Report from February 3, 2024

Up at 5am.

Out by 5:30am.

Met up with crew at 6am.

Hiking by 6:45am.

Summit at 8:30am.

The lake was searing my eyes.

This place is even more spectacular than I remembered.

To think that anything can best a 15ºF, bluebird, 2-foot powder day above Lake Tahoe is hard to imagine…

The view hits you like a baseball bat.

It’s hard to focus.

Feelings of gratitude and joy pour out of you.

Having your best friends with you only intensifies the feels.

The energy crescendos on the summit and you haven’t even skied yet.

Then we dropped into blower powder on a seemingly endless, hoot-inducing, friendly pitch with that lake staring you directly in the mind.

It’s living art.

It’s experiential art.

I felt like I was hallucinating at times…

“I completely blacked out on that run.” – Aaron Fox

By the time we’d gotten back up top the clouds had rolled in and we did one more long lap down to the car.

Well, at least that was the plan.

We scattered like mice from a cat.

Connery left, me right, Dobbs even further right, Fox far left, Duane just trying to find someone who knew where the hell they were going.

Dobbs and I ended up in a 9 out of 10 on the bushwhack-o-meter all the way down to the highway.

Gnarly…

I almost got hurt about 40 times.

We ended up in zones with only 3″ of snow on top of pop-up bushes, evil alders, stupid stumps, off-angle logs, and jagged rocks.

We survived and ended up hanging out on the road with a couple from Barcelona who were touristing until our buddies came and dragged us home.

We hit the new restaurant Shadyside before heading home and the food was phenomenal.

A surreal & awesome day in Lake Tahoe.

One I won’t ever forget.

Thanks, California.

Photos