Backcountry
Conditions Report
Report from March 5, 2024
Yesterday we went for a line that really only fills in and works after 100″ storms.
Palisades Tahoe reported 102″ from this latest storm cycle so yesterday checked the box.
100″ storm—check.
Bob, Tyler, and I rolled up and started at 10 am.
I was exhausted…
This was my 10th backcountry ski day in the past 12 days and I was feeling it.
We oozed up the mountain slowly.
Our speed was nice because the fairy forest we ascended demanded attention.
Rime ice on trees, plastered snow, snow roses, wind spines, and rime ice on rocks.
All of it gorgeous and impossibly unique.
When we finally crested the ridge and saw the view, I remembered what we’d come for.
Revery.
Simply revery.
It’s astonishing to stand atop this peak and let your mind empty as your eyes fill.
Blues, turquoises, crystalline whites, blacks, and the violent greens of the rock lichens.
The temps were mild, the sun shining, and the winds light.
I dropped first and the first turns were excellent.
Not perfect, but good, fun, responsive wind-pressed snow.
About 10 turns in the snow got sticky…
It’s nearly impossible to get this line in good snow, so I’d expected this 🙂
I adapted my skiing and forged ahead.
The terrain is endlessly complex and twisting.
I warped my way down the mountain as the snow got heavier and heavier.
We may have only missed the good snow by an hour or two…
We arrived at the bottom breathless and awestruck.
What an insane way to cap off another 100″ storm here in Lake Tahoe.
I’m forever grateful to this place and its humans.
Thanks, California!
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