Day 5 - Blue Bird Day of Perfection

Our last full day in Tahoe started with an early wake-up call to be at the gondola when it opened at 9:00. We awoke to blue skies and no wind. These days are known as "blue bird" days on the mountain. Apparently we weren't the only ones planning to be on the mountain early. When we walked up to the Village, the line for the gondola wrapped around the fence and people milled about.

We decided today would be the day we took pictures while we rode and we'd get some video footage. Since the skies were clear, we headed straight for the top of Heavenly (10,040 feet) and saw the amazing views of Lake Tahoe, Carson City, and the mountains of Nevada and California. We made fresh tracks in the corduroy-groomed runs for the first few runs we took. Lift lines were a bit more crowded with the extra people on the mountain but nothing to complain about.

After riding in California for most of the morning, we headed to Nevada for a few runs through the trees before taking the gondola back to our hotel for lunch. Nothing beats a half-block walk for a "free" lunch and then back up the gondola for more riding. It was at this point that I found my legs saying, "Ya, we're done!" The tightness of my boots around my legs with scarred stress fractures were screaming in agony. To add to the mix, a piece of my bindings had popped off which made riding extremely difficult. Instead of moving easily across the snow, I had to literally pick my back foot up and move it back and forth to carve the snow; all the while praying I didn't catch an edge and take a digger in the packed snow. I think it's officially time to retire my trusty bindings. My legs were just done.

Nick and I decided we'd ridden enough and headed back to the hotel. After a boot change, we headed straight for The Brewery for pilsners and appetizers. This completely hit the spot! Drink Tahoe Brew!

We headed back to the hotel to shower and change. It was while I was blow drying my hair that I blew the fuse to our hotel room and all the rooms around us. It was at that point that we quickly decided to go walk Heavenly Village instead of look guilty. We enjoyed our last walk of the Village before our departure tomorrow morning.

This winter trip has been amazing! Yet again, we've fallen even more in love with Tahoe and could move here in an instant. So until possibly summer, we say good-bye to our home away from home...Lake Tahoe.

Day 4 - A Difference in Colors

Our morning started earlier than our sore bodies were ready for. Nick and I had decided to ride Squaw Valley Resort for a change in scenery and this meant an early morning and long drive to get to Olympic Valley. After Nick dug the Trailblazer out of over 6 inches of snow and with coffees in hand, we set out to see how the storm turned Lake Tahoe into a winter wonderland.

Apparently our blue-bird day drew out the locals and tourists because the wait to turn into Olympic Valley was ridiculous. After was seemed like forever, we were up the cable car and at High Camp at 8200'. Our ultimate goal was to ride the runs down to Shirley Lake which was the beautiful area we hiked with Kyla back in July 2009. So off we went.

This is where I found my difference in color. To preface, Squaw doesn't mark their runs by green, blue, and black. They mark their chair lifts. So as we dropped down some un-named run, we quickly realized what Squaw considers "blue" runs, the rest of the normal world considers it "black." With all the powder that was dumped on the mountain, the runs were covered in almost 2 feet of powder that's been plowed, pushed, and rutted out by other skiers and snowboarders. This makes the steep runs all that much more challenging.

The best part of the day was when Nick was leading and continued straight past a sign that read, "Experts Only." I hollered to him but it was too late. We were already in the midst of deep powder and steep runs. We were both doing great until I hit a mound of snow and did a flying Superman, landing face-first in the powder, sliding down the run, eating more snow than I care to admit, and all of this was under the watchful eyes of those on the chairlift above. It was a perfect 10 landing.

We ventured over to the other end of the resort and took a chairlift up to the top ridge hoping we can ride some different runs. Halfway up the lift, a huge cloud rolled in and were were in pure white-out conditions. Now, I don't get vertigo but these were conditions that gave anyone vertigo. Everywhere we looked, it was grayish-white. More that a little scary. What was worse was when we got to the ridge at the top of the lift. One side was a sheer cliff and the other side was a double black diamond bowl. Oh, and I couldn't see anything because my goggle lenses were for sunny conditions. Somehow we made it down the ridge, riding blind part of the way.

We decided to break for lunch and see if the visibility improved. After about 45 minutes, we walked back outside to even more fog and clouds so we decided to call it a day. We were exhausted and pleased with how we handled the "blue" (AKA "black") runs.

On our way back, we planned on getting together with Stacy and my old friend Heather for drinks and appetizers in Incline Village. The three of us girls reminisced on old times, swapped funny stories, and caught up on our lives. We had a great time and shared many laughs. Nick and I headed back to our hotel, took hot showers, popped a few Tylenol, and got ready to do this all again tomorrow...but back at Heavenly.

