14/?? The OFFICIAL Tahoe Thread

[whatsupdoc]

My expectations were exceeded yesterday and today. Not all time, but plenty of fun.

[TahoeBC]

Back to planks tomorrow

Photo Credit: First Track Productions

[powdork]

Damn. Maybe I should have been itching to get up there. How was the sub surface?

It was super warm and never froze before the snow so it was sift serve underneath

[mmmm...pow!]

Anyone wanna venture a guess, or actually know, how much hiking would be involved to get to skiable snow on the west shore? Quite a difference in snowpack between bottom of Jakes and Ward canyon despite little elevation difference, but haven't been by on a clear day to scope the upper elevations on west shore, which I would suspect are holding, and determine how feasible an outing there would be.

[TahoeJ]

Rad pic TahoeBC. Sure it was more fun than skiing on that.

Anyone wanna venture a guess, or actually know, how much hiking would be involved to get to skiable snow on the west shore? Quite a difference in snowpack between bottom of Jakes and Ward canyon despite little elevation difference, but haven't been by on a clear day to scope the upper elevations on west shore, which I would suspect are holding, and determine how feasible an outing there would be.

I did some scouting last weekend and was not encouraged enough to venture out further, especially since it was about 45 degrees. Not sure if the x-mas eve storm would make enough of a difference or not - it's possible, since I guess snow elevations were fairly decent / low?

[markcjr]

Follow the signs

[kimchijajonshim]

Anyone have a strong opinion about Sugar Bowl or Kirkwood for this coming week conditions-wise? I have a Squaw/Alpine pass but I'm blacked out so figure I might as well check out something new. Love both mountains, haven't been to either in years. Looks like Sugar Bowl has the best base in Tahoe but the shots I'm seeing of the Wood look pretty good too.

[SchralphMacchio]

I've had good days at both, but if it snows, remember that Heavenly skiers don't have anywhere to ski right now, so Kirkwood will be a junkshow.

Fun craggy steep lines at both places.

[Ottime]

Even if it doesn't snow, Heavenly skiers don't have anywhere to ski. But are they not blacked out from KW this week? I thought only the KW Only Pass was good at KW right now. Could be wrong.

Coverage is good at KW. Drain exit is still a little thin. Seems like south facing slopes might offer the best bet for conditions. Monday-Wednesday look pretty damn cold for skiing in shadows. I imagine chair 4 will seem more fun than usual.

[~mikey b]

http://www.laketahoenews.net/2014/12...irkwoods-vibe/

Published: December 27, 2014

By Susan Wood

KIRKWOOD – The power of Vail Resorts has shown its light on the remote ski area straddling El Dorado and Amador counties since the Colorado ski industry giant took it over for $18 million in 2012.

Upgrades and efficiencies at Kirkwood Mountain Resort range from the K Bar, an outdoor umbrella bar in the main area with views of the mountain, to permits for backcountry tours at Thunder, Avi and Reuter bowls, to a new kiosk to pick up tickets bought online, to a sign with real-time conditions, to all the safety bars that were installed on the chairlifts in year one.

“Over the past two seasons, we have focused our investment in the areas of maintenance and infrastructure. Some of our larger projects such as the K-Bar in the village mountain plaza and the ski patrol facility atop of the Wall are both guest centric and based on operational efficiency that greatly enhances our guests’ experience when they visit Kirkwood,” Casey Blann, Kirkwood general manager, told Lake Tahoe News.

Even though Vail Resorts releases the dollar figure for improvements at other resorts, Kirkwood officials were not forthcoming with the amount invested at their resort; only saying it’s been in the millions.

There are also Americans with Disabilities Act improvements, cellular phone upgrades, a new roof and windows for the Red Cliffs building, and new digs for ski patrollers – big enough to house a snowcat – at the top of the Wall chairlift.

Some upgrades are more subtle than others. New flooring was added to the Kirkwood Inn located down the road next to the Nordic Center.

