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Tahoe 16/17

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Yes, one lap through the gate at the top of Olympic and two laps through the Stateline gate (kind behind Tamarak Lodge). Was so aweome--did not know that all of that terrain goes.

After our first lap through Stateline we actually got back to the Gondola at 4:01 and the guy wasn't going to let us on. But then my SO made some comment about the gate, and the lift operator was like, "Just you two? Go ahead." We were planning on taking Cal Trail to Roundabout to Gunbarrel to get back to our car but I guess Cal Trail from the top of the Gondola closes at 4:00 sharp! So we did another lap down the front side and caught the bus back to Cal lodge. Got back to our car ~ 6:00 p.m., the latest ever. It was dark!

I don't know if they are relaxing on closing times or what, but Saturday we skied late too. They were still letting people load Tamarack to get back to Cal at like 4:15...
Oh interesting... Think I know where stateline gate is... Take rope tow? How would you rate the terrain under gondola.. It definitely looks challenging now that conditions have changed.. BF has done Olympic gate.. Thinks I would like it.. Try east bowl trees.. Hang a right as you approach Gunbarrel .. Was awesome..
 

DeweySki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh interesting... Think I know where stateline gate is... Take rope tow? How would you rate the terrain under gondola.. It definitely looks challenging now that conditions have changed.. BF has done Olympic gate.. Thinks I would like it.. Try east bowl trees.. Hang a right as you approach Gunbarrel .. Was awesome..
Oh you will love it! The trees are surprisingly well-spaced. Much more gladed than it looks from the Gondola. Steeper than Powder Bowl woods but not at steep as Mott/Killebrew. It's just exhausting because it's so long!

Hoping to get to East Bowl and West Bowl soon since I'm now good enough to ski them and there is enough snow for good coverage. Are you going to be around this weekend?
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Oh you will love it! The trees are surprisingly well-spaced. Much more gladed than it looks from the Gondola. Steeper than Powder Bowl woods but not at steep as Mott/Killebrew. It's just exhausting because it's so long!

Hoping to get to East Bowl and West Bowl soon since I'm now good enough to ski them and there is enough snow for good coverage. Are you going to be around this weekend?
West bowl is fun but looked chunked up .. east bowl is good but if you keep going right , it's all glades and fun. Gunbarrel is good when soft and not VW sized. Haven't been to Mott in 3 years or so.. today was hard packed and pinnacles was icy .. I wasn't skiing well today . Had tube and edges not de tuned so skied one run and went down to get edges de tuned. I'm here until Sunday.. we are lazy and have been going out at noon..... also want to hear about JH camp...
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Past couple days have been great.. Fresh snow now with wind holds... Sore knees from skiing bumps and powder yesterday .. Icing knee and will go out soon.. Day 8 in a row! Will ski heavenly again tomorrow and then go to Northstar for a couple of days. No crowds as have been skiing 11 ish until closing... Everyone seems to eat lunch 11:30 - 1:30 and then leave by 3. We're getting on the slops which no crowds and no lift lines.. Laps on hogsback and drop in to west bowl..
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Standing in lift line at Heavenly Sky chair admiring and chatting with someone in line with the coolest Moment Skis.. Lo and behold it was our very own @ski_hat ... Wish we had time to ski together!!!
 

ski_hat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
No joke, DH and I decided to do a"cheeky ski weekend" (drive up Friday night, ski Saturday, drive back Sunday) and, figuring there was NO WAY I would bump into @santacruz skier, I didn't even bother to mention it.

Then we're wrapping up for the day, decide to get in the singles lines (WOW it was crowded at Heavenly this weekend!!), And this lovely person next to me starts talking to me about my skis.

We get to chatting quite a bit, and I'm thinking "wow, here's someone who really knows the gear lingo!" A few other clues come together, and I straight up said, "I'm going to ask you an awkward question... Have you ever heard of the Ski Diva?"

It was like lightning struck. "OMG!" "OMG!"

And that's when we realized she was @santacruz skier and I was @ski_hat and our poor partners had to deal with a solid five minutes of both of us going "OMG I KNOW HER!!!"

Really though, what are the odds?! We'll definitely need to take a few turns together next time :-D
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
No joke, DH and I decided to do a"cheeky ski weekend" (drive up Friday night, ski Saturday, drive back Sunday) and, figuring there was NO WAY I would bump into @santacruz skier, I didn't even bother to mention it.

Then we're wrapping up for the day, decide to get in the singles lines (WOW it was crowded at Heavenly this weekend!!), And this lovely person next to me starts talking to me about my skis.

We get to chatting quite a bit, and I'm thinking "wow, here's someone who really knows the gear lingo!" A few other clues come together, and I straight up said, "I'm going to ask you an awkward question... Have you ever heard of the Ski Diva?"

