TR: North Lake Tahoe Dec 9-16 2006

This was my first trip to Tahoe, and the plan was to ski six resorts in
six days to get oriented to the place so that next trip we could be
more...ahem...discriminating in our choice of resorts.

Here's what I found:

NORTHSTAR - Northstar has some really cool looking terrain that would be
a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately, the snow
has been light this season and not much was open. So, we made the best
of it and skied the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they had open.

ALPINE MEADOWS - Alpine Meadows has some really cool looking terrain
that would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it.
Unfortunately, the snow has been light this season and not much was
open. So, we made the best of it and skied the couple of runs of
manmade groomed that they had open.

DIAMOND PEAK - Diamond Peak has some really cool looking terrain that
would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately,
the snow has been light this season and not much was open. So, we made
the best of it and skied the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they
had open.

SUGAR BOWL - The Sugar Bowl has some really cool looking terrain that
would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately,
the snow has been light this season and not much was open. So, we made
the best of it and skied the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they
had open.

MT ROSE - Mt. Rose has some really cool looking terrain that would be a
lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately, the snow
has been light this season and not much was open. We didn't actually ski
there, but we drove by to check it out. The people there were making
the best of it and skiing the couple of runs of manmade groomed that
they had open.

SQUAW VALLEY - Squaw Valley has some really cool looking terrain that
would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately,
the snow has been light this season and not much was open. We didn't
actually ski there, but we drove by to check it out. The people there
were making the best of it and skiing the couple of runs of manmade
groomed that they had open.

HOMEWOOD - Homewood has some really cool looking terrain that would be a
lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately, the snow
has been light this season and Homewood wasn't open at all. If they had
been, we would've made the best of it and skied the couple of runs of
manmade groomed that they had open.


//Walt

Sorry your trip was such a bust. The storms have been missing missing Tahoe.
We feel your pain. On the other hand--while June is not open (Carl won't
open the place unless there is a minimum of 2ft of natural snow to build
on)--Mammoth has been opening more and more terrain. Rusty has lifts going
from top to bottom. Both Canyon and Little Eagle are open--although the top
of Linconl Mt. is still closed. Gold Rush and Roller Coaster are open.
North Park is in full swing and South Park is being improved as I type this.
G2 is running to the top and Cornice Bowl is open--as well as Saddle Bowl
and the Face. Chair 12 started running as well as chair 5. We got about a
foot of new snow over the 18 inches of man made out of the storm this
weekend--it was light, dry and fluffy. 25/1 ratio. Great times.

"Walt" wrote in message
...
This was my first trip to Tahoe, and the plan was to ski six resorts in
six days to get oriented to the place so that next trip we could be
more...ahem...discriminating in our choice of resorts.

Here's what I found:

NORTHSTAR - Northstar has some really cool looking terrain that would be a
lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately, the snow has
been light this season and not much was open. So, we made the best of it
and skied the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they had open.

ALPINE MEADOWS - Alpine Meadows has some really cool looking terrain that
would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately, the
snow has been light this season and not much was open. So, we made the
best of it and skied the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they had
open.

DIAMOND PEAK - Diamond Peak has some really cool looking terrain that
would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately,
the snow has been light this season and not much was open. So, we made
the best of it and skied the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they
had open.

SUGAR BOWL - The Sugar Bowl has some really cool looking terrain that
would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately,
the snow has been light this season and not much was open. So, we made
the best of it and skied the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they
had open.

MT ROSE - Mt. Rose has some really cool looking terrain that would be a
lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately, the snow has
been light this season and not much was open. We didn't actually ski
there, but we drove by to check it out. The people there were making the
best of it and skiing the couple of runs of manmade groomed that they had
open.

SQUAW VALLEY - Squaw Valley has some really cool looking terrain that
would be a lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately,
the snow has been light this season and not much was open. We didn't
actually ski there, but we drove by to check it out. The people there
were making the best of it and skiing the couple of runs of manmade
groomed that they had open.

HOMEWOOD - Homewood has some really cool looking terrain that would be a
lot of fun with a couple feet of snow on it. Unfortunately, the snow has
been light this season and Homewood wasn't open at all. If they had been,
we would've made the best of it and skied the couple of runs of manmade
groomed that they had open.


//Walt




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Wayne Decker wrote:
Sorry your trip was such a bust. The storms have been missing missing Tahoe.

Aren't they always? Or just the weathermen are too enthusiastic to
report "snow" in the early season?

Anyway, Heavenly opened the California side, though the Sky chair
remains closed, but the Face (East Bowl) is open, steep, frozen, and
fast. And at the Sierra-at-Tahoe, the Grandview lift is open, so
there's top-to-bottom skiing at Sierra-at-Tahoe, as well as bump skiing
on the icy and mogul-ish Lower Main.

Like Warren Miller said, "skiing is about how you make the turns, not
where you make them," or something like that, but after two weeks
skiing on those marginal conditions, I'll say, "skiing is about making
good turns, no matter how and where you make them." I've enjoyed the
season so far.

Have fun,
IS

......

taichiskiing wrote:
Wayne Decker wrote:

Sorry your trip was such a bust. The storms have been missing missing Tahoe.

I wouldn't call it a bust - I skied five to seven hours each day, except
for Wednesday at the Sugar Bowl when it was 38 degrees and driving rain
and I only lasted three. Yeah, the terrain was limited everywhere, but
I did get to ski Northstar, Diamond Peak & the Sugar Bowl top to bottom.
(yes, I actually skied DP from the top all the way to the bottom of the
Schoolyard bunny hill - you do these things when there's only one run open)

Aren't they always? Or just the weathermen are too enthusiastic to
report "snow" in the early season?

