Well it has been snowing all weekend. This morning I woke up to bluebird skys and had to hit the slopes. I was able to put in 4 1/2 hours before my legs said enough. I guess that’s what happens after skiing 4 days out of the past 5.
Here are more photos from today’s trip…
Now playing: Karsh Kale – Analog Mood Swings – Liberation
I drove up to Tahoe last night, the storm turned out to be hanging over Echo Summit. I got stuck on HWY 50 for about 2 hours waiting for the guys to perform some avalanche safety. Meaning they were blasting out the snow on the pass, so I just chilled in my car and too a nap until the pass opened back up. It was probably some of the crappiest driving conditions I have seen to date, but made the fresh tracks we got this morning well worth it.
We’ll be heading out for a full day of skiing tomorrow and I’ll try to get some better pictures of Baus shredding on his telemark skis…
Now Playing – The Black Keys – Set you free – Thickfreakness
I’ll be heading out for my first day on the slopes. This winter has not been all that great for skiing, in past years I would have had my pass payed for twice by now.
Anyway a storm came through Tahoe on Thursday and dropped around 16″ of snow. So there should be enough out there now to play in the trees a bit.
I’ll have my point and shoot on me today. Now I just have to remind myself to stop for a moment or two from the fun and take a few choice shots.
Now playing: Band of Horses – Monsters – Everything All The Time
Update: It was a super nice day out. Spending 6 hours on the mountain is just my idea of a great day. The lift lines were a bit crowded, but that’s to be expected when 1/4 of the mountain is still closed. I didn’t take the camera out until my last run, so the photos are sort of crappy. You can see how thin the snow cover is, just take a look at one my favorite tree line runs way too many exposed rocks to even think about heading down there… [more photos]
Chris and I went back out on the mountain today for about 3 hours. We pretty much spent the whole time on the Stagecoach chair run. It’s a decent mogul run; but according to Chris it isn’t that hard. I have never enjoyed skiing moguls and pretty much have done all I can to avoid them all together.
My issue was that I never really understood how to ski them properly, but for some reason today something just clicked. Once you figure out how to control your turns, it tends to be all about staying focused on a couple moguls ahead of where you are currently at. Picking you line is key.
This is much like Mt Biking, if you are too focused on the obstacle you are currently on, you will miss the fact they are about to run into a huge ditch. And it’s very likely you are going to end up on your ass.
Also, bump skiing is a great workout. It only takes a few runs to really feel the effects it has on your legs.
Anyway, the next time you are out skiing and can’t seem to find me. Check the bump runs, there’s a good chance I’ll be there bopping down the hill pulling sick aerials!
I finally made it to Christopher’s pad. This is a pretty big storm that’s making it way though here. I heard on the news that there’s snow in the Santa Cruz Mts, Mt Tamalpais, and a few other peaks in the Bay Area. They even claim it may snow as low as sea level. If that does happen, I hope they shutdown all traffic in San Francisco, if not they are going to have a huge mess on their hands.
Anyway, the drive up here normally takes about 3 1/2 hours, tonight I made it in just under 6 1/2. This was mostly due CalTrans blasting out Echo Summit for a bit of avalanche control. So we sat parked on Highway 50 for 1 1/2 hours. I’m fine with that considering the alternative; a snow slide taking you and your car off a 1500′ cliff. I reclined the seat and took a little nap while waiting. Unfortunately, I paying for it now since I’m having a bit of trouble falling asleep.
Hopefully I can get up early to catch some fresh tracks. It’s going to be a good morning!
I drove up to Tahoe the other night to hang out with Christopher. Last night was spent drinking beer and hacking on a side project we have been working on together. More about that in later posts…
But right now, we are headed out to spend some time on the slopes. Snow has been coming down pretty steadily all morning, so we should be able to get in some good turns.
Now playing: Tom Waits – Chocolate Jesus
I finally got around to purchasing my season pass to Heavenly. I’m pretty sure their sales this year are hurting. The nice weather in the Bay Area has us thinking it’s still August. To boost the sales this year, they are running a ton of lame adds on the radio trying to get people out to spend their hard earned cash. For $319 it’s hard to pass up!
Well it’s now time to pray to the snow gods. Come on we need a huge storm soon. I want to get out and play in the snow.
Oh and I almost forgot. Baus get your ass online and buy your pass!
Now playing: Aphex Twin – Bbydhyonchord
Nicole and I decided to take a 3 day weekend up in Tahoe to enjoy what the past week or so of rain in San Francisco has brought us in the mountains. I have to say for the end of March there is still a ton of snow left to ski. We didn’t make it on the slopes until 2:30 today, but the drive up was nice and relaxing. It’s amazing how much more you see when the sun it out, I guess driving up in the middle of the night most of the time you never really see the snow and mountains. Well the weather report looks pretty good, it should be a nice weekend.