It was like lightning struck. "OMG!" "OMG!"

And that's when we realized she was @santacruz skier and I was @ski_hat and our poor partners had to deal with a solid five minutes of both of us going "OMG I KNOW HER!!!"

Really though, what are the odds?! We'll definitely need to take a few turns together next time :-D
What a zoo getting back to Nevada...we raced to comet chair and then did Aries trees. One more comet chair and omg what a mistake to ski to gondola.. Next time we will try to ski together ..
 

snow cat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I just decided to come and check out Tahoe sort of last minutes last two days. I'll be in the area 3/1-3/5 skiing Squaw and Alpine meadows, maybe too much of a stretch to make it to Mammoth during this trip. Anybody around that time frame?

Any tips and advice on places to check out (ski trails, places to eat, notable sites) around Tahoe and Tahoe City would be great. My sister likes blue trails but can ski black. I ski both blue and black trails, and I like to ski trees.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Anyone going to the ladies GS and S races at Squaw next month? Tahoe seems like an awfully snowy place to have a ski race, especially this year. Hopefully they can pull it off. I notice that like Killington they are charging too, and grandstand tickets are gone, leaving the $450 VIP tickets. Makes me really appreciate that Beaver Creek is still free.

https://squawalpine.com/worldcup
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
I just decided to come and check out Tahoe sort of last minutes last two days. I'll be in the area 3/1-3/5 skiing Squaw and Alpine meadows, maybe too much of a stretch to make it to Mammoth during this trip. Anybody around that time frame?

Any tips and advice on places to check out (ski trails, places to eat, notable sites) around Tahoe and Tahoe City would be great. My sister likes blue trails but can ski black. I ski both blue and black trails, and I like to ski trees.
Paging @Pequenita .. she skis Squaw a lot...
 

Pequenita

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I just decided to come and check out Tahoe sort of last minutes last two days. I'll be in the area 3/1-3/5 skiing Squaw and Alpine meadows, maybe too much of a stretch to make it to Mammoth during this trip. Anybody around that time frame?

Any tips and advice on places to check out (ski trails, places to eat, notable sites) around Tahoe and Tahoe City would be great. My sister likes blue trails but can ski black. I ski both blue and black trails, and I like to ski trees.

Frankly, both resorts have had operational challenges this season, between very unstable snowpack, high winds, and area-wide power outages. The weekend crowds have also been substantial, with the parking lots filling by 10:30am. That being said, it's tough to say what will be happening in early March. Are you coming with Mountain Collective passes or other discount tickets? There have some days recently where only 1 or 2 lifts have been open, so it's not really worth paying the window price, imho.

You should have plenty of time to explore both mountains, though (and Northstar and Sugarbowl if you wanted to), and if you can swing it, I highly recommend that you both try a Women of Winter Clinic. They are at Squaw on Wednesdays and at Alpine on Sundays (not sure when you get in or leave!) and the best lesson deal on the mountain: https://squawalpine.com/skiing-riding/women-winter-clinic. I'd like to be at the March 5 on at Alpine, but I have to be in the southern part of the state on Friday, so I'm not yet committed to being in Tahoe for the weekend. I think Alpine has better intermediate trails than Squaw; it's a little more difficult to accommodate both intermediate and advanced terrain with a single lift at Squaw.

I also think that Truckee has better food options than Tahoe City. I do like Mo's BBQ in Tahoe City

Anyone going to the ladies GS and S races at Squaw next month?

No. I'm going to Sugarbowl and staying as far away from Squaw as I can while still being in North Lake. It is going to be a zoo!
 

snow cat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thanks @Pequenita for all the info. I didn't realize they were having problems. I do have Mountain Collective pass so I get 2 days free at Squaw/Alpine and the rest at 50% off. Do you think Mammoth will be a better bet in terms of skiing considering all the challenges you mentioned? I can cancel my hotel reservation til end of the month for free so I can always go to Mammoth instead. However, I'm sure Squaw/Alpine will be fine since we will ski starting on Thursday, and if the long range forecast is right and there isn't much new snow that week maybe the crowd won't be too bad. Plus, if Saturday turns into zoo at both of the resorts, we can always go elsewhere or take the day off to explore the area. I'm looking forward to the beautiful scenery of Tahoe and being close to the lake!

I hope to see you perhaps March 5th. I was looking at that Women of Winter clinic and am thinking about taking it on Sunday at Alpine since we have a late afternoon flight out on Sunday.
 

Pequenita

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@snow cat Let's connect via PM. My March 3rd trip south got changed today to a March 10 trip, so I should be up the earlier weekend. I don't know the specific issues that Mammoth has been dealing with, so my intention with sharing the Alpine/Squaw issues was to manage expectations -- the lasting impact of some of these storms can be surprising.

