13/14 Tahoe Thread -- Raddest Thread On The Internets!!!

[Marhankins]

As Unpossible and lepistoir stated, AM was fun off the groomers!

Here's the Mrs. Enjoying the shade.

[emcee]

the snow is still surprisingly good inbounds, given that it's been 2+ weeks since the last snowfall--though I don't know if that will stay true after 10k holiday skiers have their way with it this week.

on the plus side, the lack of snow has helped us really dodge a bullet and helped us avoid the persistent weak layer that this whacky 20:1 first snowfall would have caused

[seanhav]

on the plus side, the lack of snow has helped us really dodge a bullet and helped us avoid the persistent weak layer that this whacky 20:1 first snowfall would have caused

there is a lot of wrong in that sentence.

[powfiend]

Agreed! When you have no idea about what you are saying, you sound less stupid not saying anything at all. And more importantly, you don't misinform others to go ahead and make bad decisions. Persistent week layer is still there although more variable now but facets are still there on slopes that are holding snow. Biggest facets I've ever seen in the Sierra, upto 4 mm! Also got the "recent" storm slab ( the 20/1 our 'snow scientist' mentioned) to propagate at ect 15.on due north sun protected slopes around 8 k. Obviously not much of an issue now with the dismal snow pack but if it ever snows again it will be an issue.

[Ottime]

Don't worry so much about a pwl that is yet existing. Hell, it could easily rain before the next snow. Can't we all just talk about the resorts now. Surf is pumping.

[sierraskier]

https://vimeo.com/82477069 This is what it looked above Truckee on Tuesday morning. Some good turns and some great fish!

nice fish. is that the LT? what was on the menu?

[Huck Pitueee]

nice fish. is that the LT? what was on the menu?

Dammit yes. Red WD40 size 22 no weight no freekin bobber. Size 22 grey spinner is a great choice. Skunked yesterday. Crowded.

[sierraskier]

Dammit yes. Red WD40 size 22 no weight no freekin bobber. Size 22 grey spinner is a great choice. Skunked yesterday. Crowded.

nice. I might try to duplicate your this&that tomorrow. hopefully the river will be deserted...I'm sure the resort won't be.

[Jim S]

the snow is still surprisingly good inbounds, given that it's been 2+ weeks since the last snowfall--though I don't know if that will stay true after 10k holiday skiers have their way with it this week.

Squaw was interesting today.

I figured I'd make the best of it on Dec 24th because with no storms in sight for 2 weeks, a week of holiday Xmas skiers will turn whatever we have into prime hiking and mtn biking fodder and my pass is blacked out over the holiday. I arrived just before 9am....place was almost like a ghost town.

While Gold Coast was busy, Mtn Run wasn't too bad until about 11:30am. No line at the Funitel at all. I hiked up to Sibo and found a bit of pow still remaining but had to hike down into it because there is no snow coverage along the rim. I left at noon and the parking lot was eerily not full for Dec 24th for obvious reasons.

[splat]

Nobody at kw, pretty much one run off six that was groomed, 5 and 11 ran for changing it up and the snow skied and the sun shined like a late april corn refreeze day.
There was something about it that kinda spun me into a seasonal disorientation. Did about 15 runs with otto parts and son. It was great.

[Huck Pitueee]

You may get it good. Get your spot early. Like 11:00 Flows are WAY down so find a pool with good flow.

[rod9301]

merry christmas everyone!

Sent from my SCH-I500 using TGR Forums

[Huck Pitueee]

Nice snow today.

[emcee]

Agreed! When you have no idea about what you are saying, you sound less stupid not saying anything at all. And more importantly, you don't misinform others to go ahead and make bad decisions. Persistent week layer is still there although more variable now but facets are still there on slopes that are holding snow. Biggest facets I've ever seen in the Sierra, upto 4 mm! Also got the "recent" storm slab ( the 20/1 our 'snow scientist' mentioned) to propagate at ect 15.on due north sun protected slopes around 8 k. Obviously not much of an issue now with the dismal snow pack but if it ever snows again it will be an issue.

sure, there's still some danger out there, but anybody who heads out to the slopes using a single, out of context line from a forum as their avalanche report deserves what's coming to them.

We had a really light snowfall on top of the dec 7th patches of ice, creating all sorts of awful landmines you could trigger on on the NW, N, NE slopes above and below treeline should you cross one of those buried patches. If that 20:1 snow over ice had gotten buried and insulated under heavier snow not only would we have the instabilities, but a lot to slide with it.

as it is we've got at least another 10+ days of warm weather for the entire snowpack to become isothermic , and hopefully we get some wet stuff first to resume building the snowpack correctly.

sorry your panties get twisted so easily.

