So winter has finally arrived in the form of a huge snowstorm that made for an epic snow day up here in Lake Tahoe. We got more than 18" of fresh snow today, along with below freezing temperatures, translating into incredible skiing. The roads were horrendous...25 yard visibility at times, total white out conditions, chains or 4WD required on ALL roads, and idiots thinking the 25 mph chain control speed limit is for decoration. But the skiing made it all worthwhile. With whiteout conditions on the slope and 17F temps at the summit, I had on full storm gear including my new fleece hood/face mask and got to use my clear Oakley lenses for the first time since I got them two years ago (woot!). Because my 10-year old K2 Four's can no longer cut it in the powder, I demo'd a pair of Volkl fat twin-tip powder skis and had an awesome day surfing on top of the fluffy stuff. Made a wrong turn once and went O.B., resulting in a 35 minute hike up hill in chest deep snow to get back on the trail...but fun nevertheless. ;-D (Updated 1/7/07 with picture of Explorer covered in 6 hours worth of snow at Kirkwood, halfway dug out.)
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Epic snow
So winter has finally arrived in the form of a huge snowstorm that made for an epic snow day up here in Lake Tahoe. We got more than 18" of fresh snow today, along with below freezing temperatures, translating into incredible skiing. The roads were horrendous...25 yard visibility at times, total white out conditions, chains or 4WD required on ALL roads, and idiots thinking the 25 mph chain control speed limit is for decoration. But the skiing made it all worthwhile. With whiteout conditions on the slope and 17F temps at the summit, I had on full storm gear including my new fleece hood/face mask and got to use my clear Oakley lenses for the first time since I got them two years ago (woot!). Because my 10-year old K2 Four's can no longer cut it in the powder, I demo'd a pair of Volkl fat twin-tip powder skis and had an awesome day surfing on top of the fluffy stuff. Made a wrong turn once and went O.B., resulting in a 35 minute hike up hill in chest deep snow to get back on the trail...but fun nevertheless. ;-D (Updated 1/7/07 with picture of Explorer covered in 6 hours worth of snow at Kirkwood, halfway dug out.)
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7 comments:
Umm... 35 min hike up? A pretty good workout!
A workout indeed. Cancelled out the sub-freezing temps pretty quick.
I hope that hike was with a buddy!! Don't forget what I told you- be safe and work the buddy system!! Glad you got better snow than I had though!
Nope, solo hike. The snowstorm scared off all the tourists. The entire week, I only shared one chairlift, and never waited in line once.
My blood pressure is not too stable these days.
Aren't you glad you're from MI w. all that snow shoveling training in your youthful days? As well as the ski w. mask/goggle in sub-0oF windchill factor. We've not had any major snow storm yet this winter in Detroit. Today is 35oF pretty decent (mild) in this time of yr.
The low temperature overnight here in San Jose hit 19F last night, even colder than Michigan! We might even get snow here this year!
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