34.0°
CommentsMother Nature's Trick, Our Treat
Susan Schnier, In the OpenOctober Print Edition
Published:
Out of town for the first snowfall back in September, I missed the thrill of first flakes and all the humorous spinouts on Northwoods. I thought I’d been robbed of all the early season fun.Published:
But thankfully, I hadn’t. On October 20, when three feet of snow blanketed my Tahoe Donner neighborhood, it was time to get busy. We trudged through the snow, bringing winter bags out of the garage, excavating skis and boots from the bottom of the summer pile, buried by dusty tents and water jugs. Sunrise Bowl, above Tahoe Donner Ski Area, was calling.
I didn’t have time to fret that I’d forgotten how to ski over the summer or worry that the snow would never come. I couldn’t complain about global warming and think about moving to Canada where the latitude would combat its effects.
Sure, those first turns were a little hairy, with the ground dropping out from below me each time I ran over a lightly buried manzanita bush, but the cold air in my lungs and the sight of snow-covered mountains were enough to kick start my season and blast the cobwebs out of my sun-drenched summer brain. But, I thought, it’s probably a fluke...no need to make the full winter transition yet; the snow will probably melt, and the resorts won’t open for another month.
Wrong. After six 20-degree days and another two feet of snow, the resorts scrambled to satisfy early season snow lust. Boreal, Kirkwood and Mammoth were the first to open, followed by Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl and Squaw Valley – which reported its earliest opening ever! And they weren’t just open, they were open with excellent early-season coverage and powder stashes, too. (See table for resort opening days)
Squaw even opened the Palisades (its storied chutes above Siberia Bowl)... on opening day... on a weekend! It’s been more than a week since opening weekend and 10 more inches of snow have fallen with more on the way. I’ve hiked and skied premium powder on Mount Rose, Mount Judah, Tahoe Donner, and Squaw Valley, and it’s only November 8!
So with fall masquerading as winter for Halloween and providing this unexpected treat, here’s an update on resort events and improvements:
Alpine Meadows continues to keep prices down, offering its $39 lift ticket (excluding Christmas week, President’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr. weekend) again this season. Alpine also offers telemark lessons every weekend and will sponsor several freeheel events this season, including the King & Queen of the Sierra competition (February 5 and 6), Ultimate Groove Women’s Telemark Clinic (March 5 and 6) and Backcountry Skills Telemark Clinic (March 19 and 20).
Homewood, the little gem known for its hidden powder stashes and stunning lake views that’ll make you feel like you’re skiing straight into Lake Tahoe, has added a brand new triple chair, the Quail Triple, to replace the old Quail Double chair for a speedier ride.
Finally, they’re legal! The steep, long-poached chutes above Mt. Rose are opening this season. The chutes range in difficulty from advanced, black diamond runs to gnarly double blacks, adding some serious expert terrain to Rose that’s on par with the larger Tahoe resorts. Ski patrol will perform avalanche control on the chutes and open them as conditions permit.
Sugar Bowl added a sound system to its terrain park this season, and it’s clearing space for a new lift in the treed, hike-to Strawberry Fields area. The Winter X Games qualifier will return January 14 to 16, selecting athletes to compete in the X Games Finals Skiercross and Boardercross (a sanctioned 2006 Olympic event).
A new high-speed detachable quad, the Echo Express, will replace Northstar-at-Tahoe’s Echo triple chair, transporting skiers and riders from the base to mid-mountain in five minutes. The speedier lift will help get skiers on the mountain and reduce crowds in the Village.
Already offering top-notch expert terrain, this season Squaw Valley turns its focus to beginners and intermediates. A new ski rental fleet, combined with a new beginner double chairlift in the Papoose Learning Area and a second “Magic Carpet” transport lift for the Squaw Kids Children’s Center, will round out Squaw’s terrain. An expanded events calendar and new shops and restaurants in the Village continue to improve the Squaw’s après-ski experience.
0 Reader Comments so far ...
Be the first to comment on this article!