Jumping!

Given that we have plenty snow-crazy people, we decided to have an offsite in SLT last weekend. Eight of us went, including three pretty good boarders, and we had a blast! The snow was not all it was said to be – no 11" on Saturday, for instance, but at most 5" – but who’s complaining? All of us improved our skills, the beginners, intermediate, and advanced snowmen and women, and we had fun with each other. Continue reading

It's heaping up!

The webcam says it all: it’s dumping snow in South Lake Tahoe! Great news, since it appears part of a system that will take us into the weekend, which will be devoted once more to snowboarding. This time the company sponsors an offsite, and that means Monday is included again (and again, I won’t be able to snowboard one day because I am going to be assisting beginners). Hooray! I almost thought this snow season was beyond saving! Continue reading

Freezing in SLT

President’s Day weekend, and the slopes were packed. I had decided to go with a friend from L.A. who had never been skiing or boarding before, so a lot of the time was spent outside the ski circus. In the end, I had a ton of fun, although the conditions were only average. The snow was decent, with some four inches falling between Friday and Saturday. Sunday saw a few flurries, but nothing that amounted to what the other resorts had seen. Continue reading

Snow predicted for the long weekend

Looks like Tahoe will be prey to the chill gods. Actually, even the Bay Area is supposed to get its light dusting with snow. The snow level is supposed to fall to 2000 feet, which would still cover a lot of peaks around here. And I am to run out to Tahoe on the weekend with a friend, Mike. That’s gotta be tough!

Sunday fun

Leaving on Sunday morning for a full day of snowboarding to Heavenly with a bunch of colleagues (including a bloody beginner!)

Heavy winds in Tahoe

Just when I thought I could have a nice weekend of snow and carefree gliding, the weather forecast tells me it’s actually going to be extremely windy (44mph) over the weekend. Sigh! Snow conditions are still reputed to be excellent, and a few inches of fresh snow may fall on Saturday, making for a nice day Sunday.

Finally! User friendly road condition reports

If you go to the CHP road condition page, you have to swallow a giant stream of roads until you find the two that tell you how your commute to Tahoe is going to be. Now I found a valuable shortcut: I 80 US 50 SR18 SR330

Storm incoming!

It’s after midnight, I can’t sleep because of shoulder pains, and I was checking the web (thanks, wireless networks!) There was a little star next to the weather forecast for SLT, which usually indicates severe weather alert. I clicked, and to my surprise, this is what I found: RAIN AND SNOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE SIERRA SUNDAY. SNOW<br></br>LEVELS WILL LOWER TO 7000 FEET BY EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS LIGHT<br></br>SNOW MOVES INTO THE SIERRA. Continue reading

The China syndrome

So I was rushing down the mountain when a guy starts weaving back and forth on his skis. I patiently wait behind him to find his rhythm, and when I think I’ve got it, I start passing him to the right. That’s when he suddenly decides to stop dead in the middle of the run, and not catching himself right he slowly moves back towards the edge. I had no chance to avoid him, so I sliced over his skis and fell badly into the snow. Continue reading

A South Lake Tahoe hotel roundup

This is going to be a little of an ongoing effort. I realized that I have been to a number of accomodations in SLT, and maybe it could be useful to pass on a little information about the hotels and inns of the place if you find yourself in need of advice. The location: South Lake Tahoe is the biggest city around the lake, and is backed by the highest and largest ski resort in the area (actually, in all of Northern California). Continue reading