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Tahoe: Too Much Snow!

post #1 of 18
1/8/05 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, I know its wrong, but with both Interstate 80 closed at Applegate to the Nevada line, and Hwy 50 closed from Pollock Pines to Meyers, there is NOTHING available to ski for those of us West of Tahoe. Very frustrating. I got up early to make first lines at Sierra this morning, and US 50 was closed, and stayed closed all day. Even if I got to the ski area, there was no lift access to the top, but I would have settled for the Nob lift and some runs in Avalanche bowl today.

Did anyone make it up to the slopes today?
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post #2 of 18
1/8/05 at 5:59pm
Yeah...made it to Alpine. Top was closed but did laps on Round House. Wind got bad and about 2 they shut down.

Snow was great...few people, lots of untracked
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post #3 of 18
1/8/05 at 6:48pm
Some storms ski better than others. The wind factor is always the antagonist. Timing for the back end of the storm, when the wind drops and so does the light snow, is when the ultimate bounty is had, magnified a thousand times if the sun comes out and it stays cold.

Idiots at Alpine is waiting for you to take the plunge, irul.
But you can get a kitchen pass if you do NC.
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post #4 of 18
1/8/05 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
Cars snowbound in LA

Trains Stuck in the Sierra


Even Heavenly says "Just since January 1, we have received 112 inches of light and dry powder at the top of the mountain! Now that folks… is a record-breaker!! That puts us more than a foot ahead of our average January snowfall!"

Kirkwood reports 48 to 54 inches this storm and 300-366 season total. BUT Hwy 50, I-80 and CA 88 are CLOSED!

Now, how to harvest the goods. I gotta get over the damn pass! No Hummer, just a Legacy GT with chains
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post #5 of 18
1/8/05 at 7:56pm
I was at Mt. Rose again today, but only lasted about 2.5 hours. Visibility went from poor to whiteout; winds picked up to (easily) 50 mph, snowing hard all the time -- goggles were so encrusted that they began fogging, which worsened the whiteout conditions to blindness.

I'll be back tomorrow; hopefully visibility will improve. The snow conditions were excellent -- knee to thigh deep powder.
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post #6 of 18
1/8/05 at 9:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sluff Vertigo
Some storms ski better than others. The wind factor is always the antagonist. Timing for the back end of the storm, when the wind drops and so does the light snow, is when the ultimate bounty is had, magnified a thousand times if the sun comes out and it stays cold.

Idiots at Alpine is waiting for you to take the plunge, irul.
But you can get a kitchen pass if you do NC.
NC....would that be Nun's ****? Saw some guys doing it this last spring; I was crossing low to get over past the saddle...girl says "STOP", I do, and in about two seconds this guys passes me doing about 60. Pretty cool, but probably not in my quiver.
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post #7 of 18
1/8/05 at 9:56pm
Incredible!
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post #8 of 18
1/8/05 at 11:10pm
Made it over to Northstar today. The Backside was open until sometime between 1 and 2. It was a bit windy up top but not too bad until they closed it. Snow in the trees was sweet, knee to waist deep, plenty of untracked. Headed over to Lookout Mountain after they closed the Backside, a bit more tracked out but still lots of fun.

Still considering Alpine tomorrow, but might have to do Northstar again if it's still blowing.
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post #9 of 18
1/9/05 at 1:17am

For those of you in the mid- Central Valley

When the northern highways are closed, you can usually still get to Bear Valley on Hwy 4, SE of Sac, or east of Stockton. The road, though windy and mostly 2-way, rarely closes. There are no passes to clear between Angels Camp and the ski area.

Just over 2K vert, some great steeps on the lower mtn, and cruisers on the back. You can almost always find some part of the mtn protected from the wind. Prices are a bit cheaper then many of the Tahoe resorts, but mostly older double and triple lifts. (no quads)

And with the snow they have gotten this season, the mtn is in incredible condition. I may just have to go home this spring to ski with old friends!

If you have never skied Bear, try it! It ROCKS!
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post #10 of 18
1/9/05 at 8:56am
Ric,

Cars were being abandoned on 4 to bear yesterday. Track vehicles were rescuing people on the road and taking them down the mountain. Bear was not accessible either.

Some are calling this our "perfect storm" A huge arctic storm (large in of itself) joining up with a large low pressure area that didn't want to budge and add a huge tropical storm feeding moisture from the south. Here in SF was strange. You could see blue skys across the way but out my window, it was like standing behind a waterfall. then it would stop and the sun would come out for a few minutes.
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post #11 of 18
1/9/05 at 10:36am
Thread Starter 
Hwy 50 just reopened at 10:00 AM See ya.....gone skiing
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post #12 of 18
1/9/05 at 12:24pm
Post pictures!
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post #13 of 18
1/9/05 at 4:06pm
Caltrans opened up SR88 from the west side early this morning for valley folk while keeping Carson Pass closed all day. Never seen that before as avalanche prone Carson Spur has always been attacked by Caltran after dealing with Carson Pass first. A few days ago two local Tahoe bozos broke through the Caltrans road block early in the morning and were later arrested. Supposedly caused a several hour delay in opening the pass that day. Maybe they are communicating something to local Tahoe skiers haha.
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post #14 of 18
1/9/05 at 7:38pm
I skied Northstar Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There was fresh snow each day, but very different each day. Saturday had the deepest snow - at leat knee deep. It wasn't very light (like 12/30-31) but it wasn't Sierra Cement either. The snow on Sunday was mostly wind-packed but the trees on the backside and the sides of the runs on Lookout were nice. The toughest part was whiteout conditions approaching Northstar Sunday morning form Truckee across the Martis Valley as winds would blow snow, and it wasn't even snowing at the time! I also got to demo some true powder skis, K2 Apache Chief and the Pocket Rocket.n More about those later.
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post #15 of 18
1/10/05 at 7:36am
Made it over Donner Summit around 6 pm Friday, apparently not long before they closed I-80. Saturday at Northstar was sweet. Sunday at Squaw was even better. Very unpleasant on top of any mountain both days, as winds were howling. But over in the trees and little bowls near Squaw Creek, there was barely a breeze. And due to the road closures, not a lift line to be found anywhere except KT-22 (full que for that). Still snowing but a little warm when we left Sunday afternoon.
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post #16 of 18
1/10/05 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
Had an epic day on Sunday. Snow started out blower and untracked, but it started to warm into the afternoon. Even had some drizzle at 7000 feet which converted much of the deep powder to sierra cement. Steep untracked pitches and air were a blast. Had a number of good runs off the cliff band at Avalanche Bowl at Sierra, landing up to my armpits in soft snow and never felt out of control. The deep snow allow maneuvers and near vertical steepness that are not normally comfortable for me.

No camera today. I traveled light, no pack either. With all the moisture and deep snow, a camera would have fogged over quickly anyway. It was a challenge keeping the goggles clear enough to see with snow blowing over my head all day. Had 2 falls that were plenty soft and challenging to stand up from. Well, I must have been learning something!
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post #17 of 18
1/10/05 at 9:52am
Big STorm - expected tonight into tomorrow. Whats the probability of getting any fresh lines at Squaw on Wednesday morning. Tuesday is supposed to be windy - i am hoping they won't open the upper mountain lifts until wednesday morning.
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post #18 of 18
1/10/05 at 11:18am
[quote= Well, I must have been learning something![/QUOTE]
Amen brother!
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