With no major ski trip arranged in 2007, Sue and I visited the Lake Tahoe area for four days before an Open Group meeting in San Francisco. We flew in to Reno via Los Angeles on Tuesday evening and drove through snow to the Cal Neva resort on the shore of Lake Tahoe.
On Wednesday morning, there was still snow around and we needed 4-wheel drive to get anywhere. We got to Northstar at around 9am. With snow falling and cold temperatures there were not many people around.
I left Sue at the lodge at mid mountain and headed higher up the mountain.
09:31 Heavy overcast on Arrow lift |
09:31 Under Arrow lift |
Two trips down the front side from Comstock lift proved that my legs could still cope with skiing.
09:59 The sun trying and failing to break through |
The sun tried to break through
but failed. Lighting was flat but lots of the runs down the backside were in
very nice condition, groomed, with a light covering of fresh snow. One run down
Burn Out and I stopped for a coffee and to warm up.
10:33 The top of Comstock in the snow |
10:33 Summit of Mt. Pluto |
10:34 The top of Backside |
Two more runs down the backside and I headed back to the mid mountain area and the lift towards the newest area, Lookout Mountain via the Tahoe Zephyr chondola and the Lookout Link drag lift.
11:57 Lookout link drag lift |
I took two runs from Lookout Mountain. The first, Martis was steep but groomed. The second down Prosser was much more difficult than it looked, with moguls topped with soft powder, and took a lot from my legs.
12:08 Lookout Mountain Express lift |
Beginning to think about stopping for the day, I decided to head back for one last run down the backside, gradually traversing via Tahoe Zephyr Express and Comstock. After one run down Polaris, it is back to meet Sue at Big Springs Lodge at mid mountain. After lunch, I have done enough, so we go back to our hotel.
| Lift | Vertical | Easy Runs | Intermediate Runs | Advanced Runs |
| Start of Day | ||||
| Big Springs | 480 | |||
| Arrow | 535 | |||
| Comstock | 1250 | Cascades, Ax Handle, West Ridge | ||
| Comstock | 1250 | West Ridge | Flying Squirrel | |
| Comstock | 1250 | Burn Out, Down Under | ||
| Backside | 1860 | |||
| Coffee Break | ||||
| Rail Splitter, Down Under | ||||
| Backside | 1860 | Sierra Grande, Lower Burnout | ||
| Backside | 1860 | The Gulch | Cascades, Upper Main Street, Ax Handle | |
| Coffee Break | ||||
| Tahoe Zephyr Express | 1072 | Upper Pioneer | ||
| Lookout Link | 150 | Martis | ||
| Lookout Mountain Express | 1377 | Prosser | ||
| Lookout Mountain Express | 1377 | Schwardzerstrasse, Hoot Owl, Lower Pioneer | The Face | |
| Tahoe Zephyr Express | 1072 | Cowboy Pass, Flying Squirrel | ||
| Comstock | 1250 | Polaris | ||
| Backside | 1860 | Lower Main Street, Lumberjack | Ax Handle, Cascades | The Plunge |
| Lunch | ||||
| Download | ||||
| End of Day | ||||
| Total vertical | 18023 |
Last updated: 01/01/2009