By Jason Blevins, Denver Post

Utah’s Powdr Corp. is doubling down in Colorado, adding Eldora Mountain Resort ski area to a portfolio that has included Copper Mountain resort since 2009.

Powdr Corp. also owns Boreal Ski Resort. The acquisition by Powdr, which now owns nine ski areas in Colorado, California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Vermont, adds yet another chapter to Eldora’s ownership story.

“Colorado’s Front Range is one of the best ski markets in the world. Expanding our footprint here with now two of the most accessible resorts to serve those passionate skiers is an enormous honor,” Powdr owner and CEO John Cumming said in a news release. “Eldora is admired as a leading entry point and training ground for children and beginners.”

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Washoe Lake State Park is offering a variety of events this month, including an astronomy program with telescopes, a slide presentation about Washoe Lake, a campfire program and a full moon hike.

These events are included with the park’s entrance fee of $7/vehicle. Nevada residents receive a $2 discount.

June 11, 8:30pm: Star Party

The Northern Nevada Astronomy Group will have telescopes set up at the Maze parking lot for viewing stars, planets, and other wonders of the night sky. Bring a jacket, lawn chair, and a red light if possible (red lights do not negatively affect night vision).

June 15, 8:30pm: Washoe Lake Slide Presentation

This 30- to 45-minute program will focus on Washoe Lake State Park and its natural and cultural resources. There will be a brief history of Washoe Valley highlighting park facilities, activities and interpretive programs.

Meet in the Equestrian Pavilion. Enter the park, turn right, pass the campground, and follow a short gravel road to the pavilion’s parking area.

June 18, 7:30pm: Nevada Wildlife Campfire Program

Guest speaker Tricia Dutcher from the Oxbow Nature Study Area in Reno will talk about Nevada’s wildlife species. Participants should bring a lawn chair and flashlight.

Meet at campsite No. 14 in Campground Loop A.

June 20, 8:30pm: Full Moon Hike

Reservations are required for this hike (775.687.4319 or washoelake@hdiss.net). This will be a one-mile, out-and-back walk on the beach of Little Washoe Lake.

Meet in the parking lot at Little Washoe Lake.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – Weekend warriors may not be prepared for the elements, but a cadre of volunteers has their backs.

Those volunteers come with varied backgrounds. Often their day job has nothing in common with rappelling down a slab of granite to find a hiker, or jumping into rushing water to save a capsized kayaker, or performing first aide on an injured outdoor enthusiast.

Ryder Evans and Chris Kozlowski with El Dorado County’s Search and Rescue spoke last week at the Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe meeting at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe about what they encounter on assignments.

While they work with El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, they are not employees, they buy their own gear, they are not compensated, they work at all hours of the day and night, and what they do is risky.

The night before the Tahoe group – of which there about 35 members – had been called out to Gilmore Lake in Desolation Wilderness to find a couple hikers who got nervous because they didn’t think they could get out before darkness set in.  They were in shorts, had no water and were above the tree line. The crew found them and everyone walked out.

Evans said using a cell phone to contact SAR is ideal – assuming it’s a true emergency – because cell phone pings often are within 300 meters of the person. It can be as much as 1,000 meters, and that can be problematic.

“We’ll spend a lot of time trying to figure out where you are,” Ryder said.

Sometimes SAR gains access to phone records to know the last text sent or call made. They look for vehicles.

Dogs are a big part of crews, especially for El Dorado County, which has three. Kozlowski is one of those handlers. She has Mika.

It was a colleague of hers who found Carson May, the Sugar Bowl ski instructor, who went missing in January because a presumed avalanche swept him to his death.

“It’s finding what shouldn’t be there,” Kozlowski said of what the dogs look for.

People are out of place in the wilderness. It could also be a cell phone or other object a dog homes in on. A dog’s keen sense of smell is what makes them so valuable. They can find people buried 6-feet deep in an avalanche, or circle above water with a person 30-feet deep in water.

It’s best if they can get an object with the missing person’s scent. This could be a swab taken from the vehicle. Kozlowski joked that people should leave a pair of dirty socks in a bag at home – just in case you go missing.

Of course telling someone your plans is another good idea so crews will have a better ideal where to search.

The top reasons why SAR is called out:

·      Lights went out – (AKA – darkness) This is more common in winter when days are shorter.

·      Lost the trail.

·      Parties split up.

·      Maleitist – especially for guys between 20 and 34.

·      Bad choices.

·      Poor job of calculating distance and time.

·      Lower leg injuries.

·      Poor communication.

·      People afraid of animals.

·      Mechanical failures.

·      It’s easy to call 911. “A lot of times we say if you didn’t have 911, you wouldn’t call us,” Ryder said.

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Note:

·       There will be a fundraiser for El Dorado County Search and Rescue’s Tahoe unit on June 22 at 7pm at Riva Grill in South Lake Tahoe. Cost is $22, which includes a buffet and live music.

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

The idea of nabbing a good spot on a Lake Tahoe beach at the height of summer can seem a little daunting for people who have to drive from Reno.

They’re competing for parking and beach space with thousands of Tahoe residents and tourists who can roll out of bed and down to the shore without taking 30 to 45 minutes to drive to the lake.

The result? A frustrating day of anxious beachgoers spending as much time looking for parking and beach space than they do having fun at the lake.

