This was the first season that I did a ski lease in Tahoe. We had a nice enough house in South Lake. Bonus points for the hot tub. The lease was setup so that we each had our own beds. Super convenient to never have to deal with bed laundry or worry if all the beds are taken.
Snow conditions. Not good. Around mid-season, it was said that this was the worst season in 50 years. It picked up somewhat after that, but not too much. Kirkwood doesn't have much snow making, so we did a lot of days in the early season at Heavenly. I've had enough of Dipper and Comet to last a lifetime.
This was my first season in the backcountry. I took a Level 1 AIARE course at Kirkwood in February, and over the course of the season did about 5 days of backcountry skiing. Tahoe backcountry got a really late start this year, because the base never really built up that big. The base needs to build up to bury those pesky rocks and logs.
My favorite day of the year started off at Kirkwood. It was a powder day, and the place was super crowded, because everyone was jonesing for some of the fluffy stuff and it had been a dry season so far. Kirkwood was tracked out by 2pm, and honestly I had an ok day there. So I left and met up with my buddy Aaron at Powderhouse Peak. I skinned up, and met him mid-mountain. Then we made our way to the summit together. We skied all the way to the base. 18" of untouched fresh through some beautiful wide open glades. After the first run, I turned to Aaron and said "That was the best run of my life", he replied "Me too." Aaron and I did a few more laps, and made it back to the car around 8pm.
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| Powderhouse Peak |
So it wasn't a good season snow wise. But I still had a freaking blast. The stoke level is high for next year.
While the season is over, there is still the possibility for more skiing. Either hiking up to some persistent snow fields(likely) or traveling to the Southern hemisphere(unlikely). I'm always looking to get in some more turns.
