Sampling Southern Powder

A Sierra Experience

By Ed Kane

(Click on pictures for a better view)

The first week of January this year I joined the Western Ski Writers (NASJA) on a trip to some of the Tahoe ski areas. I’d always wanted to ski the sunshine and packed powder of these areas so that when this trip was scheduled, it was easy to make the decision to go. We were to visit Sierra at Tahoe and Northstar at Tahoe both Booth Creek sisters of the Summit at Snoqualmie.

The trip took about 1 hour by plane to Reno and then another 1 ½ hours to Stateline Nevada where I was to meet the group which had spent the day skiing Heavenly. When I arrived in Reno the sky was clear and the temperature in the low 50’s. The week before there was about 2 feet of snow at the airport most of which was piled alongside the runways and roads and the Tahoe areas had gotten about 4 feet of new snow. The weather forecast was for heavy snow and high winds the next day, Friday. I regretted not coming a day earlier as had much of the group. Needless to say they were tired but smiling. I went to bed at around midnight and the sky was still clear. Heavy snow, Sure!!! When I got up in the morning, there was about 6 inches of new snow on the ground and more in the forecast.

We boarded a van and drove south to Sierra at Tahoe having to stop along the way to put on chains (required in California whenever it snows in the mountains). We were scheduled to ski in the morning and have lunch at the Grandview Grill at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately the lifts to the summit were closed due to 60 to 100 mph winds at the top. We skied on the lower runs and in the West Bowl for a morning of fine powder on slopes steep enough to make each run more fun than the last. The lower slopes were well sheltered from the wind and the visibility was very good since all the runs bordered by trees. Interesting enough, the snow was very similar to our Cascade powder, even though we were at elevations from 6600 to 8800 ft. This is because there isn’t much terrain between these areas and the coast. The storms don’t dissipate much between the ocean and the tops of these mountains so the snow retains much of its moisture. Nonetheless, the skiing was great and the crowds were small so that one could always find some untracked lines. This area is relatively small with some great variety of terrain. Most of the people I talked with said it was a great place for families since there was enough variety of terrain, grooming and conditions for each member.

After a late lunch we boarded the van to make our way back toward the north end of the lake and the Northstar area. We checked into our condos and gathered for an excellent dinner at the True North Restaurant at the base of the lifts. The condos were ¾ of a mile or so from the base area but they have a rather neat shuttle service which comes on demand. One need only call for a pick-up and a bus shows up outside your unit in 5 to 15 minutes after your call. The next morning it was still snowing and the top of this mountain was closed due to wind and visibility. We skied on the lower slopes once again in fine new snow among the trees where there was good visibility. New tracks could be made each run even though the crowds here were a bit larger. Northstar is quite a bit larger than Sierra with about the same altitude and vertical rise but more area to ski. We were only able to ski the lower half of the mountain but there was terrain and snow conditions to meet every desire. Grooming seems to be highly refined even with the snow falling at a significant rate (we had about 5 feet of new snow in the 2 days we were there).

On the whole, the service level at both of these areas was above average. The lift operators, food handlers, shuttle drivers, ticket agents and everyone working at both areas did everything they could to make their guests feel at home. My experience at both these areas was most pleasant despite the inclement weather and, frankly, I didn’t miss skiing in the sun. I can always go back and ski some of that powder in the sun after it is packed out a bit since the whole trip only takes 3 to 4 hours from Sea-Tac airport. The southern powder is really not that far away.