Spring Break 1998: |
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Spring Break 1998: |
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Click on picture for 61K full 1280x256 image |
Introduction:
From March 14th through March 22th, 1998, I went back to South Lake Tahoe to recover from another brutal (ken, thanks for the word 'brutal') quarter at Georgia Tech. Since I missed the Winter Break ski trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to be with my family, I felt obligated to go skiing on Spring Break. Having learned to ski in California over 6 years ago, I was excited to return to California with all of the El Nino snowfalls. Now that Reno Air flys direct to Reno from Atlanta, the flight to Reno was much quicker. [Note- Reno Air has discontinued direct flights from Atlanta so I doubt I'll get as cheap a ticket from the major carriers when I want to return to Lake Tahoe]
Now let's take a look at some of the slopes that I skied while out West...
Kirkwood:
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Welcome to my mountain -
Kirkwood
is a wonderful place to ski. The slopes are never crowded on weekdays and as one of the highest resorts
on the South Shore at a base elevation of 7800 feet, Kirkwood snow stays better longer during Spring
skiing conditions. Kirkwood is currently the best value for my skiing dollar since with the discount
the full day lift ticket was $38 (regularly $43). My guess is that the reason that Kirkwood is cheaper
is that it is about 40 minutes by car south of the casinos on the South Shore. Like most ski resorts,
there are buses, but sometimes one just can't get up early enough in the morning.
The picture to the left shows Thimble Peak (elevation 9876 feet) and that wonderful double black diamond called 'The Wall' that I didn't go down but several of my friends have done. I'm not a double black skier yet. It will take several more years. |
Squaw Valley:
Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics is a long ride to get to from the South Lake Tahoe resorts. It takes about an hour to get there. With the size of Lake Tahoe and the number of ski resorts, it might be worthwhile to ski the north side resorts one year and the south side resorts the next year. Driving or taking the bus can be a chore. However, the view and skiing from the 8200ft resort was well worth it. Although the snow softened in the late afternoon, all one had to do was keep going up to higher and higher slopes on the bowl. For more experienced skiers, like a couple of my friends, the Siberian Express was the only way to go. Maybe I'll ski that well eventually. The three photos on the left are from Squaw Valley.
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This first photo was taken on the Super Gondola lift looking back toward the 6200ft base resort. This lift takes you up to the 8200ft resort where one can get on several other lifts to higher points on the mountain, or if your endurance is good, one can ski all the way back down the mountain to the 6200ft base. That would be quite a haul without stopping. Unfortunately, waiting for the gondola again would not be worth it. |
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This second photo is looking east from the top of the Gold Coast lift. This is the lift I used for most of the morning because from this lift, one could ski back down to the 8200ft resort many different ways without getting bored. It was a fast lift without a long line. |
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Finally, the third photo is a view of Squaw Peak (8900ft) and the off loading point of the Siberian Express on the far right. Having been to the top of ridges in Utah at Brighton and Alta, I'm sure the view from the top of the Siberian Express was awesome but I wasn't sure enough of my skiing to be up there. Maybe another time. |
Heavenly:
Heavenly was another resort visited on this trip. If there isn't any good skiing at Heavenly, then a skier just wasn't trying hard enough to find any. Unlike the first time I went to Lake Tahoe to ski several years ago, all of the slopes at Heavenly were covered in snow. But the best skiing was up past the tram up on the highest parts of the mountain. As the day wore on, the lower slopes started getting very crowded and the snow started getting heavy.
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This first photo was taken at Mombo Meadows which is an easy green off the Powderbowl lift. Unfortunately, this area got crowded quickly and the only routes down were some narrow cat tracks which could be disconcerting to beginners. Shake off the rust quickly and move on to other lifts. |
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This second photo is a rare picture of me skiing down the Ridge Run. The new small reusable cameras have made picture-taking on the slopes a much easier task with their small size. If you fall and smash the camera, it's not too expensive a loss either. |
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The third photo is a wonderful view of Lake Tahoe from the Ridge Run which can be reached by using the Ridge, Canyon, or Sky Express lifts. The Ridge Run is a nice long run with many different trails back down to the lifts. |
Kirkwood II:
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The final day of skiing was a return trip to Kirkwood Ski Resort. The slopes had held up well during the
warm weather. When I had arrived at Lake Tahoe there was snow all over the valley, but by Friday all of
the snow in the valley had melted but the slopes were still fine until mid afternoon. The three photos on
the left are from Kirkwood.
This first photo was taken on the Snowkirk lift. This is a long slow lift but takes you to two easy greens to shake off the rust. This lift also gets you to the Cables Crest lift which will take one to several tight blues and the backside of Thimble Peak. Having remembered how to ski this late in the week, I started on this side with my friends and we scattered to our differing skill levels until lunch. |
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This second photo is from going down Whiskey Slide just prior to clearing the ridge to go down either Low (Blue) or High (Black) Whiskey down to the Red Cliffs Lodge. High Whiskey is probably one of the easiest black diamonds for an intermediate skier like myself. |
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The third photo is from the outside patio near the Red Cliffs Lodge facing toward the end of the run from from going down either Whiskey Slide. |
Final Thoughts:
This concludes a review of my visit to South Lake Tahoe. It's always difficult to end a vacation, and leaving such a beautiful area like Lake Tahoe is never easy. Although the residents of California will be glad to see El Nino leave, the snow was incredibly good this year and the resorts were a pleasure to ski.
The pictures below are a view of the lake as you approach from the east (left) and a view to the west on the road from Reno to Lake Tahoe (right).
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Last Updated October 26, 1998