One of the biggest improvements became effective Nov. 1 — the Wood is now on the grid. Following a huge fire on New Year’s Day 2010 that burned its powerhouse to the ground, the separate Kirkwood Meadows Public Utility District now gets its power for its 700 residents and the resort through Pacific Gas & Electric. The upgrade resulted from $263 million of loans secured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Kirkwood’s power has had periods of on and off electricity issues. But that incident left the community in the dark for a few days.

What’s different is how efficient things run since Pacific Gas & Electric lined up the ski area enclave.

Even with the windstorm earlier this month that knocked out power to much of South Lake Tahoe, Kirkwood had power. It went down, but within a few minutes came back up – unlike its lakeside counterpart. But it had nothing to do with being on the grid. The old diesel generators are now the resort’s backup supply.

“Being on the grid helps (for reliability),” Kirkwood spokesman Coop Cooper told Lake Tahoe News.

With all this said, upgrading Kirkwood is a different experience than Heavenly, Northstar and Park City, Utah – all resorts which Vail has bought in the last decade and poured cash into in order to appeal to a more upscale crowd. Kirkwood is not Northstar, nor is it Park City – Vail’s latest conquest that just got a $50 million pledge of money for improvements. A chairlift that links the northern Utah resort to nearby Canyons, another Vail property, was announced right away.

With Kirkwood, Vail has been assessing what’s needed and what the guests want. Whether that involves what’s outlined in the current master plan on file with the U.S. Forest Service remains to be seen.

“It’s Kirkwood. They know what they got. We’re going to keep the soul. But the neat thing about being in the Vail family is they’re taking a look at things and assessing (what to do next),” said Cooper, who dropped a few of the mantras the staff is working by: “operational efficiencies” and “reimagination.”

There’s even a separate mantra thrown out for single-day lift ticket buyers – “buy online, skip the line.” The kiosk sits flush with the most commonly used lift, Cornice as in Chair 6. And “real time” is used to describe the new sign next to it so guests can plan their day accordingly.

Efficiencies were also enhanced. One of them involved the new 2,048-square-foot “hut” on top of Chair 10, aka the Wall. The new one replaced the old structure that nearly tipped over in one of Kirkwood’s notorious windstorms. Now groomers starting their day at 6am can have the mountain from Palisades to Eagle Bowl ready by 9:40am.

Still, Cooper emphasized how Vail is dedicated to maintaining the undaunted character of the resort. Kirkwood is known for deep snow and expansive terrain with a hint of mountain funk that many old-timers want to see kept intact.

With his father-in-law Dick Reuter being one of the founders more than four decades ago, Cooper knows what that personality looks like. He even mentioned the bar and restaurant located across the street from the resort going back to the original name when Reuter frequented the place. It’s the Cornice Grill again.

Kirkwood may mean deep snow and challenging terrain to many. It’s also a place families to get away.

“Kirkwood is everything. We do have diverse terrain. It’s not just America’s deepest snow. We would alienate a lot of people that way,” Cooper said, referring to the Timber Creek beginning area set aside from the rest of the mountain.

A family of 21 people assembled at Kirkwood one recent Saturday seeking that special Kirkwood experience.

“We came here for one thing – to get our butts whipped,” said Alex Simon, who learned to ski 15 years ago at Kirkwood at age 6 and never forgot the feeling. As a self-identified intermediate skier, the Jupiter, Fla., resident insists Vail keep Kirkwood’s character. “We like just that rustic mountain vibe and that everyone’s friendly,” she said, while taking a break in the new K Bar.

The bar, which can collapse its umbrella with a push of a button and keep its windows erect, sits in the village on top of where the chiller that froze the skating rink once was located. Her father, Ron Simon, agreed about the need to keep Kirkwood, Kirkwood.

“No (big) changes (to the character) are why we keep coming back. We’ve been coming here as a family since the ’70s. It’s all about the skiing,” Simon said, while walking up to the bar table. The bar was picking up about 11am during a snowstorm with skiers and boarders seeking refuge and libations.

“If Kirkwood becomes another Northstar, I’m not coming,” Charles Christolini of San Francisco said, making his preferences known at the bottom of the Cornice Express. Christolini comes up about every week in the winter and has no desire to get Champagne served at 3pm like Northstar’s offering.

