Sierra Cement Slayage @ Kirkwood – 04/09/16 Another late season storm pushed it’s way into the Tahoe region last weekend but with forecast models showing 9,000 ft snow levels, it really wasn’t looking too promising. With one day to ski, myself and the two kids decided to roll the dice and head to Kirkwood…praying for snow instead of rain. On the drive in the early AM, it was apparent that warm weather had a stranglehold on the area as we encountered nothing but rain on the summit of Carson Spur. The parking lot scene did not look much better as the rain fell from the sky and not just from dad’s forehead after fitting a few pair of ski boots. But hey, we are in the mountains, there’s almost nobody around, and WE ARE SKIING! As we loaded Timber Creek Express, a refreshing mist washed off our sunscreen laden faces as we soared above untouched perfectly groomed corduroy. However, to our surprise, it was starting to snow at the top of the lift. We took a few laps down the corn groomers, the Trench of Terror, Ditch of Doom and the rollers of the Gold Rush Zone until it was time for dad to get his groove on…alone. By 11am, massive flakes of wet snow were plastering the mountain including the base area. I met up with Bevan and his buddy Noah and we attacked the steeps of Chamoix and Oops & Poops…finding soft landings everywhere we looked. One of the good things about the warm weather was that the spring snow underneath did not have time to freeze, so the dreaded ‘dust on crust’ was happily avoided. Of course, there was a lot of goggle management going on but we managed to take quality runs on Notch Chute, Lightning, The Fingers and more. We met back up with my son and ended the day with a few more laps on Chair 6…but now finding around 5 inches of an untouched silky surface. As we departed at 3:30pm, the snow was still coming down and chain controls were in effect over the Carson Spur. By the next morning, 12 inches of snow accumulated where some resorts on the North Shore received only an inch or two. Luck was on our side and we’re not complaining. Conditions Report Casey Cane | April 12, 2016 5 Comments
Springing into March @ Kirkwood – 02/28/16 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! Conditions Report Casey Cane | March 4, 2016 1 Comment
Sunscreen Session Volume I @ Kirkwood, CA A ski season in Tahoe is never complete without a dry spell containing some good ol’ California warm weather. There’s a solid base around the region so it’s time to breakout the SPF 75, your favorite hoodie and hit the slopes! The day began with some solid warm up laps with the kiddos in the Timber Creek area on runs like Squirrel Ridge and the Ditch of Doom. Soon thereafter, Dad headed up The Wall over to Norms Nose to find some variable snow but steep pitches. Over on the Vista tow, we found some great East facing chutes that started to corn up. Next, we headed to the West Shore area and took a lap down Boulevard because Broadway, a much steeper option, was showing some nasty bulletproof conditions on the ridgeline. We ended the day lapping Chair 6 in the Fingers and Chamoix ending with a run down All the Way on The Wall. Overall, the snow on North facing slopes were great but other aspects were softening due to the warm temps and sun exposure. With the forecast calling for Spring temps, it is probably a great idea to grab that extra bottle of Zinka. Conditions Report Casey Cane | February 12, 2016 0 Comments
Welcome to the Pleasuredome @ Kirkwood – 01/24/16 The ski season rolls on and continues to impress with additional snow and new terrain openings. With snowfall totals close to 300 inches on the upper mountain, on some parts of the hill, cliffs have all but disappeared that were above the surface just two weeks prior. That’s just plain crazy! We started our day like any other…sessioning all aspects of Chair 6 like Chamoix, Oops & Poops, The Funnel and The Fingers and then moving on toward Chair 10 to eventually make our way to the Backside. Conditions Report Casey Cane | January 28, 2016 5 Comments
Back From the Dead @ Kirkwood – ‘the way it should be’ After many years of drought, the day finally came when Kirkwood was skiing like its old self again. With over 200 inches on the upper mountain, now surpassing the total snow of last season, all my favorite zones are skiing quite well. It has been some time where we could lap every aspect of Chair 6 to Chair 10, over to Eagle and Norm’s, to the steeps of West Shore and the Temple of Doom, with that final sweet lap back through Hell’s Delight of Thunder Saddle…AND IT FEELS GREAT! Casey Cane | January 22, 2016 6 Comments
Noodling the Nooks & Crannies @ Kirkwood – 12/04/15 After a Thanksgiving treat of around 2 feet of cold fluff, December 3rd decided to drop another 6 inches of the white stuff that would ultimately lead to a blue sky powder day on the 4th. The forecast the day prior did call for at least a foot of snow, but sadly, that did not pan out. However, in a severe drought, I’ll ski anything especially after spending Thanksgiving week sipping Mai Tais in Hawaii. This old guy was in dire need of a good ol’ Chair 6 session. Before lining up with the powder-hounds around 30 mins before opening, patrol told me that a brief rain storm on December 2nd solidified the snow a bit and to ‘be careful of the chunder.’ With that advice in tow, I decided to pump out some much needed pow laps before exploring the technical lines off the Chair. Conditions Report Casey Cane | December 8, 2015 2 Comments
Nibbling the November Nectar @ Kirkwood – 11/16/15 After a few seasons of below normal snowfall and word of El Nino knocking on the front door of California, a few early season storms yielded over four feet of early November snow at Kirkwood thus allowing an early opening. Although I had prior commitments and could not make opening day, a local rider Chad Paeglow filled me in on the coverage skiing from the summit of Chair 6 on November 14th, 2015: The snow was pretty silky unless you hit rocks. Chamoix was money and in the best condition for so early in the season. It has around a 10 foot air out of the choke but had a smooth cushion in the landing. The area around Oops and Poops was still bony especially outside of the gullies. I ended up skiing mostly around Rabbits where I found plently of knee deep turns and even deeper on some landings. Conditions Report Casey Cane | November 18, 2015 4 Comments
Conditions Report