Weather-wise, there are a couple of systems coming in this weekend, the bigger one on Monday. Per OpenSnow, something could be setting up on 2/27, but that's still too far out for them to make any predictions.
 

luliski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Skied Alpine Meadows today. There were snow flurries most of the day, and visiblity became worse and worse with fog at the tops of peaks. Summit Chair and Scott Chair were closed when I got there, and Roundhouse had a long line. I headed up Hotwheels and made the traverse to Lakeview. The snow was variable off Lakeview chair. Mountain View had some nice chalky spots and also wind scrubbed areas. Outer Limits was softer. In the afternoon, of course everything softened up and Summit Chair opened. I didn't go up as there were so many people on that side of the mountain, but someone told me that the snow at the top was amazing but the wind and visiblity were very bad. I'm here for one more night, and it's supposed to snow overnight! Now I just need to decide between Squaw or Alpine for tomorrow.
 

luliski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Skied Squaw today, and it was beautiful! Even though they only got about 7" of fresh, you could not feel the crust that people who skied there yesterday complained about. I don't think anything but maybe some easy blues and the beginner runs were groomed. Lots of soft bumps, since I didn't get there until 10:30. Mostly did laps on Shirley Lakes, which was bumpy fun. I have some back problems I'm trying to take care of, so nothing too steep for me today. Headwall did look really good from the Gold Coast terrace!
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Skied Squaw today, and it was beautiful! Even though they only got about 7" of fresh, you could not feel the crust that people who skied there yesterday complained about. I don't think anything but maybe some easy blues and the beginner runs were groomed. Lots of soft bumps, since I didn't get there until 10:30. Mostly did laps on Shirley Lakes, which was bumpy fun. I have some back problems I'm trying to take care of, so nothing too steep for me today. Headwall did look really good from the Gold Coast terrace!
Hmm in addition to new knee issues I also have lower back issues that are FINALLY getting better. Sounds like a fun day.
 

luliski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It was fun, but bumps don't help the back. Not sure what I did to my back but problems started after a trip to Europe (too much schlepping of luggage on and off trains) combined with lots of trail running. I'm also a swimmer, and always breathe to the same side, and that seems to have contributed. Just focusing on a strong core in everything I do, and hoping it gets better. It's a little worse since ski season started :(
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
It was fun, but bumps don't help the back. Not sure what I did to my back but problems started after a trip to Europe (too much schlepping of luggage on and off trains) combined with lots of trail running. I'm also a swimmer, and always breathe to the same side, and that seems to have contributed. Just focusing on a strong core in everything I do, and hoping it gets better. It's a little worse since ski season started :(
I have 2 bulging discs and annular tear. Yes bumps are not good for back and just got done schlepping luggage on trains in Europe.. As you probably saw in my posts, just got back from skiing in Europe and took trains from Vienna to kitzbuehl, kitzbuehl to Salzburg, Salzburg (4 trains) to champery Switzerland.. I get it.. Not good for back... Now knee injury to deal with.. Think we need to ski together.. Sound like we would ski the same terrain...
 

luliski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have 2 bulging discs and annular tear. Yes bumps are not good for back and just got done schlepping luggage on trains in Europe.. As you probably saw in my posts, just got back from skiing in Europe and took trains from Vienna to kitzbuehl, kitzbuehl to Salzburg, Salzburg (4 trains) to champery Switzerland.. I get it.. Not good for back... Now knee injury to deal with.. Think we need to ski together.. Sound like we would ski the same terrain...
Ouch. Yes, we should ski together. I hope your knee heals quickly. What have they told you to do for your bulging discs? I don't have diagnosis on my back. I was sent to PT, and after six visits my PT suggested I should ask for imaging so that more PT visits could be authorized. It's a long story, but I need a new doctor! But I've just been a little too busy this ski season to find a new doc and request imaging. I'm still doing the PT exercises. My PT didn't want me to ski, but I just couldn't give that up. I knew you went to Europe, but didn't know you took so many trains! We took 8, from Spain to Switzerland.
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Ouch. Yes, we should ski together. I hope your knee heals quickly. What have they told you to do for your bulging discs? I don't have diagnosis on my back. I was sent to PT, and after six visits my PT suggested I should ask for imaging so that more PT visits could be authorized. It's a long story, but I need a new doctor! But I've just been a little too busy this ski season to find a new doc and request imaging. I'm still doing the PT exercises. My PT didn't want me to ski, but I just couldn't give that up. I knew you went to Europe, but didn't know you took so many trains! We took 8, from Spain to Switzerland.
Think took 10 trains ... yikes...as flew to London, then Vienna, then trains everywhere else. So lots of PT, acupuncture chiropractor, and personal trainer for back. It seems like it took a couple years for back to be better.. hurt a little skiing but so much better than it was...
 

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