After about a week of warm Spring temperatures and a forecast of around 2 inches of cold snow, the expectation of a great day on Monday the 27th of March was near absolute zero. However, a spinning low pressure over the great state of Nevada decided to take a late trajectory toward Donner Summit and boy was the forecast wrong.
Before the storm entered the region, the night prior was spent hitting some slush groomers and jumps at Boreal, Tahoe’s legendary night skiing location. With my son in tow, we took in the amazing sunset, the lack of skiers, and skied way past his usual bedtime to get our legs ready for the impending coral reef the following morning.
But…something strange happened…it snowed 5 inches overnight! Upon arrival to Sugar Bowl, we were greeted by blue skies, untracked slopes and almost no skiers. After two hours of milking the new snow in perfect weather, dark ominous skies surrounded the region and began to unleash. From 11am to 3pm, the storm dropped around another 6 inches or so…in total storm skiing fashion thus covering the frozen spring tundra underneath. Tracks were being filled in, flakes were huge, and confused smiles filled the lodge at lunchtime.
Will there be more cold storms? There are some disturbances in the long term forecast but Spring has definitely sprung in the Tahoe region for the time being.
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Night skiing…Americas favorite pastime right?
Even at 7:30pm, the tree skiing was on point for the 7 year old…
Big Bad Boreal Mountain is known for jumps, hips and features…
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Skiing through tubes
Getting late but still skiing great…
The lights are on but we’re just getting started…
The cold front approaches and the sun says goodbye from the day…
Let’s do this…cue Leroy Jenkins!
One last run and then I’ve got to get this kid some dinner…
The next morning, a pleasant surprise on the racks in Truckee…
Donner Lake shadowed the crispness of the newly dusted trees…
Donner Peak showing signs of Winter…
Mt. Disney looking more like Space Mountain with a fresh coat of white…
The Palisades were closed from the summit but you could still traverse into the lower portion…
Bit of a blast teaching the kid the fine art of slashing…
The storm came in cold which made it fast and fun…
We sessioned Disney for a few laps because it was fun…
The lower face of Disney skied like groomed pow…
For a city kid, I’m liking his form…
The gully on Market Street skied well especially with the absence of the cable cars…
When conditions warrant, the Palisades hold some of the gnarliest in-bounds terrain in the Tahoe region…
Volcanic terrain equates to darn good skiing…
The Sisters under Lincoln Express held some deep turns between the frozen moguls……
The clouds rolled back in just as I had a few hours to myself…
The Lower Palisades still has enough steep terrain to keep ski nerds busy…
If its not going to be bluebird, it might as well snow…
The storm came in with vengeance just in time to get rid of Spring…for a few hours at least
Yep, I think its about time to warm up in the historic lodge…
Hot chocolate and the trail map is probably the most ideal lunch…
After drying out and well fed, we are back at it…
Looks pretty different than this morning…
Banking that the next run will be even better…
The snow was piling up quickly…
Over on Eagle, the kid slashing his way down Mt. Disney…
Another lap on Disney and then its a straightline to the Gondola…
Would this be the last full on wintery day?…
