Well, we got through Easter Weekend and the weather was beautiful with Spring Conditions returning to Slopes after an early – mid week bout with the return of Winter. I was able to get out and ski Heavenly on Wednesday when they reported, “Dust on Crust”… about 1-2” of fresh snow and I was surprised that the conditions were really good. Mostly Cloudy skies with light snow and gusty winds continued that morning but the light layer of fresh snow and cold temperatures provided great carving conditions on the Machine Groomed runs. I tested the conditions Off Piste and they were still Hard Firm packed snow, so I continued to ski on the Machine Groomed runs and had a great day of cruising.
Kirkwood reported up to a foot of new snow on that day and I decided to head out there on Thursday. I took a warm up run on Chair 5 and the Machine Groomed runs were in great shape. Moved over to Chair 11 and continued to warm up on Buckboard and then Conestoga which were groomed with great corduroy and great carving surfaces. After a few warm up runs I headed up Chair 6 to sample Sentinel Bowl. The wind was blowing pretty good at the top of the lift and helped push me across the traverse to the entrance to Sentinel Bowl. This run is a great run and one of my favorites – wide open and usually one of the higher angle runs that are groomed nightly. It was in great shape and the cut powder in Jim’s Run was also very skiable. I tried to make it to Chair 4 after that on the backside and by the time I rode up Chair 2 to get there, the wind increased and it was closed. Darn! Instead I rode up the Vista T-Bar, which was still running, and there were a number of skiers & riders also lining up to ride the T-Bar. I skied off the top of Boogie Slide down the Thunder Saddle and found my powder turns - 8-12” of powder and was well worth the journey. I took a few more cruisers and called it a day.
Easter Sunday was yet another day to hit the slopes at Heavenly, the beautiful Spring weather returned and the Stagecoach Gang had their traditional Biscuits & Gravy breakfast ready and waiting at 8:30am. Steve Peache, local photographer and videographer, met me there and I was really surprised that the parking lot was not full at 8:30am that morning. Steve assisted me in shooting video for a new opening for my Après Ski Show, which airs on KMTN TV. I helped orchestrate the shots and solicited my Stagecoach friends to be involved as well. After that we headed up the mountain and shot some great carving footage off the Olympic Lift and did several runs and a couple of Stand Up promos. Bob Hasset, operator of Camp Richardson Resort, joined me to ski down a run for the camera.
We moved over to the Dipper Express and decided to ski over to the California side. Ellie’s was groomed top to bottom that day and lots of folks were enjoying the vertical drop and steeper angle pitch off this run that morning. Steve and I decided to shoot in the “Pinnacles” which was formerly call Ski Ways by local Heavenly skiers / riders and was a great place to duck into to on stormy days as the tree skiing in there is one of the best. Heavenly created a wide access and widen out this area and a real run is now established down through this area to which they occasionally groom. Steve invited, Anne, a long time local and Heavenly skier to join in the video shoot. The surface was still a little firm packed when we skied and video’d it but I was surprised on how many trees were in fact removed to create this run. On my way back to the Nevada side, I joined Anne and skied the main throat of Milky Way Bowl and it was good. On my way back on the road, I was doing Mach 10 in a tuck to gain enough speed to get over the hump under the Mott Lift and hit a patch of soft snow and caught an edge and went down. It all happened in an instant. I picked myself up and told myself… “That was Stupid!” Nobody saw me fall so it doesn’t count in my book, except the pain from the fall…
My son met me on the slopes by noon. My daughter was to join us as well, but didn’t make it this Easter. I skied a few more runs with my son as well as with some of the Stagecoach gang, Chris & Meliss Larson, Dennis McMasters and others in the bumps of Little Dipper. I took a few more cruisers with my son and decided to call it a day as the snow was really softening by this time and the skis were grabbing, as I had no fresh wax to apply. We stopped at the World Famous Fox & Hound for an Easter Lunch, which consisted of an order of Teriyaki Wings and a Spinach & Garlic Pizza. Mmmm Good!
Many resorts have called it Quits after Easter Sunday and here’s the line up of those remaining open this week:
Heavenly has closed Boulder Lodge & lift access to the mountain. Stagecoach, the Gondola and Cal Base remains open through Sunday April 19.
Sierra at Tahoe has their backside closed but the Front Side and West bowl is still open. Their last day will be Monday, April 20 with Customer Appreciation Day offering a $20 lift ticket from 9am till 2pm.
Kirkwood has their Back-Side closed this week, could be opened on weekends they have reduced Lift Ticket rates to $47 through their closing date of April 26.
Hope Valley Outdoor Center will be closed Tues-Wed and reopening on Thursday through the April 19, as conditions permit.
Mt. Rose is open daily through April 19 and then weekends after that, conditions permitting.
Northstar at Tahoe, Alpine Meadows and Diamond Peak are scheduled to remain open through April 19.
Donner Ski Ranch open through at least April 19, and possibly longer, conditions permitting.
Sugarbowl is staying open through April 26.
Squaw remains open daily and will usually try to go into May. For the latest, please check the website for updates at BikeandSkiTahoe.com.
For Bicycling Enthusiasts, on April 20th I will be re-opening online registration for America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, coming up on June 7, with some limited spaces available on a first come – First serve basis on Monday, April 20 at 9am until sold out. If you want to ride this will be the only opportunity to register.
Have a Great Week and Be Safe!
Curtis Fong
“The Guy From Tahoe”
tgft@bikethewest.com
Posts
