Tahoe Weather, Conditions, Stoke, and What's Up Thread...

[TahoeJ]

Stupid question, but I've never driven up to Tahoe during a storm before. If we get something decent this weekend, would it be a total dumbass idea to try and drive up there in my FWD with all-seasons and chains? I've got some snow experience but don't know exactly what the Sac-Tahoe drive is like when there's snow falling.

If you're going to go, just go really early and avoid the masses before someone hucks their metal and they shut down 80. I think Sunday will be okay but I wouldn't bother on Saturday based on the current forecast.

[SchralphMacchio]

They're talking 70mph gusts in the SF Bay Area coastal and ridgeline areas but not a lot of precip ... but then up over in Plumas County, they're talking 15 to 20" of water between Lassen and Burney. Wowsers.

Shasta forecast is giving me a fat woody at work today - gonna be embarrassing when the clients show up.

[skier666]

Exhibit B

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/articl...-5-4064736.php

At 9:30pm I was headed up though Placerville and 50 was closed eastbound on Saturday night. I ended up going just south of Placerville through Diamond Springs and got back on 50 at Camino. I felt pretty sly.

[TahoeBC]

Shasta forecast is giving me a fat woody at work today - gonna be embarrassing when the clients show up.

As long as you don't try and dry hump them, they will probably be cool with it.

[lepistoir]

Just in case anyone can see past the big dump this weekend, remember the Backcountry Film Festival this weekend in Reno:

http://www.commrow.com/calendar/even...ils.asp?ID=492

I'll be there. Tanuke is a game-time decision.

[The Dad]

No dice on skinning Alpine in case anyone is wondering. The place is plastered with closed signs out front and there were about 50+ employee cars parked in front of the lodge this weekend. Lots of equipment out / stuff going on.

Maybe if the snow levels drop to 6800 feet or so this week (before they're expected to later in the weekend) they'll open early?

If last week's storms had featured a 6800 foot snow level, I suspect they'd have gotten open for Thanksgiving. But there's not much upside to a midweek opening.

Kind of difficult to argue the point w them in the wake of the accident a couple weeks back, but I always thought their lease did not allow for them to restrict any access to the public via hiking, snowshoes, skins, etc.

I have not read the USFS agreement. But bear in mind that as a general principle of property law, a lessee has the right to exclude others -- including the owner/landlord -- during the term of the lease. By extrapolation, even though we the public own almost half the land that Alpine sits on, if we enter it during Alpine's lease without permission, we are trespassing.

The spot forecast for Shasta just went full retard: This May should be good!

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick....1945333480835

Holy fuckballs. They're calling for 3" per hour sustained for the whole of Thursday.

Bear in mind that it's still November, people. This certainly seems like the right kind of pattern. Hope it holds as it starts to get cold.

[TahoeBC]

I don't get the channel, but this might be interesting for those that do

National Geographic has an show on Nov 28th "Hell on the Highway" documenting what it takes to keep Donner summit open during the winter.

http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.co...n-the-highway/

[FormerKnuckleDragger]

I don't get the channel, but this might be interesting for those that do

National Geographic has an show on Nov 28th "Hell on the Highway" documenting what it takes to keep Donner summit open during the winter.

http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.co...n-the-highway/

That's much less National Geographic and much more Honey Boo Boo Child meets Lizard Lick Towing (not that I've watched those shows...or that there's anything wrong with that). I was hoping it would be more about the CalTrans guys who actually keep the summit open, but the ten minutes I watched was more about "legendary" tow truck drivers pulling gapers out of the snowbank.

[thudder]

Just in case anyone can see past the big dump this weekend, remember the Backcountry Film Festival this weekend in Reno:

http://www.artemisiamovies.org/films...-festival-2012

I'll be there. Tanuke is a game-time decision.

