Blue World Blog 3.16.09

Monday March 16, 2009

Skiing and Riding conditions held up this past week with several days of glorious sunshine and light winds. I was able to get out on the mountain at Heavenly last Tuesday and it was a beautiful day and the great weather seemed to bring out all the long time locals to enjoy the slopes. I skied all over the Nevada side and everywhere I went conditions were good… Milky Way Bowl, Mott’s Canyon, Comet Trees and even down North Bowl. The snow was mid winter with chalky packed powder, especially on the north facing runs.

It turned out to be a social day recalling ski days of the past with local long-time skiers. Mitch from Mitchell’s Jewelers, Rich Botini from Pyramid Peak and Bill Killebrew, former owner of Heavenly, Mark Gant from Tahoe Sports Ltd, Jerry Raye and others were also enjoying a relaxing no pressure day on the slopes. Beth Gebhardt was in town this past week hanging out with all the old time bump skiers and Steve Peache was working his new High Def video camera and shooting video in the Comet Little Dipper bumps preparing a promotion piece to air on KMTN to promote the upcoming Glen Plake’s Gunbarrel 25 event at Heavenly scheduled for April 4.

Spring like weather continued thru out the week and Thursday, I found myself along with Michael McKinney meeting my buddy, Dan Giesin from the SF Chronicle and On the Snow, at Homewood Mountain Resort for a day of re-discovering their slopes. It has been many years since I have had a chance to ski Homewood. With Emerald Bay Road (Hwy 89) open, the journey around beautiful Emerald Bay and along the West Shore was scenic and only about 20 miles from the South Tahoe Y. McKinney brought the infamous Slope Cycle along and after a discussion with Homewood’s Ski Patrol, was allowed to take it up the Mountain. I must say that this Bike Board does draw a lot of attention with lots of folks watching in awe and many asking questions about it. Even their Ski Patrol took turns riding the Slope Cycle. The runs were surprisingly fun and scenic as well with beautiful views of the Lake, and from highway, 2/3rd of the Mountain is “Out of Sight”.

I continued to test my new VIO helmet cam and shot video of many of our runs and even mounted the cameral backwards and had Dan ski behind me so he was skiing towards the camera and not me shooting down from behind… the video came out great. Look for it soon.

Heavenly hosted it’s second in their series of Jackpot Rail Jams on Saturday evening on World Cup with another event coming up this Saturday, March 21 and the finals the following Saturday, March 28. Heavenly re-introduced their Heavenly Season Pass Sale this past weekend, rolling back pricing to the 2007/08 rates… with the offer to purchase now and ski / ride for the remainder of this season as well as all of next year. Check out the great season pass deals at SkiHeavenly.Com.

Sierra at Tahoe had several events this past weekend as well with their Highlander Event, a USASA Super Pipe competition and their “Flaunt it Like a Girl” Slopestyle and Rail Jam. They will be hosting their 3rd Annual “Buckle Up Big Air” event on Saturday, March 21, in Memory of Greg Smith and to help spread Seat Belt Safety Awareness. This also benefiting the Sierra Education Foundation. Sierra has also kicked off their 2009/10 Season Pass sale so check their website for the early-preseason prices at SierraAtTahoe.Com. It’s also College Week thru March 20 and again March 23-27 with $51 lift tickets with College I.D.

Kirkwood continues to offer “Screamin’ Deals” on their website as well and they are hosting the North American Free Skiing Champions this week with some of the best professional Free Skiers and Riders competing in the infamous “Cirque”. Competition kicks off March 19 and continues thru this weekend. They will host their “Experts Only Spring Break” College Week, March 23-27 with $35 Lift ticket with valid I.D. Check out their website at www.Kirkwood.Com.

This past Saturday evening, David Spade was performing at the MontBleu Theater and it was a great comedy show. Prior to the show, I decided to try dining at the Horizon’s Town Square Buffet, now open Saturday, Sunday & Monday. It was all good and you can’t beat the price, only $9.95 for adults and $5.95 for kids. David Spade was scheduled to be a guest on my Après Ski Show but went skiing at Heavenly all day and was too tired to join me in the Studio. His show was fun and looked to be pretty much sold out. After the show, I was fortunate to be invited to meet him back stage and I had to give him some S**@! about not making the TV show… He said he had too much fun skiing at Heavenly and needed to rest up before his performance. He was kind enough to take pictures with me and the other invited guests.

Don’t miss all the fun – Corned beef & Cabbage Feeds, Parties and Pub Crawls on St. Patrick’s Day. Tahoe Douglas Rotary Club is hosting their annual St. Pat’s Celebration at Harrah’s from 6pm-10pm; Montbleu’s Opal Ultra Lounge is hosting a party with Blue Turtle Seduction performing; Of course, Murphy’s Irish Pub is hosting a Party and helping to celebrate the 46th birthday of KTHO AM590. McP’s Irish Pub & the Tudor Pub are also hosting St. Paddy Day parties with live music as well.

Also don’t miss the Northern California Special Olympics “Polar Bear Plunge” coming up Saturday, March 21 at Zephyr Cove Marina at 10am.

Spring will officially arrive this weekend and there’s plenty of skiing & riding offered. There are no announced closing dates from any of the resorts, as of this week, and all resorts are expected to remain open through at least Easter Sunday, April 12.

