vanhoskier
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
While in Vegas for a geology conference, I had the chance to sneak up to Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort for 2 days of skiing March 20 and 21.
While it may seem odd to have a ski area near Vegas, it's not so weird when you consider that the base area sits above 9000', nestled between 11,918' Mt. Charleston and 11,308' Lee Peak. So, even at the relatively low latitude of Vegas, at this altitude there is snow in the winter.
I drove the 45-minute drive north of Vegas in 65-degree weather, and by the time I reached the base area it was down to 35 degrees. The drive up is interesting from an ecological standpoint....you start in the Mojave Desert, with its abundance of Joshua trees and yucca, and climb up through juniper and pinyon pine up to Ponderosa pine and spruce forest. This is the Toiyabe National Forest, and there are many hiking areas and campsites.
The ski area is known to locals as Lee Canyon, and is small, consisting only of 2 chairs (one quad and one double) and a bunny chair. True to the Vegas theme, the slopes have gambling-inspired names: Blackjack, High Roller, Keno, Slot Alley, The Strip, and Bimbo (hey, it's Vegas!) The only difference between blues and blacks is the lack of grooming. Pitches are not that steep. Runs are wide and well-maintained. Skiers who want more of a challenge are welcome to hike up to the top ridge and ski down from there through the trees. When I was there, backcountry skiing was banned due to avalanche danger.....the avalanche scars on the ridge serve as testimony to the risk.
When I examined the trail map, it looked like at least 1 run extended up almost twice as far as the top of the chairlift. I couldn't understand why the lift didn't go up farther than it did. A local informed me that Chair 1 ONCE went up to the top of the Blackjack run, but an avalanche took it out a few years ago, killing a 17-year-old skier who was riding the lift at the time. Geez.
A day lift ticket was $50, not bad. I brought my boots and skis, because the rental pickings were slim - only one kind of entry-level Volkl ski. Hey, this is a small ski area. The lodge is small but well-maintained and has everything else you need, including good food, a fireplace, great views out big windows, and a nice sunny deck.
On the mountain, there were a lot of instructors giving lessons, and ski patrol was very visible. All carried avalanche shovels, and there were 2 avalanche dogs on the runs. The previous Sunday, 2 feet of snow fell, but warmer temperatures brought out soft conditions after a short period of crusty snow in the morning. Temperatures were near 50 degrees, and I found myself in a t-shirt and light ski pants by the end of the day. Awesome! It didn't take long to exhaust the runs, but with the sunny warm weather and great snow it didn't matter. I spent a lot of time playing in the jumps at the terrain park and working on my skills. One snowboarder had her dog with her and I spent a few runs skiing alongside the dog for grins. There are lots of areas for tree skiiing, but I didn't venture there since I was skiing alone. I did hear people hooting and hollering through the trees, skiing and boarding in the softening snow.
Since this is Vegas, and I was skiing alone, I met a lot of interesting (read: weird) people. There were no lift lines to speak of but people were friendly and wanted to share lift rides. Not a problem for me, but I did get a little eebed out at some of the strange conversations folks offered (seances with Native Americans and quaaludes come to mind)!
The view from the top of the lifts was neat - a big contrast between the snowy mountain and the dry desert below.
The sun deck was a party scene with lots of people and their dogs hanging out, enjoying the warm weather.
For a short trip from Vegas, it was well worth it. A few friends of mine who live in Vegas reported that many winters the snow can be thin in Lee Canyon and the runs can be rocky. Skiers often will make the 3-hour drive to Brian Head in southern Utah for better snow, or venture to Mammoth (5 hours) for longer trips. I was lucky to have great conditions and a fairly good base (6 feet) due to the snowy winter.
The road up Lee Canyon: Joshua trees in the Mojave desert contrast with a peek of the snow up on Mt. Charleston in the distance.
Chair 2 is a double lift. Runs are nice and wide.
The view from the top offers a glimpse of the Mojave Desert below.
Lee Canyon after the powder dump on Sunday:
I'm waiting on a few more pictures from a student of mine who was with me (my camera battery died). I will post those when I get them.
