By Northern Nevada Business Weekly

The owners of High Sierra Ice Cream Inc., parent of Tahoe Creamery brand ice cream, faced a daunting decision near the end of 2010.

Tahoe Creamery had shut down in September 2010 because it ran out of working capital, and the investor group, headed by lawyer Garrett Sutton of Sutton Law Center, pondered whether to fire-sale the company’s assets, sell the business, or restructure management and try to bring the brand back.

They chose the latter, resurfacing Tahoe Creamery in February 2011. It wasn’t easy resurrecting the brand, Sutton says. Currently, High Sierra Ice Cream has placed pints in northern Nevada Scolari’s stores, and the ice cream also is served at Grand Sierra Resort, Tahoe Valley Campground at South Lake Tahoe, the Gear and Grind Café in Tahoe City, Susie’s Scoops in Incline Village, and certain 7-Elevens.

Tahoe Creamery has three full-time employees and is in the process of moving into a new 2,200-square-foot location in Minden. The company had been located in a small 800-square-foot space in Minden. The company uses Model Dairy as a distribution partner for the ice cream.

Sutton says Tahoe Creamery plans on releasing several new flavors by the end of the summer, as well as new packaging for the pints.

By Kathryn Reed

OLYMPIC VALLEY – Tumbling water splashing down from the mountains above; at times rippling across smooth rocks, other times in freefall.

Despite the lack of snowfall this winter, rivers and creeks in the greater Lake Tahoe area are still providing a scenic thrill for hikers.

As we scampered up from the parking area, we could hear the sound of rushing water fill the air. To our right is Squaw Creek. It doesn’t take long and mini waterfalls are before us.

Hiking next to Squaw Creek provides for one photo op after another. Photos/Kathryn Reed

While the entire hike is not ideal for all ages, some of the most scenic areas are at the start of the trail. Young families have found this a good place to recreate.

Expansive “beaches” of granite call out as a potential sunbathing or lunch spot. We move on. It’s too early for a break.

The towering granite spires make us feel little. And we thought the pines were tall. The mountains on the North Shore seem bigger, certainly more jagged.

A soft dirt trail takes us up. A few spots are muddy on this particular Sunday, but it’s still early season.

Our goal is Shirley Canyon – a hike Squaw CEO Andy Wirth says is one of his favorites and one that he has done about 20 times.

We didn’t make our goal.

Sometimes taking a wrong turn can be a good thing.

This was the case Memorial Day weekend. We ended up in another canyon.

What was so spectacular is we were all alone – embraced by Mother Nature. The trail is less defined here. We meander along and through the Manzanita as we head into a canyon.

We cross under the Silverado chairlift that sits idle. The terrain is way too rugged to merely follow the lift up. Instead, we head farther into the canyon, with the top of the tram to our right and in front of us. We’d like to get there, though it’s not running yet for the summer.

We inch up along a snowfield, not wanting to walk in the middle of it for fear of breaking through into a creek.

Truly, it was breathtaking – and not just because of the elevation. I felt so small. But I had this weird smile on my face – being someplace new, where there was only the two of us, and where most hikers probably never venture.

Having skied here, I knew we were in for some dicey conditions if we pressed onward.

As we scampered out, in the distance we could here loud talking. It turned out to be a smaller group of the 31 who were hiking together. I had forgotten how unpleasant it could be to hike on a holiday weekend until I came across this group.

Maybe I’m a snob. But to me, one of the points of hiking is the tranquility. All the jibber-jabber makes it impossible to hear the sounds of the woods – the water flowing, the birds singing, the wind whispering.

What we should have done to get to Shirley was cross the creek. On a cursory glance it looked deep so I picked the “wrong” trail. Going back we saw it wasn’t that big of a deal to cross. And just on the other side is wonderful waterfall, skinny compared the ones early on the trail. By this time, though, we were ready to find a different kind of watering hole.

—–

Notes:

• The tram opens June 15. It’s free for all 2012-13 passholders; $29 for adults and $10 for kids (with discounts every Tuesday in July and August for Bluesdays).

• The tram is free for hikers going down, at least according to the sign posted at the start of the trailhead.

• The High Camp Pool and Hot Tub, and Umbrella Bar open June 15 and there is an additional cost to use the pool.

• The village is at 6,200 feet and High Camp is 8,200 feet.

Directions:

From South Lake Tahoe, go north on Highway 89. At the Y in Tahoe City, go left. Turn left into the entrance at Squaw. (There’s an Olympic flame and rings to let you know you are in the right place.) Follow this up to the ski area. Drive all the way up Squaw Valley Road, take a right at the tram, follow road all the way around. Park. Then follow the creek all the way up to Shirley Lake and follow the trail to High Camp. Or do what we did and don’t go all the way to the top.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

By Kate Mather, Los Angeles Times

All the man was trying to do, he told authorities, was find the bear cubs a good home.

California Department of Fish and Game wardens are investigating a Northern California man found Wednesday outside a gas station with two baby black bears in a cage, department spokesman Patrick Foy said.

A passerby in North San Juan, 75 miles northeast of Sacramento, called a Fish and Game poaching line and said the man was selling the bears, according to Foy. Nevada County sheriff’s deputies and a game warden went to the Sierra Super Stop, where the man told authorities he was “just trying to find them a good home.”

The reason, he said, was because he had shot their mother on his property a few days before and assumed she eventually died.

“He told us he had shot the mother bear in self-defense and the mother bear ran off, leaving the cubs behind,” Foy said. “He apparently kept the cubs for a couple of days, then made his decision.”

