Big mountains eh?

views from banff

I don’t travel much for work, but each year I do attend a mountain travel conference that’s typically held at some pretty awesome ski destinations.  This year, I went to Banff Lake Louise.  It was my second trip to Banff, having come here in 2004 for the same event.  Both times I was lucky enough to stay at the Fairmont, a tremendous old castle (with a history) that is now a world-class hotel. I can safely say that the combination of the exceptional service of the Fairmont coupled with the spectacular views of the Canadian Rockies makes for a very memorable trip, whether work is involved or not.

In my case, some work was involved, and while I won’t bore you with details here, I did learn that Canada’s DHL service does not work on weekends, and will not drive through sleet, snow or rain to deliver packages,  unlike, say, FedEx, UPS, or the U.S. Postal Service.   .

Lake LouiseDespite package delivery issues and work requirements, I did get out skiing at Lake Louise with some old friends who I met when I first started working in the ski industry in the last century.   It was a blast! The Canadian Rockies are very different from the Sierra, and while they may not see snowfalls measured in feet (it is a metric country after all), the local ski resorts have some legitimately big mountain skiing, with steep lines and chutes that are often in-bounds.  Lake Louise definitely boasted some steep lines, ones  deserving of the expert/double black diamond rating.  I didn’t get a chance to ski Sunshine, but based on the raves I heard from Nils, Delirium Dive is on my list for next time.

And I’m pretty sure there will be a next time – ideally one wholly dedicated to play.  Besides skiing, there are a slew of other things I missed out on, including a chocolate shop whose name made my inner 9 year old boy giggle.

Why Tahoe rocks

Because we measure storms in feet, not inches. This latest storm dumped another 5 feet in the mountains, and it’s now GAME ON for the ski resorts.  This latest storm came in a bit wetter than the last one, building a base and covering a lot of the rocks and other obstacles. Note that there are still a few lurking about, as we found on Heavenly’s Face run yesterday, so you still need to be aware of things under the surface.

It’s been a few years since we’ve seen this much snow this early in the season, and my legs are definitely not yet in shape.  After 3 consecutive days of skiing powder, I’m walking a bit stiffly.

But it is SO worth it!

The joy of skiing

Ski season has finally started at Lake Tahoe, with the openings of Mt. Rose, Heavenly, Northstar-at-Tahoe and Squaw Valley this week.  N and I actually had plans to head to Mammoth (which has been open since October), but his asymptomatic manflu reared up again, leaving him with no desire to move, much less drive 2+ hours to ski – especially after a snowstorm left the roads a bit messy, and the mountains with upwards of 6 inches of new snow.

I decided to head to Heavenly for opening day on Saturday.  I was cautious in my enthusiasm, knowing that there would only be two runs open. I figured the resort would be mobbed with people by about 10 am, all fighting for the same 20 acres of man-made/natural groomed snow.  Add to that my own skepticism about my still-injured chest, and a strangely irrational fear that I’d forgotten how to make a tele turn, and, well, you might say I had low expectations.
Happily, my expectations were surpassed exponentially.  Not only did my chest not hurt, but I could still link a tele turn, there were very few people around for the first few hours, and the snow conditions were pretty darn good, with soft carveable groomers and some untracked snow on the sides of the run.
Did I mention it was a bluebird day after a snowstorm, which meant the white peaks nicely contrasted with the cerulean blue of Lake Tahoe? I had a huge, stupid grin on my face for the 2+ hours I was out.  I had forgotten how much FUN I have skiing, and it took a groomed blue run to remind me of the exuberance and dumb joy I get from telemark skiing.
And I’m not in this official Heavenly vid, but I think it shows the excitement everyone had about getting back on snow.

Sierra Sun

After a weekend of snow, wind and grey light, the reappearance of the sun was uplifting.  Especially as it reflected upon the 2 to 5 feet of snow that had fallen.  It was to be a Heavenly day indeed.   While there were a lot more tourists than locals at the ski resort today, we still found some quiet and untracked places.  And even bumped into friends.

Stupidity reached level 11 by about noon, and after an idiot (male, natch) ran into me in the lift corral and then told me it was my fault, I decided that was a sign to get off the mountain.  So I took the mutt for a cross-country ski in the meadow, handily forgetting that I’d be breaking trail for the first mile in what had turned to heavy, wet snow. And I’m wondering why my legs are so sore tonight..?

No Time To Blog

Too busy skiing.  And with no snarky commentary, new recipes to show off or other interesting updates – besides gloating about all the POWDER I’ve skied this week – I figured I’d wait until I had something to say.

I do have something to say.I love, no, adore, no, am obsessed with, powder skiing.  And I will rearrange my work schedule, blow off swim, ignore the dog’s desire for daily exercise and otherwise neglect my routine life in order to get a few hours out on the mountain each day.

And that I have.  Having spent three mornings this week skiing Heavenly’s glorious trees, I was jonesing for more this weekend.   Which we got today at Sierra-at-Tahoe.  It does require effort to do this however.  Shoveling out the driveway, driving in the snow.

Finding rocks to jump off (I went down this before he did).

And then driving home after a full day of powder turns (luckily we go in the opposite direction of the traffic).

Lather, rinse, repeat.  With another 10-12 inches predicted to fall at lake level tonight, I’ll be hitting the slopes first thing tomorrow.  Gotta make the most of my birthday month (and the back to back snowstorms), y’know.

Paying for Playtime?

Monday night the “Tahoe Crud” broadsided me out of nowhere, giving me no advance warning until I was huddled by the fire, coughing and achy.  I refuse to accept that this might be the result of me playing too hard.  Pfft.  After all, you sleep when you’re dead, right?

I forced myself to take two days off, which wasn’t ‘off’ really, considering I had work and presentations to give and meetings and whatnot.  Today’s foray into the pool made me realize that perhaps another day off would have been a good thing.  Especially considering that we’re leaving for 3 days in Mammoth tomorrow morning – and you *know* I’m not going to be resting there!

With between 7-12 feet of new snow at the Tahoe resorts and 9 or so feet at Mammoth, we’ll have great ski conditions in the Sierra for awhile.  The best news is that the snow survey is saying that snow levels here are at 94% of average snow pack as of today.  It was at 53% on January 1st.

Winter Redux

A winter storm blew through here yesterday, but it didn’t quite deliver on the expectations of BIG SNOW.  That’s because the damn thing split, sending snow to the north and to the south, giving Mammoth snowfall in the double digits. Here? Not so much.

That said, there was an inch or two on the driveway this morning, so I made the most of it and forced the dog out of her warm and lazy slumber for a cross country ski.  I’m glad I did, because that snow I skied through at 8 am will be gone later today.

More snow is “supposed” to come tonight, but we’re already making plans to go to Mammoth this weekend, as they have more terrain and lifts running than any Lake Tahoe ski resort.