While it may seem odd to have a ski area near Vegas, it's not so weird when you consider that the base area sits above 9000', nestled between 11,918' Mt. Charleston and 11,308' Lee Peak. So, even at the relatively low latitude of Vegas, at this altitude there is snow in the winter.
I drove the 45-minute drive north of Vegas in 65-degree weather, and by the time I reached the base area it was down to 35 degrees. The drive up is interesting from an ecological standpoint....you start in the Mojave Desert, with its abundance of Joshua trees and yucca, and climb up through juniper and pinyon pine up to Ponderosa pine and spruce forest. This is the Toiyabe National Forest, and there are many hiking areas and campsites.
The ski area is known to locals as Lee Canyon, and is small, consisting only of 2 chairs (one quad and one double) and a bunny chair. True to the Vegas theme, the slopes have gambling-inspired names: Blackjack, High Roller, Keno, Slot Alley, The Strip, and Bimbo (hey, it's Vegas!) The only difference between blues and blacks is the lack of grooming. Pitches are not that steep. Runs are wide and well-maintained. Skiers who want more of a challenge are welcome to hike up to the top ridge and ski down from there through the trees. When I was there, backcountry skiing was banned due to avalanche danger.....the avalanche scars on the ridge serve as testimony to the risk.
When I examined the trail map, it looked like at least 1 run extended up almost twice as far as the top of the chairlift. I couldn't understand why the lift didn't go up farther than it did. A local informed me that Chair 1 ONCE went up to the top of the Blackjack run, but an avalanche took it out a few years ago, killing a 17-year-old skier who was riding the lift at the time. Geez.
A day lift ticket was $50, not bad. I brought my boots and skis, because the rental pickings were slim - only one kind of entry-level Volkl ski. Hey, this is a small ski area. The lodge is small but well-maintained and has everything else you need, including good food, a fireplace, great views out big windows, and a nice sunny deck.
On the mountain, there were a lot of instructors giving lessons, and ski patrol was very visible. All carried avalanche shovels, and there were 2 avalanche dogs on the runs. The previous Sunday, 2 feet of snow fell, but warmer temperatures brought out soft conditions after a short period of crusty snow in the morning. Temperatures were near 50 degrees, and I found myself in a t-shirt and light ski pants by the end of the day. Awesome! It didn't take long to exhaust the runs, but with the sunny warm weather and great snow it didn't matter. I spent a lot of time playing in the jumps at the terrain park and working on my skills. One snowboarder had her dog with her and I spent a few runs skiing alongside the dog for grins. There are lots of areas for tree skiiing, but I didn't venture there since I was skiing alone. I did hear people hooting and hollering through the trees, skiing and boarding in the softening snow.
Since this is Vegas, and I was skiing alone, I met a lot of interesting (read: weird) people. There were no lift lines to speak of but people were friendly and wanted to share lift rides. Not a problem for me, but I did get a little eebed out at some of the strange conversations folks offered (seances with Native Americans and quaaludes come to mind)!
The view from the top of the lifts was neat - a big contrast between the snowy mountain and the dry desert below.
The sun deck was a party scene with lots of people and their dogs hanging out, enjoying the warm weather.
For a short trip from Vegas, it was well worth it. A few friends of mine who live in Vegas reported that many winters the snow can be thin in Lee Canyon and the runs can be rocky. Skiers often will make the 3-hour drive to Brian Head in southern Utah for better snow, or venture to Mammoth (5 hours) for longer trips. I was lucky to have great conditions and a fairly good base (6 feet) due to the snowy winter.
The road up Lee Canyon: Joshua trees in the Mojave desert contrast with a peek of the snow up on Mt. Charleston in the distance.
Chair 2 is a double lift. Runs are nice and wide.
The view from the top offers a glimpse of the Mojave Desert below.
Lee Canyon after the powder dump on Sunday:
I'm waiting on a few more pictures from a student of mine who was with me (my camera battery died). I will post those when I get them.
Love that you were just wearing a t-shirt. WOW! I've only pulled that off a few times in all these years (in Utah, of course). Thanks for sharing these! (the coffee stand is also a hoot but I'll give it thumbs-down for taste)