It’s a situation promoters of the recently updated Tahoe Beaches app want to help people avoid.

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The Park Creek Waterfall near Jenkinson Lake is raging. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

POLLOCK PINES – A gentle roar could be heard in the distance. There is no mistaking the sound of a waterfall.

With California finally having a relatively normal winter in terms of snow and rain, waterfalls everywhere are raging and will continue to as the white stuff melts.

Park Creek Waterfall brought out the masses last Sunday. Of course it was also a three-day weekend.

This 5.6-mile round trip hike isn’t for those who want seclusion and the silence of nature. It is for anyone who wants to be surrounded by people having fun, enjoying the outdoors. It’s bound to be a popular destination every summer weekend.

Most of the Bumpy Meadows trail is shaded. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Most of the trail is alongside Jenkinson Lake in the Sly Park Recreation Area. The cackles of people being pulled on an inner tube drifted across the water. Fishermen were anchored, waiting patiently for a nibble from a trout.

On the other side of the 5 mph zone was where most of the kayakers were.

The dirt trail is covered in pine needles. Conifers and oak dominate the landscape, with the latter’s scent distinct at times. Shrubs are growing closer to the ground. A few ferns were spotted as well as some wildflowers.

On such a warm day it was a relief to have 95 percent of the trail shaded.

Being right next to the lake made it convenient for AJ to cool off whenever she wanted to. I was a bit jealous; at times wishing I had my swim suit along.

People are swimming in the pool of water at the bottom of the falls. Others are wading in the icy waters.

Jenkinson Lake provides the opportunity for various recreation activities. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Much of the trail is flat. The few uphill/downhill sections are steep, but short. Side trails in these areas allow for mountain bikers and equestrians to go around the hikers to avoid user conflicts.

Most people walked to the falls from the campground – a much shorter trek, albeit more crowded. A bridge built in 1994 links the two sides.

It’s possible to climb to the top of the falls. It’s a short, steep, slick scamper.

(The trail all the way around the lake is 8½ miles.)

In the mid-1950s, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built the dam that impounds Sly Park Creek, which is a tributary of the middle fork of the Cosumnes River. Today El Dorado Irrigation District operates the lake.

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Getting there:

From South Lake Tahoe take Highway 50 west. Take the Sly Park exit. Go left off the exit.

Go left on Mormon Emigrant Trail. Pass two dams. The trailhead (Bumpy Meadows) is on the left.

Parking is $5.

The California Tahoe Conservancy’s free firewood permits and firewood locations are now available online.

Permits are valid until Dec. 31 of the year printed or downloaded.

The Conservancy’s free firewood permits allows people to collect up to two cords of pre-cut firewood for personal use. There is a limit of one permit per household per calendar year. Firewood is offered on a first come, first served basis, when firewood is available.

Permits will continue to be issued at the Conservancy’s office located at 1061 Third Street in South Lake Tahoe.

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times

Summer’s right around the corner, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are here to remind you that there’s nothing like a dip in a public pool — a place where you might encounter tiny bits of fecal matter, parasites like Cryptosporidium and volatile chemicals that can irritate your eyes or respiratory tract.

A report published Thursday warns that nearly 8 in 10 routine inspections of public pools turned up at least one violation of safety rules. In addition, about 1 in 8 of these inspections found problems so serious that the pool had to be closed immediately.

These disheartening statistics are based on 84,187 routine inspections of 48,632 public pools and other “aquatic venues” in Arizona, California, Florida, New York and Texas.

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The South Lake Tahoe Rotary Club also donated $3,000 to stock fish in Sawmill Pond in time for the annual Optimists Kids Fishing Derby that will be June 4f rom 8am-noon.

The derby is to teach children to fish, and it is open to all youth 14 and under.

On June 2, members of the South Lake Tahoe Rotary in support of the Optimist Club met at Sawmill Pond to do cleanup and staining of Rotary benches that were installed by members over the years.

This Sawmill Pond Project has been one that the South Lake Tahoe Rotary Club has supported annually under the leadership of Rotary Past President David Huber and in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service.

For each of the three days of the Tahoe Bike Challenge, South Tahoe Middle had and awesome participation.

The first day we had 85 students participate, the second day we had 100 kids and today we had over 150 kids participating.

Perfect weather for an amazing three days of fun and fitness.

There were different meeting places throughout the South Shore where staff members met groups of kids and rode with them to school. All of the students who rode their bikes to school were given raffle tickets, with 15 names being drawn each day for prizes like: Amgen Tour of California shirts and hats, bike reflectors, bike bells, bike lights, gift bags and more.

— Judy Klingler, South Tahoe Middle School

Caltrans is advising motorists that thousands of bicyclists will be sharing the highways all around Lake Tahoe during Sunday’s annual America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, a 72-mile ride around the lake.

The northbound lane of Highway 89 in Emerald Bay from Spring Creek Road to Vikingsholm Vista Point will be closed to through traffic from 6:30-8:30am. The southbound lane will remain open.

There are no other planned highway closures for the ride, but motorists should be prepared to share the road with bicyclists on all the California and Nevada highways around the lake.

The start and finish is at Hard Rock in Stateline.

More than 3,300 riders are expected for what is the 25th annual event.