Day 3 - Another Snowy Day in Paradise

Daily reporting from Nick: While bedding down last night, we decided to set the alarm early and get to the gondola when the mountain opened. Day 3 began in much the same way as day 2. Mixed weather reports and some uncertainty as to whether or not we were going to tackle the slopes. It doesn't help that the "greeter" at the Heavenly ticket counter was a pessimist and warned everyone that there were strong winds expected and several lifts were likely to be closed by noon. We thought twice about buying tickets (for about 30 seconds is all) and we decided "to hell with it!" We came here to ride and all be damned, we were going to ride! Up the gondola we went with a "lovely" couple from Scotland here on "holiday" (gotta say it with the Scottish accent).

The first half of our day was spent exploring the Nevada side of the mountain. We got our legs under us on a couple of runs that we did yesterday before venturing out to ride some new terrain. While we were ripping down the run, we both missed the sign directing us back to the lift. Needless to say we reached a dead end with a sign reading "impossible to ski or ride further" (in more or less words). We preceded to unstrap our boards and hike our way back up the mountain (a snowboarder's version of the "walk of shame"). After 8 or so runs, we took a break for lunch and decided we'd ride the California side for the rest of the day.

The California side of the mountain proved to be the place to be! Fresh powder and very few people made for an awesome couple hours of riding (have I mentioned yet that the snow was falling and we were getting dumped on all day!). We were laying down fresh tracks at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and at times we had runs all to ourselves. After a half dozen runs we decided to call it a day and we mapped our decent to the bottom of the mountain. Little did we know that we were in store for quite the backcountry fiasco. We more or less walked, skated, and rode our way down a snow covered, switch-backed, service road for the better part of a half hour. This "run" was mountain on one side and shear cliff on the other! We thought it was going to be a nice easy ride to the bottom and instead we both ended the day tired and sore.

A few Tylenol, a quesadilla and a few beers at a bar that doesn't know the definition of happy hour ($6 pints, are you kidding me?), and a carb packed dinner of pasta definitely put smiles on our faces (even though we had smiles plastered to them all day).

Joke of the day: Q: What did the elephant say to the naked man?

A: How do you breathe from that tiny thing!?! (courtesy of The Buried Life).

Day 2 - Exploring Eden

Nick and I woke up this morning to mixed weather reports and a somewhat wet snow coming down. After checking three weather website and the local news channel, we went with the optimistic report from Heavenly's blog that said powder was expected and winds wouldn't pick up till later this afternoon. We geared up and made our tiny trek over to the Heavenly gondola to start our day.

As soon as we exited the gondola, we knew the day would be epic. Dry snow was falling and no wind. We quickly decided to check out the Nevada side of the resort. It wasn't long before we referred to our day as "exploring Eden." Conditions were perfect with soft powder, wide runs, few people, and plenty of terrain to ride. If it snowed in Eden, it would be called Heavenly.

We learned a few lessons today on the runs:

1. Riding from California to Nevada is agony! If you want to absolutely kill your calves and hamstrings along the flats of the run, this run is perfect for you.

2. Accidentally going down "ungroomed" runs that have turned into moguls on a snowboard can be quite challenging.

3. Cutting through the trees isn't all it's cracked up to be. When you're stuck digging out of 3 feet of powder, you'd better have a snack beforehand because it's going to kick your butt!

4. We're practically in Disneyland. They charged us $4 for a simple bottle of Diet Pepsi! Can you say captive audience?

5. We ABSOLUTELY love Lake Tahoe and Heavenly.

After riding, we headed back to our quaint hotel for a hot shower, dinner, drinks, and Tylenol. Another system is supposed to move in late tonight, bringing plenty of snow for tomorrow. Looks like it'll be another powder day in Heaven!

Day 1 - Cows and Crops

Our morning started at 3 AM and we were packed and out the door at 4 AM. Unlike our past trips to Tahoe, we opted to take I-5 up California instead of Highway 395. After we passed over the Grapevine, we were in the midst of cows and crops. The lovely stench of daisy farm cows stuck in the car way too long. At least with all the rain we have experienced this winter, the fields were lush and green, stretching as far as the eye can see. And the sunrise was amazing!

With only a few gas and potty breaks, we cruised into South Lake Tahoe around 1:00 PM. There isn't as much snow on the ground as we had expected but it is spring after all. Since it was too early to check in, we headed straight to The Brewery at Lake Tahoe for a few of our favorite pilsners. All was right with the world at that point.

After walking Heavenly Village, we checked in, unloaded, and crashed on the bed for a much-needed nap. We're resting up for a week of boarding and fun in the snow. Tomorrow is questionable with weather conditions so we'll wait and see how the day pans out. But as of right now, we say that we're "finally back home."