The North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts may continue prescribed fire operations next week if conditions are favorable. 

Operations may take place near Glenbrook, Round Hill, Lower Kingsbury Grade and Tahoe City. To view a map with project locations and details, go online.

Before prescribed fire operations are conducted, agencies post road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, send email notifications and update the local fire information line at 530.543.2816. 

By USSA

VAL GARDENA, Italy – Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) snagged the podium on his favorite Audi FIS Ski World Cup track, finishing in third in Val Gardena. Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley) and Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley) nailed the top 10.

It looked like Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was going to take his first downhill win since his injury last season, but Max Franz of Austria spoiled his celebration, coming from bib 26 to win the race—his first World Cup victory of his career and the first Austrian win on the Saslong in eight years.

It was another beautiful day in the Dolomites with the U.S. men performing well on the open downhill track. Nyman had a wild ride—threatening first place even after landing on his tails off a jump. But the hill is a perfect set up for the big man—built for strong gliders like Nyman. “I’m really happy with the performance,” said Nyman. “Val d’Isere was a big disappointment—I had some equipment issues I was dialing in. To resurrect that here and know I can ski at the top is really, really good and I want to carry that into Caterina.”

Ganong also had a great day, putting down an aggressive line to finish in seventh place. But his eyes are looking toward the win at Santa Caterina. “I know I have speed to be faster than anybody, but it’s having all the splits add up at the end,” said Ganong. “It’s close, it’s super close. I have to keep working at it and keep trying and it’ll come.”

The race was thrilling to the end, with Bennett skiing from bib 54 to finish eighth, right behind Ganong. This wasn’t Bennett’s first bibbo rodeo at Val Gardena. Last season, he started 57th to finish sixth on the track.

This trophy buck was illegally killed. Photo/Nevada Department of Wildlife

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Wildlife officials are seeking information on a large mule deer illegally shot and left to waste in Lincoln County.

It’s the second time since late November officials have turned to the public for help identifying leads in a deer-killing case.

The most recent case involves a mule deer found dead with the head partially removed in Rose Valley in hunt area 231 on Nov. 28.

Read the whole story

By USSA

VAL GARDENA, Italy – Once Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley) got up to speed, he laid down a solid run to lead to U.S. men in Friday’s Audi FIS Ski World Cup super G.

“The skiing was really good once I got into it,” said Ganong, who finished the day in 18th. “But the start is kind of what got me.”

Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud, who has been on fire so far this season in speed events, won his second super G race of the season over countryman Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Canada’s Erik Guay rounded out the podium in third – his 24th World Cup podium finish.

Other American finishers included Steve Nyman (Sundance, Utah) in 25th; Brennan Rubie (Salt Lake City) just missed World Cup points in 31st; Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) 42nd; Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) 47th; Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley) 48th; Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt,) 51st; and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) 53rd.

By Jill Sanford, Moonshine Ink

“I travel and ski with guys all year round, so it’s amazing when I get to experience the mountain with a posse of women. There’s this female energy and support that’s so powerful. I push myself more when I see other girls out there challenging themselves and shedding some of the self-doubt that comes with skiing with guys.”

Pro skier Michelle Parker isn’t alone in this sentiment. Women who are involved in winter sports are gravitating toward female-only organizations like the SAFE AS avalanche clinics, Tahoe Backcountry Women, and SheJumps; places where they can find the support and energy of female companionship.

“The general trend is for women to feel more comfortable speaking up in an all-women’s group,” said local sports psychologist Robb Gaffney. “There could be cases in which a woman feels more comfortable disclosing a difficult issue to a man or to a group of men, especially if the group is safe and non-judgmental, as opposed to sharing the same information with a woman who could be perceived as an intimidating figure. But yes, in general, there is likely safety through similarity, and same-gender groups offer that.”

Read the story

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

A potentially deadly avalanche problem is still lurking at two popular Reno-area backcountry destinations thanks to a weak layer deep in the snowpack.

That’s according to the Sierra Avalanche Center which on Tuesday featured observations from Chickadee Ridge and Tamarack peak along with the daily avalanche advisory.

Chickadee and Tamarack are popular destinations for Reno and Lake Tahoe area residents who enjoy snowshoeing and backcountry skiing and snowboarding.

