Hello Skiers and Riders,
There was a lot of talk about snow coming at the end of the week on the chair this morning. I guess we wait and see. In the meantime, there were too many people on the hill today. I took a very few runs this morning and then split. It just seemed too dangerous on the hill on the limited area available.
What do you do when the skiing is just too limited? Hike up to Five Lakes which a whole lot of people seemed to be doing today. It looked like a summer weekend with cars parked along the roadside at the trail head. Ride the tram at Squaw (free with your pass) and skate on the High Camp rink (I assume they charge for this even it you have your own skates. Of course you can head to Northstar and skate for free in the Village, if you have your own skates, or you might be able to skate on Boca or Prosser Reservoirs. Plenty of people were out on their road bikes. The bike trail from Hwy. 89 to the Village at Squaw is clear of snow. Perfect for a short ride with the kids, a three mile walk, or perhaps just a safe place to jog.
The other day we headed to Reno and rode a portion of the paved bike trail from downtown Reno to Sparks Blvd.. This was about 14 miles out and back. It follows the Truckee River and is actually very nice. We parked toward the east end of the ride at Rock Park in Sparks (google it for directions). The west end begins at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno between First St. and South Virginia near the Riverside theater and the kayak park. I imagine this would be beautiful in the spring. We did see a herd of deer (maybe ten in all) along the way. We rode a portion of the trail that actually begins in Verdi and will eventually extend to Pyramid Lake and perhaps to Truckee and Tahoe.
There were families playing at the Commons Beach in Tahoe City where the children’s amenities are all free of snow. This is also true for the skate park and the Frisbee Golf Course in Truckee. Of course, some of the locals have been traveling to Auburn or Reno to swing the real golf clubs.
Dave G. just returned from Chamoix. Evidently the skiing was more than acceptable even though they do not have as much on the ground as normal. Bob L. claims Sun Valley is cold (what else is new) and the skiing on the main runs is very good because they have the best snowmaking available. However, where there is not snowmaking coverage is not so good.
Enjoy your day,
Andy Wertheim
Skinning at Sugar Bowl seemed reasonable safe to me Friday morning. There were about 50 cars in the main lot when I left at 11:00. Virtually everyone on the mountain was a ski teamer or coach. Saturday was a little busier but still very quiet early.
A exec in the village says they want to look at these ideas they’ve seen on facebook for toned down ski training and water facilities, and a former race director at AM was saying SV/KSL realised the need to revitalise the cash cow of high school racing. It’s a relief tto know that Squaw execs are learning.