No, I don't think the storms usually miss Tahoe. This is based on Tony
Crocker's excallent site http://members.aol.com/crockeraf/ which every
skier should bookmark and consult before planning a trip.

While Tahoe is one of the more volitile destinations, early snow is a
good bet. Just look at the historical data for the last dozen years.
But it's a bet nonetheless, and I rolled the dice and came up short.
Not snake eyes, just a unluckier than average roll. That's how it goes
with outdoor activities. If you want perfect conditions all the time,
take up bowling or ping pong.


Anyway, Heavenly opened the California side, though the Sky chair
remains closed, but the Face (East Bowl) is open, steep, frozen, and
fast. And at the Sierra-at-Tahoe, the Grandview lift is open, so
there's top-to-bottom skiing at Sierra-at-Tahoe, as well as bump skiing
on the icy and mogul-ish Lower Main.

We didn't make it down to the south side, but we could see Heavenly
across the lake occasionally when the clouds lifted, and it was
definitely white.

Like Warren Miller said, "skiing is about how you make the turns, not
where you make them," or something like that, but after two weeks
skiing on those marginal conditions, I'll say, "skiing is about making
good turns, no matter how and where you make them." I've enjoyed the
season so far.

Yep. Get out there and enjoy it. Life is short. All skis are rock
skis. Carpe per diem.

//Walt

Cool. glad you had a good trip. I hate to hear people coming anywhere near
my neck of the woods and going away disappointed.

"Walt" wrote in message
...
taichiskiing wrote:
Wayne Decker wrote:

Sorry your trip was such a bust. The storms have been missing missing
Tahoe.

I wouldn't call it a bust - I skied five to seven hours each day, except
for Wednesday at the Sugar Bowl when it was 38 degrees and driving rain
and I only lasted three. Yeah, the terrain was limited everywhere, but I
did get to ski Northstar, Diamond Peak & the Sugar Bowl top to bottom.
(yes, I actually skied DP from the top all the way to the bottom of the
Schoolyard bunny hill - you do these things when there's only one run
open)

Aren't they always? Or just the weathermen are too enthusiastic to
report "snow" in the early season?

No, I don't think the storms usually miss Tahoe. This is based on Tony
Crocker's excallent site http://members.aol.com/crockeraf/ which every
skier should bookmark and consult before planning a trip.

While Tahoe is one of the more volitile destinations, early snow is a good
bet. Just look at the historical data for the last dozen years. But it's a
bet nonetheless, and I rolled the dice and came up short. Not snake eyes,
just a unluckier than average roll. That's how it goes with outdoor
activities. If you want perfect conditions all the time, take up bowling
or ping pong.


Anyway, Heavenly opened the California side, though the Sky chair
remains closed, but the Face (East Bowl) is open, steep, frozen, and
fast. And at the Sierra-at-Tahoe, the Grandview lift is open, so
there's top-to-bottom skiing at Sierra-at-Tahoe, as well as bump skiing
on the icy and mogul-ish Lower Main.

We didn't make it down to the south side, but we could see Heavenly across
the lake occasionally when the clouds lifted, and it was definitely white.

Like Warren Miller said, "skiing is about how you make the turns, not
where you make them," or something like that, but after two weeks
skiing on those marginal conditions, I'll say, "skiing is about making
good turns, no matter how and where you make them." I've enjoyed the
season so far.

Yep. Get out there and enjoy it. Life is short. All skis are rock skis.
Carpe per diem.

//Walt




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Walt wrote:
...
All skis are rock skis.
Carpe per[sic] diem.

Amen.

Come on back when the snow flies...

lal_truckee wrote:
Walt wrote:
...
All skis are rock skis.
Carpe per[sic] diem.

Amen.

Come on back when the snow flies...

You may see me before Walt again.
We'll be in South Lake the 2nd through the 5th.

Any particular day good for you? Otherwise
I'll just show up at the appointed place
and time (Near the Urquel, 9:00AM).

I'm planning on a day at Sierra at Tahoe
and jangle Ichin Shen's chain. Also, my
step daughter has a pass there. It could
be a hoot. Care to join us?

VtSkier

VtSkier wrote:
lal_truckee wrote:
Walt wrote:
...
All skis are rock skis.
Carpe per[sic] diem.

Amen.

Come on back when the snow flies...

You may see me before Walt again.
We'll be in South Lake the 2nd through the 5th.

Any particular day good for you? Otherwise
I'll just show up at the appointed place
and time (Near the Urquel, 9:00AM).

I'm planning on a day at Sierra at Tahoe
and jangle Ichin Shen's chain. Also, my
step daughter has a pass there. It could
be a hoot. Care to join us?

Superb, I have a dentist appointment on Jan 3rd afternoon, but the rest
of the time should be ok. My contact info on this page is current and
correct,
http://www.taomartialarts.com/sch/school.html
You can email me on the detail, or call me.

It sounds fun,

See you soon,
IS


VtSkier

VtSkier wrote:
lal_truckee wrote:
Walt wrote:

All skis are rock skis.

Carpe per[sic] diem.

Amen.

Come on back when the snow flies...

Will do. Maybe not this season, but I'll be back.

You may see me before Walt again.
We'll be in South Lake the 2nd through the 5th.

Unless Lal gets a sudden urge to ski Mt Trashmore, or he wants to meet
me and Chuck in Pennsylvania next week, you are probably right.

Any particular day good for you? Otherwise
I'll just show up at the appointed place
and time (Near the Urquel, 9:00AM).

Ah yes. The western branch of the Sacred Beer Vault. Impressive. But
you've got to come see the real thing someday.



I'm planning on a day at Sierra at Tahoe
and jangle Ichin Shen's chain. Also, my
step daughter has a pass there. It could
be a hoot. Care to join us?

Take pictures. Post a report.

//Walt