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

[~mikey b]

Sierra Nordic is gone. I think Gary is working at Auburn Ski Club.

Paco's. Ask for Ray.

[Huck Pitueee]

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!

Fry your brain Bone fishing just past your toes there. Lots of guide services.

[TurxSki]

(I suck at computah. Wanted to attach a pic, but lost my words instead )

So Sugarbowl was empty yesterday. The hordes were elsewhere.
More of a mix than at NoStar.
Mellow groomer(s) off Jerome.
Amazingly crappy, but somehow fun "character building" groomer(s) off Xmas Tree.
Big bumps at the top of Lincoln, and rock-scattered groomer on the other side, that lead to some chalky bumps with blower, that lead to something nice

We found a small cliff-ish "spot that gets me hot", inbounds, with pretty deep snow (down to dirt though) so spent the day shredding it. I will try & get a pic or 2 posted...

[~mikey b]

here ya' go mate

[MrSmith]

Paco's looks good, thanks guys. Didn't know about that place.

[splat]

Lookin' good. Cinderz must be taking awfully good care of you, Turx.
Or maybe orange and green hair just didn't flatter you as much.

[~mikey b]

Paco's looks good, thanks guys. Didn't know about that place.

Been there longer than some of these turkeys have been alive

[TahoeJ]

So Sugarbowl was empty yesterday. The hordes were elsewhere.

Yeah, like in San Francisco. Let's cross our fingers for January 8th-ish.

[lepistoir]

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.

I would check the SPORTS EXCHANGE first. Lots of BC/XC gear in there and they actually try to move it. Also stop by Auburn ski club and check their board.

There is a pair of Dynafit F.10s with comforts, brakes, crampons and skins at the Backcountry that has been on the floor for over 4 years now and the price is exactly the same. It's decently priced for all that stuff, but if it hasn't moved at $600, you might want to try something else, like a sale on all your consignment stock once or twice a year. I like the folks well enough and they do see themselves as a BC-oriented shop, the secret is that they actually make their money catering to full-price buyers who come in because of their location (and rentals, lots of rentals). So not my first choice for deals, consignment or BC gear.

ALPENGLOW is awesome. Great service. Great selection. A few deals in back (50% off) and really friendly, helpful staff, plus all the events they run to support uphill culture like AM Demo Day and Mountain Festival and movies. Plus, according to my SO, they have the cutest collection of warm, functional clothing anywhere so if anyone wants to send a secret shopper there, she's available.

[lepistoir]

Inquiry for the croud:

Anyone know of a hut that is ski-in/-out, catered, with private rooms and in an area with snow? We were thinking St Paul Lodge in CO or Scottish Lakes in WA and Three Sisters in OR to give you an idea what we're thinking about.

[LightRanger]

Been there longer than some of these turkeys have been alive

Word. Paco's was where we got all of our race gear in high school, when they were located near Safeway. Great staff.

[powfiend]

How about any of the refuges in the southwest alps? Getting hammered right now, some areas in Italy picked up 160 cm in the last 24 hours. And they are extremely well catered unlilke most of the uncivilized shacks here in north America

[MrSmith]

I would check the SPORTS EXCHANGE first. Lots of BC/XC gear in there and they actually try to move it. Also stop by Auburn ski club and check their board.

ALPENGLOW is awesome. Great service. Great selection. A few deals in back (50% off) and really friendly, helpful staff, plus all the events they run to support uphill culture like AM Demo Day and Mountain Festival and movies. Plus, according to my SO, they have the cutest collection of warm, functional clothing anywhere so if anyone wants to send a secret shopper there, she's available.

I dig Alpenglow, but I never noticed much nordic stuff in there. Thinking about getting into skating a bit more seriously as the wife and I have been messing around with it when visiting her parents in Wisconsin. Also seems like a good way to get outside and get a quick workout on days that I'm spending hanging out with the family. So, looking for more of a selection than "this is our cheap boot and this is our $800 carbon race boot"; Paco's looks like it fits the bill.

[TurxSki]

Thanks guys.

here ya' go mate

Lookin' good. Cinderz must be taking awfully good care of you, Turx.
Or maybe orange and green hair just didn't flatter you as much.

So, please notice that is my pole stuck in the snow by the ski.
Deep!
Is this that faceted layer y'all been talkin' about?
(The 1st time in years I used "ice baskets" on my poles, and missed my 3/4 baskets).

Heading to Sierra tomorrow, and Kirkwood on Sunday.
Holla!

[~mikey b]

Cinderz at SB on Xmas



Yeah. That deep funky rotten snow on the ground? Facets. The rest is probably blown in.

[TurxSki]

Cinderz at SB on Xmas

Yeah. That deep funky rotten snow on the ground? Facets. The rest is probably blown in.

All I know is, the more we skied it, the better it got A Happy find. (See the groomer in the sunlight in background?)
A soft thin slab on top (foreground of pic) then sorta sugary (unconsolidated?) down to the ground.
Lower down the slope there was a thick slab on top. Soft, but you could not break it up by squeezing it. Had to work to make a turn.
Skiers left of us there was some soft, small debris from a slide. Didn't run that far.

[~mikey b]

See, you don't have to be educated to be aware of different layers in the snowpack. You just have to be observant. I think you guys would enjoy an Expedition Kirkwood avalanche course.

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Good timing on the XC questions, as I similarly have some questions re: NLT groomed trails. Is TahoeXC basically the sole option in North Lake, or are there others as well? How are the TahoeXC trails for skate skiing? How about classic nordic?

Thanks.

[~mikey b]

I think that's it. Spooner no longer operating as far as I know. Should be classic and skate opportunities at TahoeXC. Try your googlemachine...

TD, RG, and ASC all very good.

[Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer]

Thanks - will look into the others as well.

[barney]

The XC skiing at the Tahoe City Golf Course is short but it is on grass and not rocks and such. Same people as Tahoe Xc and they are sending folks there. I think it is only $10.

[LightRanger]

Thanks - will look into the others as well.

RG should have the best coverage, methinks. We're going sometime early next week.

And, classic sucks. Skating rules.

[powpig]

RG should have the best coverage, methinks. We're going sometime early next week.

My girl's big into skate skiing and has been a RG pass holder for longer than I've known her, 10+ years.
She went last week and said it was so bad she won't even consider going again until it snows.
Think how thin the manmade WRODs are where they've been blowing. RG has no snowmaking.
The snowpack around Serene Lakes has shrunk from almost 2 feet to barely 2 inches right now.
With highs pushing 50, it's gonna start looking awfully brown here, pretty damn quick.
I'll be heading down to Auburn with my bike next time I get a day off.

[Ottime]

At least the surf is cranking. We have plans to go visit the friends up at KW for next week. Already postponed heading up, and now I am hoping we can head home early as well. Surf is finally pumping. But I do have a question for anyone that has been to KW recently. How is the snow off of Chair 9? My two year old is pretty much the only one stoked to get on snow right now, so the trip can be well worth it if the bunny is in decent condition.

[harpo-the-skier]

How is coverage now at CP out of the snow parks? I am thinking of a little kick and glide on the fire road between the snow park and woods lake.