it’s no secret that tahoe has been hurting for snow this year. as the year started we had promises of storms of the century that yielded nothing more than ‘much needed wind’. our best storms became the inside slider, which in most years simply ushers in colder air. when one of these moves west enough to grab a little moisture off the pacific they can bring some decent cold snows, and with little wind. as one approached at the end of february things got more and more promising as it neared. there was a forecast of up to 6-12″ (tiny by normal tahoe standards) with a possibility of twice that wherever the deformation axis set up.
so on friday morning we were a bit disappointed to find that kirkwood had only received around 7″ while the north shore resorts received up to 17″. even so, we skinned up dangberg to get a few quick laps in with the pups while kirkwood’s finest did their patrol work.
febuly 28th. the pups could care less about no defamation ackses. they just like the snow (and each other obviously).
hutchski, nacho, and stoke nearing the top. no more pics from today cause it started dumping again
watching the snow fall during the day and the radars echo away at night we decided to dawn patrol the next day. hutchski had never been on one (doubt she’s ever seen a sunrise) so we were stoked. we opted to leave the dogs behind since they make it hard to take pics when it’s just us.
marchtember 1st. sunrise was pegged for 6:34 and we made to the top of our line above red lake exactly then. the sun, however, was nowhere to be seen.
even in big years this is a pillowy zone.
there’s lots more pillows now but it’s hard to get a good continuous line.
these are fun, but i want my pillow. waaaah.
below the old road, things opened up
pillows
and dreams
the next day we hooked up with the frush and headed back to the carson pass skinning resort. having a third person makes it easy(er) to corral the dogs while taking pics.
marchtember 2nd. nacho. deep thoughts
stoke plows through while nacho is doggy paddling.
the frush
and again
on our second lap we were going to to hit something similar to our first but this ramp with a bit of southeast to it is so rarely light and fluffy we decided to get it while the sun was out. of course as soon as we started the sun disappeared
my bros and my bros
i took us a little lower to a what is normally an awesome zone to get deep pow pics backlit by the sun. it was a tad rocky still.
the frush
yessssss!
more pillows below the road.
i’m still getting used to jumping. i miss it so.
nacho vs the goat
our next lap took us to dead tree bowl. the sun finally decided to join us. the frush enjoys a techy line
hutchski goes deep
once again, things are awesome below the road. me and stoke, stoked.
our last lap of the day was a bit further skiers right. the frush goes deep again
the next day the forecast was for bluebird. we decided to tour from carson pass to kirkwood with nacho and stoke. this meant we didn’t have to get too early a start since we wouldn’t want to finish while the backside was still open. kirkwood and unruly pups don’t mix.
marchtember 3rd. nacho. rollin’ in the deeee-eeep.
nacho and hutchski with moon couloir in the background. not bluebird.
when art imitates life. or art imitates art. i can’t decide
skintrack stoke. and nacho and hutchski
stoke’s bane, the snowshoe hare. he came back so tired
life on the edge. this is the main ski goal of the tour. the top portion was awesome although there were a few scratchy turns
down lower we ran into the season’s main problem. limited to no snow below 8k. fourth of july lake in the background
after shooting pics hutchski was making her way across very easy terrain to the lunch log when she hit some rocks, caught her ski, and supermanned her way into a broken hand. i owed her a rescue but the situation didn’t warrant it. even so i did open her beer cause i’m a gentleman and all. chivalry’s not dead.
looking back from the top of our next line
this normally windblown or icy face turned out to be the best lines of the day.
i took a spill as well. came out of it without a pole. fortunately hutchski had an extra she didn’t need.
anybody know how to hotwire a chair?
the day’s final skin pull as the sun drops below the horizon
on wednesday, hutchski hit the hospital where they told her she had fractured (just barely that wuss) her hand. so we took the day off. reports from wednesday included tales of very icy conditions on the west shore of emigrant lake. we decided to head around to the more north facing areas and then head back to where i lost my pole (the pov footage showed me exactly where to find it).
marchtember 5th. solar freakin’ roadways
hutchski in sally alley. the top was decent hotpow over ice and the midsection (here) was a bit crusty. then it softened up below.
i managed to hit this small air without dying but am used to splitting the uprights above. there’s always next year.
then it got good
back in the always shaded shark tooth. everything above this had turned to wind crusted nastiness. good to finish with sweet pow turns though
until the next storm, wherever we find it