Category: Winter
Tall Apres Ski Tales
Skiers and riders are known to tell a “big fish” tale or two at the bar after a day on the slopes. Here’s a few favorite stretched apres truths: “I blew out my snowboard bindings in Heart Chute today I was going so hard.” Translation: “I’ve been going so hard at In-N-Out that I put on 80 [...]
Q&A with Jeremy Jones
By Seth Lightcap North Tahoe professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones could double for a tight rope–walking circus juggler. The balancing act of business, politics and play that this 37–year–old father of two pulls off has made him one of the most highly respected athletes in the action sports world. Ten years of daring first descents [...]
The Dark Side of the Snow
By Seth Lightcap Backcountry skiing and riding are increasingly popular around Tahoe, but to avoid an experience like this one, avalanche training and awareness are a necessity. I got served a stiff lesson about avalanche danger last winter. The punishment took place while snowboarding in the backcountry of Hakuba, Japan. On our first [...]
Best Spots to Shack Up in the Backcountry
By Seth Lightcap Historic Sierra Club digs offer a rustic rooftop overhead. Whether you’re prime for a backcountry adventure or just keen for a lodging experience of yesteryear, the Tahoe Sierra Club lodges and huts provide an escape route to the wilderness unlike anything else in Tahoe. Although it’s largely BYO linens and food, [...]
Natural Rythms: Winter
By Will Richardson Small but clever, these little creatures have adapted to winter’s snows. Among the mammals that winter-over in Tahoe, squirrels and chipmunks are perhaps the most numerous, and interesting, employing a variety of strategies to make it through the long, snowy season. Like all creatures that stick around through the harshest months [...]
Mountain Master
By Jen Schmidt Resort illustrator James Niehues captures Tahoe’s great ski mountains. Early in his career, alpine resort and panoramic illustrator James Niehues found himself on the slopes of Alta during a project. Although he is a native Coloradoan, his still-developing skiing technique and five inches of fresh left him a little overwhelmed. “You’d [...]
Guns, skis and the push for biathlon at Tahoe
With the lung-bursting cardio of Nordic skiing and the precise, cool-headed aim of marksmanship, biathlon is a clear case of “opposites attract.” Though biathlon’s origins are rooted in Norwegian military training and its fan following is staunchly European, its coming-of-age took place in Tahoe. The discipline was first included in the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, [...]
Getting kids on Tahoe’s slopes
To many families, winter in Tahoe means ski lessons, season passes and bluebird days together at a favorite resort. But not to all: With rising poverty rates, teenage obesity at an all-time high and more single-parent homes than ever before, not all kids have the means or opportunity to learn a winter sport. Fortunately, there [...]
Q&A with Julia Mancuso; talking lingerie, tiaras, podiums and Sochi
Raised on the slopes of Squaw Valley USA, skier Julia Mancuso has three Olympic medals (more than any other American female alpine skier) and a fistful of World Championship and World Cup podium finishes to her name. When not flying down a snow-covered mountain, “Super Jules,” as she is known to her fellow U.S. Ski [...]
Snowmaking in Tahoe: Northstar and Heavenly Pump up The Best Christmas Snow Conditions
Despite the sparse natural snow, Tahoe’s two Vail-owned resorts are pumping up their snowmaking muscle for Christmas week. We rode both of them on Friday, and have ridden three more resorts since. Northstar California Northstar is rolling out the white carpet to skiers and snowboarders in time for the holidays. Vail’s Sierra Nevada [...]