Authorities went to the man’s property to look for the mother bear’s body, Foy said, but found no sign of her. The man had no injuries indicating a bear encounter.

“There’s a lot of parts to this person’s story that don’t add up,” Foy said.

Experts guess the cubs, a male and female that weigh 11 and 13 pounds, are 5 to 6 months old. Although they’re in good health, they are too young to be released into the wild, Foy said, which is why they will spend several months at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.

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Sierra Front Interagency Fire Dispatch Center is asking citizens to stay out of the area where the Preacher Mine Fire recently burned in Douglas County.

Curious citizens and off-road vehicle operators have been utilizing the roadways and backcountry area where the fire burned, and this has caused problems for the fire mop-up crews still operating in the area.

Some smoldering hot spots still remain in the area, and hand crews will be operating in the area for several more days extinguishing them.

— Douglas County Sheriff’s Department

Nevada’s Division of State Parks is granting free fishing access to its state parks on June 9.

State parks with fishing opportunities include:

• Washoe Lake

• Sand Harbor and the Lake Tahoe Backcountry (Spooner and Hobart)

• Dayton

• Rye Patch

• Lahontan

• Fort Churchill

• South Fork

• Wild Horse

• Cave Lake

• Ward Charcoal Ovens

• Spring Valley

• Echo Canyon

• Beaver Dam

• Big Bend of the Colorado.

Alpenglow Sports and Tahoe Peak Endurance is hosting a two-part seminar on heart rate training and sport nutrition on June 18 at 6:30pm.

This is a free community even. Athletes of all ages and types are encouraged to attend.

Part of Adventure Sports Week Tahoe, the seminar will cover what people need to know about heart rate training and how to keep fueled, healthy and recovered for the next adventure.

Each talk will last 30 minutes with question and answer afterward.

Part 1: ““Training to the Beat of your Own Heart” with Colleen Conners-Pace.

Part 2: ““How to Fuel for your Exercise Regime” with Jill Whisler.

For questions, call (530) 583.6917.

Douglas County sheriff’s deputies will be at maximum deployment this weekend for the annual Carson Valley Days celebration.

The two major events of the weekend are the Friday night celebration in old-town Gardnerville, and the Saturday morning parade along Highway 395 in town.

The Friday night celebratory event was started by citizens of the Carson Valley years ago as a means to strengthen the bond of the community and commemorate the accomplishments of the past year.

Deputies will be conducting extensive foot patrols throughout the area during the entirety of the celebration.

Due to the adult nature of the event, minors are discouraged from attending unless in the custody of a parent.

Award-winning poet Lillian-Yvonne Bertram will be hosting a poetry reading and workshop at the South Lake Tahoe Branch Library on July 7 at 2pm.

The event is free.

The library is at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd., South Lake Tahoe.

By Jennifer Medina, New York Times

LOS ANGELES — Class sizes have increased, courses have been cut and tuition has been raised — repeatedly. Fewer colleges are offering summer classes. Administrators rely increasingly on higher tuition from out-of-staters. And there are signs it could get worse: If a tax increase proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown is not approved this year, officials say they will be forced to consider draconian cuts like eliminating entire schools or programs.

For generations, the University of California system — home to such globally renowned institutions as Berkeley and U.C.L.A. — has been widely recognized as perhaps the best example of what public universities could be. Along with the California State University system and the state’s vast number of community colleges, higher education options here have long been the envy of other states.

But after years, and even decades, of budget cutbacks from the state, that reputation is under increasing threat. University leaders, who had responded typically to earlier budget cuts with assurances that their institutions were still in top form, now are sounding the alarm. In trying to rally support, they openly worry that their schools do not offer the same quality of education as a decade ago.

“I’d be lying if I said what we offer students hasn’t been changed and that there hasn’t been a degradation of the learning environment,” said Timothy White, the chancellor of UC Riverside, which has had record growth in recent years. Last year, plans to open a medical school on the campus were shelved after state budget cuts.

While there are more students than ever, the number of academic advisers has dropped to 300, from 500 a few years ago, for more than 18,000 undergraduates. Courses that used to require four writing assignments now demand half that because professors have fewer assistants to help them with grading papers, something other campuses have implemented as well.

While no one is arguing that cutting higher education spending is a good thing, some say that the state budget crisis makes it necessary — and may provide an opportunity for needed changes.

Jon Coupal, the president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which strongly opposes the proposed tax increase, said the colleges should do more to show they are cutting spending, like reducing pay for top administrators or closing programs that do not directly benefit the state.

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By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

Fire officials urge property owners to use caution when engaged in activities such as clearing defensible space and burning debris piles.

Every spring, fire agencies remind homeowners of the importance of clearing dead grass and brush 100 feet from homes to prepare for the fire season, but how they clear this space is equally important to preventing fires, according to a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection news release.

The spark from a metal lawn mower blade against a rock can easily ignite a wildfire.

“While it’s important to clear dead grass and brush, we don’t want homeowners doing the right thing the wrong way,” Cal Fire director Chief Ken Pimilott said in a wirtten statement.

Two weeks ago, a wildfire known as the Banner Fire was sparked by unsafe equipment use, charring 5,321 acres just east of Julian in San Diego County, officials said. They urge homeowners to take advantage of this week’s cooler weather to clear any dead or dying vegetation before temperatures rise again.

Officials with Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado Unit also remind property owners to be careful when burning yard waste. Citing a recent increase in escaped vegetation debris pile burns, they remind residents that anyone who loses control of a burn pile can be cited and billed for the cost of putting out the fire.

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