Conditions Report
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After a nice refresh the previous weekend that was followed by extremely warm temperatures throughout the week, the bar was not set very high for finding great conditions on this ski outing. It was that typical Tahoe early spring pattern…the groomers were perfection upon opening and most of the off-piste needed some time for softening. But would the north-facing aspects hold any winter snow?
The day began with dropping one kid off early for JETS and skiing with the 4 year old for a few laps at Timber Creek before dad could be set free on his own will. I immediately met up with telemark extraordinaire Bevan at the bottom of Chair 6 where we immediately headed straight to Thunder Mountain. The plan was to hit up Thunderbowl to look at V-tree and eventually make our way out to Carson Spur. If anywhere has winter snow, its the protected aspects in these two zones.
Upon arrival to V-tree, we unfortunately found un-edgable bulletproof ice conditions under a tiny layer of new snow. Bevan made his way down slowly and safely while I ended up traversing out mid-way. Luckily, I found some cold powder in the chute directly below the ice-fall. After a medium hike over the Carson Spur, we opted for the 2nd Sentinel and headed in the direction of Mario Land. Fortunately, we found some smooth consolidated spring powder and great terrain. Although Bevan pre-released in the middle of his run, he was stoked to get his first tour of the area.
The rest of the day was spent cruising Chair 6 & 10 with my 7 year old and having a blast of a time. We actually found wintery chalk in Chamoix, Oops, and lookers left of the Wall.
Mission Accomplished and bring on the MEGA STORM in the forecast!
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The sun is shining and so are the smiles…
She insisted on skiing the frozen Trench of Terror first run…
The groomers were fast but not so furious for the 4 year old…
Not a bad day at all…snow holding up well on The Wall and beyond.
Pyramid Peak and The Crystal Range of Desolation Wilderness in the distance…
Upon arrival to Thunderbowl, the steep V-tree line comes into view…
The true north aspect was exposed but the snow looked more consistent…
Bevan grabs first ice…I mean tracks.
The snow looks better than it skied as there was a nasty glacier layer underneath…
Bevan skied the line slowly to make sure each turn was carefully calculated…
I followed suit and kind of wish I skied the other zone in the shade…
As soon as you passed that tree below, the snow turned ridiculously icy along with decent exposure…
Fortunately, there was a tiny snow bridge so I could traverse into the protected chute…
Now stress free, I could have some fun making turns before hiking to the Spur…
We found the snow to be consistently smooth over on Carson Spur…
Do I spot an ALMOST FACESHOT????…
Drop the knee, raise the soul…
We took the more conservative line to skier’s left to maximize turn enjoyment…
For not expecting much, I’m quite enjoying this snow…
After a brutal traverse through sticky and heavy powder, I caught up with an old favorite line…
Now back at the resort, a lap on Oops Face was in order…
Dan Cliffs was beginning to melt out a bit due to the warm weather…
Now with my son, we found some smooth snow in Wagon Wheel Bowl…
Nothing beats sunny sessions in The Fingers for some good ol’ family fun…
‘One more lap kid…we have to pick up your sister at Ski School’
Not a bad sunset on the Delta on the drive back to reality…
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IT LOOKS LIKE BIG SNOW IS ON TAP FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS!
Pics turned out goooood!