I've never been, but that looks really interesting. You have last year's link up, here's the one for this weekend: http://www.commrow.com/calendar/even...ils.asp?ID=492

[Ottime]

They're talking 70mph gusts in the SF Bay Area coastal and ridgeline areas but not a lot of precip ... but then up over in Plumas County, they're talking 15 to 20" of water between Lassen and Burney. Wowsers.

Shasta forecast is giving me a fat woody at work today - gonna be embarrassing when the clients show up.

Calm down son.

I'm seeing 4.5 inches in SC by Monday. That looks like a lot to me. Humboldt looks like a solid ten. The slug is just coming in at an angle, so we a shadowed. But it is still a lot of water for down here. I suspect the local hills will pull in more. And my French drain still needs work. No surfing today. I'm moving some gravel.

[Steven S. Dallas]

And my French drain still needs work.

Is this an anal bleaching reference?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Is this an anal bleaching reference?

He said French drain, not Greek drain

[schuss]

Should be all time this weekend, as I have to fly back to the EC on Thursday, returning the following Sunday. Enjoy your week of paradise!

[Max Archer]

You sould have no problem with these storms, the snow levels will be at pass levels, In general if you do not have snow tires on a 4wd thet will make you chain up before it gets nasty, I drive every storm that comes tru and once you do it a couple of times it's cake. Chaining up SUCKS! it's cold and wet and takes a lot longer then doing it in your driveway, get the proper tires and do use all a favor so we don't get stuck behind you going 20mph.

If it is snowing bad the 88 will genrerally shut down at some point for a short time, but if it's snowing that bad Kirkwood is shut too.

80 always seems to have some sort of big rig accident that shuts it down of hours at a time, screw that.

50 is rarly shut down even in the worst storms, it just moves slow because of the flat landers with chains who refuse to buy a AWD or 4wd and are into skiing and crawl along at 20mph. The plows do an excellent job on it, but sometimes when its coming down real heavy you may have to drive tru 6"to 8" before they can catch up, but it will be open.


Just plan on allowing about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. extra travel time.

Believe me I'd love to have an AWD with snow tires. Doesn't make sense for the 350 days a year I spend in places that don't have snow, though. Wish I still had my Subaru. I've done the whole chaining thing more than a few times, so I'm well-aware of how much it sucks, I was more curious about how much longer it'd take and how much of the trip would actually involve crawling up on chains.

May not do it anyway, though. If it's just gonna be wet crap it's not worth it.

[BGnight]

So, what's the weather channel naming this storm?

[powdork]

Caesar if they name it

[coop64]

I'm naming it JW...
Here's our read:
Weather Discussion: Strong ridging, once straddling the Golden State, has weakened considerably overnight while drifting into the Great Basin. Debris from storm activity stacking up over the Eastern Pacific will spill across the North State, including the Lake Tahoe Basin. Despite this variable high cloudiness, temperatures will remain very similar to those experienced the past few days. Clouds will gradually thicken across Northern California overnight as a potent storm system, picks up moisture, as its sweeps toward the state from the west. The quick passage of this system on Wednesday will bring a few hours of intense precipitation that is likely to favor locations along or west of the Sierra Nevada crest. Snow levels should begin around 7000 feet but then quickly drop to around 6000 feet for the majority of this system precipitation. At best this system should bring a little more than a foot of snow to western Lake Tahoe Basin locations above 7000 feet while nearby lake level areas probably end up with no more than a few inches. Exposed ridge tops will see southwest winds up to 75 mph during the approach and passage of this front. More precipitation and bouts of strong winds are due to follow Thursday night into Friday and again on Sunday, with a showery day in between. Only the Sunday system promises to drop snow levels below lake level although both will likely bring a lot of precipitation to the region. Right now, transitory ridging should leave the first half of next week (Mon-Wed) dry although wet weather is expected to make at least a short lived return later in the week (right now its looks like next Thursday).
Stoke level is high here in the (209)
Coop

[dookeyXXX]

Squaw was much better than I anticipated today, although it was mostly about ripping groomers up top, with one boiler plate mogul field open off of Emmigrant. Best snow was on the sides of all the runs as it was kicked up powdered sugar deposits from all the suckers who persist in skiing down the middle. Heck, the snow off of the groomer underneath Siberia was almost ankle deep powder on the margins; folks were kicking up nice rosters of sugary spray (at least those skiing the sidelines).

