04 Oct Marco Rocks
Cordial, articulate and adept at rocketing down icy mountains, Marco Sullivan was both a fan favorite and media darling throughout his 15-year World Cup career. Even his rivals enjoyed his company....
03 Oct Go Big in Banff
O Canada! Your natural charms are many, but perhaps none so staggeringly stunning as the steep, snow-covered summits belonging to Banff National Park. Established in 1885, not long after three Canadian Pacific Railway workers stumbled upon a series of natural hot springs, the 2,564-square-mile swath...
03 Oct A Cross-Country Comeback
Cross-country ski areas are particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of winter. This is especially true for Tahoe Cross Country, which, at a relatively low elevation of 6,600 feet, needs cold winter storms to open its extensive network of trails above the North Shore of Lake...
03 Oct Skiing the Depths of Desolation
A hiking hotspot in the summer, Tahoe’s prized wilderness area transforms into a serene backcountry paradise come winter I hook the tail of my climbing skin on my ski and toss it up on the snowbank next to the other one. “What time do you have...
01 Oct Clarity Loss Overshadowed by Climate Change
Last year was the worst year for Lake Tahoe’s clarity since anyone started paying attention. That said, it was a fluke. The bigger problem—and it may be bigger than anyone can know—lies ahead as the climate continues to warm, raising water temperatures and producing potentially widespread...
01 Oct The Literary Side of The Lake
South Shore’s Bona Fide Books acts as a hub for Tahoe’s growing literary arts scene In Andrew C. Gottlieb’s essay The Elusive Ghost Moose on Isle Royale, he relates a story of running into a hiker on an isolated island and asking her if she was...
01 Oct Lodge Pairs Luxury with Backcountry Seclusion
An old logging road cuts deep into the Sierra, past towering conifers and prickly Christmas trees, their needles softened by a layer of fresh snow. The wooded passage leads past a “Bigfoot Crossing” sign—fittingly placed in this rugged, high-elevation landscape—and ends at a frozen lake...
01 Oct Snakebitten in the Sierra
Mountain outing turns potentially deadly after a surprise attack It happened when I least expected it. But then again, I never expected it to happen at all. On the eve of a Yosemite backpacking adventure, in the care of an exceptionally experienced team, a friend and...
01 Oct Crossing Paths with History
A backcountry snowboarding adventure into the Great Western Divide Mileage smileage. This is one of those High Sierra adventures where it’s better not to know exactly how far we’re trying to go. Distances and elevations spinning in our heads might only distract from our confidence. The...
01 Oct Trials of the Toothless
It’s hard to smile through a season-ending knee injury, but what happens when even your once majestic grin suddenly frightens small children? The delectable concoction was piled tantalizingly in hand—the crisp bread, the colorful layers of pickled cucumbers, carrots and radish, the mint, spice, pork and...