“We expected Kirkwood would be modernized. But Kirkwood needs to be about the mountain. People come here to ski first. It’s not about the après,” he said.

Christolini has noticed his favorite resort is more crowded with the coordinated Epic Vail pass that connects the Colorado, Utah and California resorts on one, as well as the pass for the three California resorts. Still, the buzz heard most often from the diehards is of accepting Vail’s piecemeal improvements that maintain the integrity of this resort known for its terrain, snow base and counterculture.

[old goat]

Anyone wanna venture a guess, or actually know, how much hiking would be involved to get to skiable snow on the west shore? Quite a difference in snowpack between bottom of Jakes and Ward canyon despite little elevation difference, but haven't been by on a clear day to scope the upper elevations on west shore, which I would suspect are holding, and determine how feasible an outing there would be.

The "storms" of December were not just elevation dependent, but also very longitude dependent--the farther west, the more precip.

[Ottime]

interesting article mike. seems like it was written by vail pr, tho. thank god they finally got that umbrella bar in there. the whole rustic feel of KW was not continuous until they put that thing in. now i finally have some where to enjoy a $10 beer in an true austrian setting. nothing like n*.

[shakyknees]

Anyone wanna venture a guess, or actually know, how much hiking would be involved to get to skiable snow on the west shore? Quite a difference in snowpack between bottom of Jakes and Ward canyon despite little elevation difference, but haven't been by on a clear day to scope the upper elevations on west shore, which I would suspect are holding, and determine how feasible an outing there would be.

On the southwest side, snow levels have rarely dipped much below Maggie's pass; so I'd guess it's no go below 8200", filling in rapidly above that.

[AKbruin]

Back to planks tomorrow

Photo Credit: First Track Productions

Awesome!

[LongShortLong]

http://www.laketahoenews.net/2014/12...irkwoods-vibe/

... Kirkwood Meadows Public Utility District now gets its power for its 700 residents and the resort through Pacific Gas & Electric. The upgrade resulted from $263 million of loans secured...

That number right? Looks about 4x too high. Impressive pile of money either way.

[markcjr]

Counting down the days to new years when I'm not blacked out

[WestCoastPDR]

Counting down the days to new years when I'm not blacked out

Your not missing much.

Today's tour provided sunbaked refrozen, pure ice and soft snow on North and North East facing dense trees. Either way the wife had fun on her first tour of the year today. Maybe a pic after a while. Gotta go earn gas money

[TahoeBC]

Powdork testing his knee out on the steeps today

[TahoeJ]

Counting down the days to new years when I'm not blacked out

I'm not blacked out... but pretty much everyone has told me to not waste my gas money and/or wife hall passes, so you're not missing much. That or it's all time and they're a bunch of dirty rotten liars, but I suspect not. ;-)

[Ottime]

Powdork testing his knee out on the steeps today

And. Did it pass?

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Back to planks tomorrow

Photo Credit: First Track Productions

Always wondered if you could actually "ski" on a fat bike like that. How deep of snow can it handle before you risk endos?

[flatland_Dave]

Endos are fun on fat bikes... Terrain permitting!

[TahoeBC]

Always wondered if you could actually "ski" on a fat bike like that. How deep of snow can it handle before you risk endos?

It really depends on how light the snow is and the pitch your riding, a few inch's of snow over a hard base is best for pow riding. Corn cycles before the snow softens up is my favorite though, turns the landscape into a frozen snow crystal Moab like free ride zone. I think endo's and fat bikes just go together

Photo Credit: First Track Productions

[TahoeBC]

And. Did it pass?

I think it pushed his limits a bit, but after a couple more runs he seemed none the worse for wear.

We also popped thefrush's back country cherry yesterday.



We gave him dibs on the coolie, it was a little scratchy on top, I'm betting he had a shitload of adrenalin pumping before his skis finally caught some good snow right about here.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Nice dude! Was thinking that when we had corral reef conditions for two weeks in JH recently it would have been pretty fun to hike the pass with a fat bike, looks pretty fun when skiing is not. Well done those photos are wild