The weather was overcast and mildly windy and there was a crazy burnt orange/magnetic yellow halo around the sun for part of the day (guy I rode up the lift with swore it was a conspiracy to change the weather; he said that the vapor trails we see from all the planes aren't really vapor trails but crazy weather/atmosphere changing chemicals being distributed by secret flying machines; I couldn't really argue with him given the weird halo effect and how the weather has drastically changed over the past several years, plus he had pictures of other climate abnormalities and weather weirdness on his phone...)

[G]

Exhibit B

I drove by that spot this morning. There's a gnarly big red stain in the middle of the road.

That section of road has always seemed incredibly sketchy to me. I always slow way down and stay super cautious there, especially when traveling eastbound.

[lepistoir]

I've never been, but that looks really interesting. You have last year's link up, here's the one for this weekend: http://www.commrow.com/calendar/even...ils.asp?ID=492

Thanks for the correction. Original post fixed. Trailer is also not this year's films, but gets attention and it was too much working figuring out how to embed a Youtube to get another one up.

Sunday at 8pm at Comm Row in Reno:
Backcountry Film Festival
Come one, come all!

Drop me a line if you want a ride from N Lake

[lepistoir]

So, what's the weather channel naming this storm?

Wet Willy.

[jfost]

..guy I rode up the lift with swore it was a conspiracy to change the weather; he said that the vapor trails we see from all the planes aren't really vapor trails but crazy weather/atmosphere changing chemicals being distributed by secret flying machines...

hey, that's a neat variation on the standard "Chemtrails" theme - usually it is just that the govt is spiking jet fuel with mind control substances, thorium and barium salts or some shit like that...

[mcski]

...guy I rode up the lift with swore it was a conspiracy to change the weather; he said that the vapor trails we see from all the planes aren't really vapor trails but crazy weather/atmosphere changing chemicals being distributed by secret flying machines; I couldn't really argue with him given the weird halo effect and how the weather has drastically changed over the past several years, plus he had pictures of other climate abnormalities and weather weirdness on his phone...)

Did you ask him if his handle was BG?

If the storms are at c, I'm goin w Wet Cunt

[Max Archer]

hey, that's a neat variation on the standard "Chemtrails" theme - usually it is just that the govt is spiking jet fuel with mind control substances, thorium and barium salts or some shit like that...

I've heard the weather theory about chemtrails a bunch. There's also HAARP if you really want to get into the paranoia weather manipulation thing.

[dookeyXXX]

hey, that's a neat variation on the standard "Chemtrails" theme - usually it is just that the govt is spiking jet fuel with mind control substances, thorium and barium salts or some shit like that...

Actually, dude touched upon the mind control aspect, as well.
He also pointed out how there's been more plane activity over the Tahoe skies the past several years, tying in with the drastic changes in weather (he kind of insinuated that these chem trails are why last winter and this winter have been so buggy).
When I commented on how I tend to see a lot of chem trails making X's in the sky he went on to say that they make specific patterns to deliver the mind control/weather changing chemicals more efficiently.
His Socrates quote was "He who controls the weather controls the world." I told him that sounded like some James Bond evil villain sh!t. His reply was "Really? I'm not up on James Bond and I've never seen a James Bond movie."
Additionally, there were already two crossed chem trails in the sky as we were riding up the lift and a third plane was making a trail to intersect the two previous ones. He pointed to the plane and exclaimed: "That ain't a normal chem trail. See how you can't even see the plane, but the chem trail is perfect and long-lasting? A normal chem trail would dissipate, but that one's lingering."
Nothing like a little slopeside Doomsday theory to make skiing groomers that much more interesting and definitely one of the more memorable conversations I've had on a lift.