March 30, 2009
Spring has definitely arrived at Lake Tahoe. What a difference from last Sunday as I was skiing the nearly 2 feet of fresh powder to glorious sunshine and spring conditions this past weekend.
On Tuesday, I took Howie Nave, Host & Emcee of Harvey’s Improv, up on the slopes of Heavenly to get him on the mountain and give him a few pointers on making turns. It was a glorious spring day with Blue Bird Skies and temperatures in 50’s. Howie and I go back a number of years and the last time we skied together was about 8 years ago after he arrived on the South Shore and we spent an afternoon at Kirkwood. I shot video for the Après Ski Show of the experience and if you know Howie, there’s never a dull moment as his personality and comical antics continues everywhere he goes. We stopped at the Heavenly Sports Rental shop in the California Base Lodge to get him equipped for the day and they set him up with Skis, Boots & Poles although he requested Czech’s instead of Poles. The Ski tech that was setting up his binding setting asked him what type of skier he was, i.e. Type 1, 2 or 3 and his response was, “I’m kind of a Moderate Skier – I don’t fall much. So what ever”…
Riding the Gunbarrel Lift was intimidating for him as he had never skied Heavenly and was wondering if the Gunbarrel run was the only run to come down… I assured him there was more mellow terrain at the top. On his first run down Patsy’s he started turning back and forth and continued to make comments and skied into a patch of soft powder and blew a ski off and went down. After picking up the pieces it took him a few attempts to get the ski back on, but was eventually successful and he headed back up to do it again. He did much better on his second run down, so we headed up to the next level, up the Powder Bowl Lift. We then skied Maggie’s until he was comfortable and did really well. I eventually took him up the Canyon Lift to ski down Heavenly’s signature, Ridge Run. We stopped a few times for him to take photos of the beautiful view of the Lake and surrounding mountains.
We stopped at the Gunbarrel Grill for lunch and enjoyed their Wine Country Array and great lunch menu that they offer. A great Salad Bar complete with fresh fruit, Cheeses, sautéed veggies, fresh baked bread with a variety of spreads and more. You then select either Seafood Chowder or 6-bean soup and an entrée. He chose the Champagne Chicken Pasta and I had the Scallops. Other entrees were a mini filet or lamp chops… For just a couple of dollars more than you would pay for a burger meal at the barbecue, you can enjoy and extraordinary sit down lunch with a beautiful view and table side service. It was a fun day on the mountain with Howie and he enjoyed the opportunity to get out on the mountain at Heavenly. Check out Howie’s Show this week at Harvey’s Improve featuring Johnny Steele and headliner Rocky LaPorte. They’ve recently changed the schedule and perform Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday nights at 9pm, with two shows, 8pm & 10pm on Saturday nights.
On Friday evening, after hosting my Après Ski Show on KMTN TV, to where I had “Gypsy” from the Horizon’s Carnival Cabaret as a guest, I joined the crew of KTHO AM590 at the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo in the convention center of the Montbleu Casino Resort & Spa. This is “THE” Chamber function to attend. A great networking opportunity as well as a chance to catch up with many of the local businesses and sample their food and offers. It was well attended and they even hosted a Silent Auction with a variety of offers from the Businesses that were displaying. All in all it was a great event.
Saturday evening I attended the Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra’s annual Ham Bingo at the South Tahoe Recreation Center. This event was attended by up to 60 people, adults and kids, to win Easter Hams and other prizes and was a fund-raiser benefiting the South Tahoe Middle School’s Symphonic Band and String Orchestra. The event raised about $1000 for their program.
Strong winds were reported on the upper mountain, Sunday morning at Heavenly and it looked like the scheduled Lake Tahoe Pond Skimming Championships was going to be a “Blow Out”. By 10am the winds subsided and the entire mountain was opened. I hurried and got up on the mountain after hearing the news and headed to the top of the Gondola to video this fun event. Buck and the Heavenly race department crew were preparing the pond, which was reported to be 10 feet longer than previous years and they were removing ice chips from the surface and getting it ready as over 40 competitors signed up to try their Pond Skimming skills. $360 in prize money was up for grabs with various criteria, made up along the way, including best costume, tricks, creativity, etc. Aimi X from Heavenly’s PR department was also there to award the cash and pass out Springloaded 09 swag to participants and to the hundreds of spectators that lined both sides of the pond. It was a fun event as participants did their best to get across the Pond, to which many did make it. Those on Fat Skis seemed to have an advantage over most riding snowboards. All in all, a really fun event for both the participants and the spectators. Springloaded 09 continues this coming weekend with the Gunbarrel 25, hosted by Glen Plake on Saturday, April 4; followed by the Emily Cloutier Memorial Ski Race on World Cup run, Sunday, April 5 and the Heavenly Ski Patrol Annual Fundraising Party to be held on the roof (top level) of the Heavenly Village Parking Garage from 4pm-7pm. Heavenly plans to stay open through April 19.
On April 1, Sierra at Tahoe will host a Ski Green Day. A day of eco-focused activities that educate skiers and riders about simple steps they can take to make a positive impact on our local environment. With representatives from PG&E and Park 968 Hotel, Ski Green Day is an opportunity to enjoy the slopes and learn how to decrease your environmental footprint. Don't miss out on the "green" give-a-ways from Sierra Resort, SAC Tree Foundation, and PG&E. In addition, at 2pm, participate or just sit back and enjoy the laughs of the on-snow Fat Tire Frenzy bike race presented by Whatta Bike and New Belgium. Sign up in the Base Area. Over the weekend, April 4-5, Sierra will host the 6th annual Telegrass Festival with Telemark Ski Clinics, Free Demos and Bluegrass music. Sierra has not announced a closing date as of today.
Kirkwood is hosting the Marmot 6 Summit Pursuit on Saturday, April 4 and Kirkwood Jammin’ XVI on April 10 featuring Pond Skimming Contest through Easter Sunday and the Burton Banked Slalom April 10-11. They have announced their closing date of April 26.
Spooner Lake Cross Country and Camp Richardson Mountain Sports Center are closed for the season due to the lack of snow coverage, but Hope Valley XC Outdoor Center remains open with 20 miles of groomed cross country and snow shoe trails.
Most all resorts will remain open through Easter Sunday so get out and enjoy the Great Spring Conditions at Lake Tahoe.
Have a Great Week,
Curtis Fong
“The Guy From Tahoe”
tgft@bikethewest.com
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