Report from March 14, 2025

Yesterday we went for a zone that takes a bit of a walk.

We were the only people in the entire area.

All day.

The skinning up was brutal at times.

Deep, dense snow up to 3 feet deep had slathered the mountainside.

We took turns bashing the snow down in 7-minute shifts.

The wind was nuclear up high.

The final steep pitch took a long time.

We put on our extra layers, big gloves, helmets and goggles before the summit in preparation for the bead blasting the wind would give us.

We enjoyed the viewless summit just long enough to transition and point our skis downhill.

We skipped the rocky chute we often ski there and opted for the gentle slope down to the knob.

We knew that chute would slide.

The initial slope was steep enough to do much in the overly deep snow but the drop from the knob was splendid.

I punched in some ski cuts before dropping into the steep zone with trepidation.

I looked over my shoulder every 3 turns looking for big sluff and avalanches.

Nothing happened.

The snow on top was full of ball bearers and exploded as it hissed off my skis, jacket, pants, and face.

I’ll never forget the way that steep snow flew off my skis in waves.

I was delighted.

I skied the entire zone down to a safe spot and called on the radio.

“That was epic!”

Dobbs and Dwanis skied down to me then I watched them tackle the lower section with gusto.

There were a few more turns before the snowpack got thin and the branches took over.

We all made it down to the bottom safely after a bit of bushwhacking and rock hopping.

We celebrated and considered another lap.

The truth was that we felt like we got away with one and that we should head home.

As we started home the skies opened up and started dumping snow on us and lashing us with wind.

We felt good about our decision and we stumbled home in the squall.

Nachos & burritos for apres ski.

Another spectacular Tahoe powder day.

Thanks, California

Photos