Powder and Ice

The weather gods delivered for MLK long weekend up in Tahoe: we were greeted with ankle to boot deep powder all over the mountain on Saturday and had a blast lapping Sugar Bowl until the kids’ legs couldn’t take any more. I was expecting wall-to-wall crowds and big lift lines with good snow on a long weekend but was pleasantly surprised with not waiting in a single lift line all day on Saturday. Powder and fast chairs: a match made in heaven! It was also a lot of fun to meet up with an old colleague of mine – Paris Tolmachoff – who grew up in Soda Springs and now lives in Truckee. He rolled in as the kids and Lisa were off to lunch, the two of us hot lapped Lincoln and the trees off Roller Pass until all the fresh tracks were gone. Always fun skiing with Paris, there’s no one else that puts me through the paces on the planks like he can.

We greeted the Taylors back at the cabin after skiing on Saturday: I mentioned to Kevin earlier in the week that we’d be up in the mountains for the long weekend and was wondering if he and Ben would like to join us. Never one to miss out on a good time, Annie wasn’t going to be left at home so the four of them graced Powder Haus as our first guests. The kids were in heaven sledding and hot tubbing until almost dinner (and the adults hat a little too much fun hot tubbing after dinner!).

Lisa and I were woken up by an unwelcome sound Saturday night: the sound of rain on the metal roof of the cabin. The storm turned warm and instead of another five inches of powder on Sunday we were greeted with slush from rain the night before. What was worse was the rain turning to rime ice on all the chairs at Sugar Bowl, delaying the opening of the mountain by more than two hours. Fortunately the kids were happy to throw snowballs at each other in the woods for two hours while the adults stretched and chatted as we waited, a painful start to the day but not much else to do when the chairlift cables are coated in ice… The long weekend crowds emerged on the Sunday, and with the mountain running at reduced capacity the waits for a chair were a little painful. Once the entire mountain opened up, though, we found our groove amongst all the natural features on Judah, the dads showing the kids how its done off the jumps and boulders (I’m certainly feeling a little sore today!). A great weekend, one of many more to come up at Powder Haus!

4 Comments

  1. Loved the update!!! You were certainly spoiled with fresh powder snow and virtually no lines early days. We had a house at Dollar Point, Tahoe City and enjoyed 20 years of snowing what we called “blue bird days’ with perfect conditions. Once we were snowed in for a whole week. This is when MTV first came on the television, showing the vocal, popular artists and the words to EVERY SONG! THEY KIDS were glued to the set. Luckily our across the street neighbor managed the Safeway so delivered a ham and then two days later a big turkey. So we had great dinners and fantastic sandwiches. I read the entire real estate brokers handbook, too all the tests at the back of the book, came home, signed up for the test and passed it without ever going to a school. My husband had taken several books up there for future weekends and was able to read all the books. He had electric lines installed on the steps and under the driveway, so we did not have to shovel out. We could actually make it to town, just not to the highway to get home. Maybe that was lucky. I loved it, he worried! Nothing we could do about it but enjoy.
    I am so glad you are having such a wonderful time. You will always remember it and so loved the photos! Xxoo April

  2. Welcome back to the states. Great photos and good company. Assume the rain may have damped the fluffy powder ?? This may have been good on the groomers.
    Take care and keep skiing.

  3. Saturday was a great day, ankle- to boot-deep powder everywhere. And it stayed pretty cold. But yes, the rain Saturday night made for a mostly groomers day on Sunday…

  4. Pingback: More Storms! – The Pink Lemon

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