Read the whole story

Lake Tahoe could reach its natural rim by the end of the week.

The storms that blew through Dec. 9-10 brought 8,690,131,707 gallons of water to the lake. That is 26,669 acre-feet.

The natural is rim is 6,223 feet. As of Dec. 11, the lake level was at 6,222.97 feet. The last time the lake was at its natural rim was in mid-September.

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a winter weather advisory for the basin from 10am Tuesday to 4am Wednesday. A couple of inches of snow may fall at lake level, with a foot possible above 8,000 feet. This storm will bring strong winds.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

Jamie Anderson, who has been competing in Dew Tours for nine years, won the competition this weekend in Colorado.

With consistent snowstorms bringing more than 31 inches of snow to Breckenridge over the last seven days, the competition was altered accordingly throughout the weekend to ensure it was the safest and best for riders and fans. After several attempts for the female snowboarders to compete in the jump section for the slopestyle title, it was finally decided Sunday to determine a winner based on the jib section results from Saturday.

No stranger to the podium, Anderson reclaimed her Dew Tour slopestyle title Dec. 11. Her winning jib run from Saturday consisted of a cab tail switch-up to back tail, frontside 270 on the down rail, 50-50 off the pole jam to slide across the Toyota cage with a stalefish off, and a tailside to fakie on the flat to down kink rail, scoring her a 91.33.

“It’s been an epic weekend,” said Anderson. “I’m just so happy. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to jump, but I don’t think I’ve ever won a rail jam, so I’m pretty stoked. I’m loving the new setup. It’s sweet.”

Runner ups behind Anderson were 16-year-old Hailey Langland (USA), with her score of 86 and last year’s second place winner, Spencer O’Brien (Canada), with a best score of 80.

The U.S. Forest Service wants to know the public’s opinion about charging a fee for the rental of Sardine Lookout in the Tahoe National Forest.

Sardine Lookout would be the second lookout available for the public to rent, the first being Calpine Lookout, which is also on the Sierraville Ranger District. The proposed nightly fee is $45.

The Sardine Fire Lookout was built in 1935 and is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lookout has two twin beds, a table and fire finder pedestal, styled after originals from the Calpine Fire Lookout. There is a fire pit, picnic table and vault toilet. The area is very remote, with tremendous views and solitude.

Comments regarding this fee proposal should be sent to Quentin Youngblood at qyoungblood@fs.fed.us by Feb. 7.

By USSA

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Chas Guldemond (Reno) earned a hard-fought fourth-place finish at the Winter Dew Tour on Saturday. Guldemond, who landed his first triple cork in competition in the big air section on Friday, finished seventh in the rail portion on Saturday, for a combined score that placed him just off the podium.

The podium was a Canadian sweep: Mark McMorris won the jump section and was fifth in the rail section to take the win, Max Parrot had a standout rail section to put him in second and Sebastien Toutant rode well in both sections to earn the third overall spot.

The Dew Tour competition format was completely reinvented for 2016. Slopestyle athletes competed in two separate contests – a big air event on Friday, which combined the best two scores of four, and a rail section on Saturday, which took the best score of three. The scores were then combined to determine the overall winner, the greatest possible score being 200. Though there was apprehension going into the event, riders seemed to enjoy the format, saying that it gave them a chance to focus on individual obstacles vs. an overall slopestyle run.

Brandon Davis (Mammoth Lakes) had one of the best rail runs on Saturday, placing him in third place for the day. Unfortunately, Davis wasn’t able to land a solid trick in Friday’s snowy big air event and his combined score of 121.66 placed him in 11th overall.

Eric Willett (Breckenridge, Colo.) had a strong showing in the big air competition on Friday, landing a huge frontside 1440 and a switch backside 1260. Willett was fourth in big air but struggled in the rail section. He had a stellar third run going but couldn’t complete the rotation off his final rail and went down in the end corral. Willett’s combined score of 110.65 put him 13th overall.

Brock Crouch (Mammoth Lakes) was eighth with a combined score of 135.99; Eric Beauchemin (Grand Blanc, Mich.) was ninth with a combined score of 128.66; Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, Mich.) was 14th with a combined score of 105.32; Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) was 16th with a combined score of 95.66.