[powfiend]

Have you dug a pit at all this season? The storm slab is siting on a 4 inch layer of rotten snow, huge loose facets not ice as you mention. The issue is that on n facing slopes which do not see sun at this point in the year the snow won't go isothermal without precipitation or high temps ( think 60s). If this layer does not get crushed either by means of rain, high temps or a huge load of snow to compress it over time it will be a persistent weak layer for the majority of the season especially during a low snowfall season. I understand that you probably aren't familiar with continental snowpack issues but again please refrain on spewing bullshit based on what you read and didn't comprehend from the Sierra avalanche centers advisory without actually making any first hand observations. Happy holidays!

[SchralphMacchio]

entire snowpack to become isothermic

No need to dig a pit to find out whether, in general, snow is rounding or faceting on northerly aspects. Andy, Brandon and Travis do that for you. Just follow the line and look at the temps.

fist hard squares (facets) under a chainlink (crust) ... Not going away soon. Let's pray we get a 3" SWE event.




Merry Christmas and Pray for Snow!

[BGnight]

I sort of feel stupid that I've been doing backcountry for 15+ years and I have no idea how to read that picture. We just need some rain and it'll all be moot anyway.

[SchralphMacchio]

If the snow was isothermal then the line would be vertical.

You don't need to know much about that picture to make safe decisions, because SAC identifies the type of threat (avalanche problem, i.e., persistent slab), depth, distribution, and probability of triggering it. Just know that sudden horizontal changes in the line or bar graph can be bad because you might have continued faceting of the snow or potential for failures on weaker layers.

But like I said, SAC writes that all up for us, and updates everyone on a regular basis. The site updates to commonize, across other forecast centers and along with the updated AIARE1 instruction format, how SAC talks about the primary problem of concern was a big deal, and much kudos to Andy Anderson for making that happen.

... So if you haven't been to a SAC fundraiser or donated money yet this year, it IS Christmas ...

[Dhelihiker]

Exactly, let sac talk about facets
Post stoke and be merry

[skier666]

My kids are waking up at 5am here in Oahu...so I might as well post some skiing pics.

Last Friday my son and I headed over to Heavenly to get some pre-Xmas turns. We parked over at Stagecoach and headed up to see what that last little storm delivered to the area. All the runs were in top shape but laps on Olympic chair definitely skied the best with the new snow. Its also nice to take laps from the top of Olympic all the way down to Stagecoach for bigger vertical.

Saturday we headed to Kirkwood before 9am and had a blast railing the groomers off 5, 11, and over to 7.

Sunrise on Lake Tahoe...



Mt. Tallac after last week's snow...



Sticks....



Skiing in Nevada...



Skiing the natural snow under Chair 10 with my kid...



Santa made a visit!



Now bored doing this...Merry Xmas!

[MrSmith]

Looks like Sierra Nordic is gone. What's the best place to buy decent XC gear on the north side of the lake (or bay area)? Would help if salesperson were more knowledgeable then me (not a high bar in this case).

[The Dad]

Looking to get a pair of beat xxls in 187 for destructive sorta tests...

Anyone have anything like this for cheap?

Tanks

okbye

I have 194s that might be sacrificable, but not 187s....

[powfiend]

Go to the backcountry in Truckee, as much as I don't really like them I'm pretty sure they have plenty of overpriced xcode gear. They might not actually know more than you do but they sure will come off like they do. I think being the raddest ( insert sport here) on the ( insert geographical feature where sport occurs here) is part of their job qualification.

Also raccoon, how much are you trying to spend? My roommate has a pair of surface 179s that are 140.112.132 she's selling for pretty cheep I think

[El Chupacabra]

Looking to get a pair of beat xxls in 187 for destructive sorta tests...

Anyone have anything like this for cheap?

Tanks

okbye

You looking to ski these, or some other project?

If you're just looking for some similar-ish ski, I have some 190 Explosives I could part with.

[teledad]

Looks like Sierra Nordic is gone. What's the best place to buy decent XC gear on the north side of the lake (or bay area)? Would help if salesperson were more knowledgeable then me (not a high bar in this case).

For groomed tracks - Paco's in Truckee. More BC oriented - Backcountry or Alpenglow.