Have a great week and be safe.
Curtis Fong
“The Guy From Tahoe”
tgft@bikethewest.com

Blue World Blog 3.09.09

Monday, March 9, 2009

Another Punxsutawney Phil week with anywhere from 6 to 8 feet of snow dropping on the mountaintops around Lake Tahoe since my last blog. Up to 4 feet fell Tuesday night thru Wednesday morning and powder hounds rejoiced to find the first big dump and deep powder on upper mountain runs and bowls. Many reported it was too deep and heavy and was a lot of work to ski and ride in it. But, then again, we’ve not had one of those 4-foot dumps all season and I’m sure those other muscles that haven’t been used all season, got a good work out.

On Tuesday, after Heavenly reported 30” of new snow overnight, Michael McKinney, the owner of KMTN TV decided to head up and get some freshies riding a Slope Cycle Bike Board, a new snow riding device that is like riding a bike on the slopes (www.slopecycle.com). He went up with a couple of friends to ride Heavenly’s Nevada Side and said, “I had the best day of my life on the slopes and the worst day…” About 3:00pm he found himself lost and down a canyon that was difficult to get out of. Luckily he had a cell phone and cell coverage, as he was able to communicate with his friends. He attempted to hike out, but was waist deep in snow and it made it extremely challenging to post hole out. McKinney continued to hike as the snow started to fall and darkness started to descend. Douglas County Search and Rescue teams were called out to search for him. He found refuge in a rock formation, but continued to pace a path in and out in hopes that he would be visible to searchers. He was able to communicate with the Search & Rescue team and after a series of calls and audible cues (sirens), they were able to center in on his location. He saw a light beam a couple of ridges over and was lucky to direct the rescuers to shine the beam towards his direction and for them to hike towards that area. Around 10:30pm, Ryder Evans, who was leading the team, was the first one to find him.

The next day, we dedicated a 15-minute segment on the Après Ski Show for me to interview McKinney about his experience - and what to do and what not to do… He was glad to have a cell phone and recommends always skiing and riding with a buddy and if one was to find themselves lost or in an unfamiliar terrain, not to wait, but to call for assistance immediately. Michael publicly, on the air, thanked the efforts of Douglas County Search & Rescue team and was glad they had found him and promises never to place himself or their search teams in that predicament again. Lesson learned!

Douglas County Search & Rescue is a volunteer organization and works off donations. Most use their own personal equipment for searches and put themselves in harms way every time they are called upon. For more information and to make donations please visit: www.dcsar.co.douglas.nv.us

Thursday night was the 23rd annual Kiwanis Sunrisers Mid Winter Beach Party and Crab Feed and I found myself stuffed with all the cracked crab I wanted. The event looked to be a huge success as it was well attended and their Silent Auction won me a couple items to include 20 games of bowling from Tahoe Bowl and some Oakley Goggles and a couple of Heavenly Hoodies from Sunrise Ski Shop.

Saturday morning started early, not as early as Sunday morning (daylight savings time) as I hurried to get my ski report updated, radio report and website as well as the podcast done to make it to the base of Heavenly’s World Cup Run by 9:00am. Northern California Special Olympic held their Annual Celebrity WinterFest, and I was asked to be their on-hill announcer for this great event. I donate as much time as I can to Special Olympics as it is a great cause and I enjoy working and assisting in training their athletes. It was an absolutely beautiful “Blue Bird” day as Celebrities from the big screen as well as most popular television series were on hand, along with Special Olympians and Sponsoring Corporate Teams to race head-to-head in their fund raising efforts. Buck and the Heavenly Race Department did an outstanding job to prep the racecourse and set up the finish arena. It is always a fun event as the celebrities play to the crowds and have fun competing down the racecourse.

Actor, Andy Lauer joined me during the Celebrity/Corporate Challenge race, in-between rounds, to add some color to the announcing. By the end of day I was starting to lose my voice from the non-stop play-by-play announcing, but it was rewarding for me to do my part for Special Olympics. For more information on the results and how you can help Northern California Special Olympics, please visit: www.celebritywinterfest.com

Northern California Special Olympics will also have their Fundraising Polar Bear Plunge on Saturday, March 21 at Zephyr Cove Marina starting at 10:00am. Individuals that register and participate and raise at least $100 will receive a Special Olympics Polar Plunge Sweatshirt and enjoy the after party on the M.S. Dixie II. I’ve been asked to make the plunge. Come out and Support Special Olympics. Visit: www.sonc.org/polarplunge.

This week, Sierra at Tahoe, who reported 37-64” of new snow last week, is offering a $25 Learn to Ski/Ride package thru March 13. You must reserve your beginner lesson package online at SierraatTahoe.com. The package includes 2.5-hour beginner lesson, equipment rental and beginner lift ticket – what a deal!

Kirkwood, who reported 78-92” storm total this past week, continues to offer their Mid Winter Season Pass for only $259 for adults, $199 for Juniors and $129 for kids… all unrestricted with no blackouts thru the end of the season. They also offer the Tahoe/Kirkwood Upgrade: Bring your season pass from any other Lake Tahoe Resort and purchase 3 lift tickets for $99. Tickets good only in the pass holders name and are non transferable.

Conditions are awesome at Tahoe. Come on up so you can get down on plenty of mid-winter snow!

Have a great week and we’ll see you on the slopes, on TV or on the Radio. Be safe and please stay on the opened “IN-BOUND” runs only.

Curtis Fong
“The Guy From Tahoe”
BikeandSkiTahoe.Com
tgft@bikethewest.com