Squaw Valley is going to be all about the Olympics on Saturday from 2-8pm.

Feb. 10 will begin with a parade of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows’ future champions and past Olympians. The parade leads into the Funitel Plaza for an autograph signing with Travis Ganong and Daron Rahlves.

The two past Olympians will then host a  Q&A before the live broadcast of the men’s downhill on the big screen. 

The night will end with a fireworks show in the base of the village.

For more info, go online.

Cyclists in the annual Amgen Tour of California will have to pedal over some of the region’s most iconic passes to win the race.

The women’s stage 2 starts and ends at Heavenly Mountain Resort. They will repeat the Luther Pass, Carson Valley, Kingsbury Grade route. This is basically what they did last year. The course in the valley will be different.

In three stages the women will cover 187 miles from May 17-19.

The men will arrive in South Lake Tahoe from Folsom via Carson and Luther passes. This is a similar route that they took in 2016. In all they will climb 16,000 feet in this 123-mile stage 6.

The seven-stage men’s event is May 13-19, from Long Beach to Sacramento.

Both Tahoe events will be May 18.

By Jonah Ogles, Outside

On Thursday morning, Colorado College released its Conservation in the West poll, which it has conducted since 2011. The survey asks voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho (added this year), Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah for their opinions on everything from energy development to national monuments, water usage to recreation.

It also asks about political affiliation, a question that, not surprisingly, tends to matter a lot.

In 2016, 63 percent of respondents said they’d call themselves one. This year, it was 76 percent.

Read the whole story

By Jim Krajewski, Reno Gazette-Journal

She’s gone from being the wide-eyed newcomer to the wily veteran on the U.S. Ski Team.

But now, Stacey Cook knows her competitive ski racing career is nearing the end and she is cherishing each moment.

Cook, who was born in Truckee and lives in Reno part-time, will compete in her fourth Winter Olympics this month in PyeongChang, South Korea, as part of the U.S. Alpine ski team.

Read the whole story

By Eric Rucker, Fox 40

What was supposed to be a simple day trip along the Rubicon Trail in Placer County turned into a frigid overnight stay and a rescue situation. 

“According to one of the persons that were lost the temperature reading was 15 degrees,” said Placer County sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Hunt.

Monday morning seven people from Sacramento were rescued by the Placer County Sheriff’s Department along with other officials and searchers after the truck the seven were in got stuck along the trail close to Miller Lake.

Read the whole story

By Dan Elliott, AP

From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Bureau of Land Management oversees some of the nation’s most prized natural resources: vast expanses of public lands rich in oil, gas, coal, grazing for livestock, habitat for wildlife, hunting ranges, fishing streams and hiking trails.

But more than 99 percent of that land is in 12 Western states, hundreds of miles from the nation’s capital. Some Western politicians — both Republicans and Democrats — are asking why the bureau’s headquarters isn’t in the West as well.

“You’re dealing with an agency that basically has no business in Washington, D.C.,” said Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who introduced a bill to move the headquarters to any of those dozen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington or Wyoming. The Bureau of Land Management manages a combined 385,000 square miles in those states.

Read the whole story

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Lisa Holan was 42 years old the first time she picked up a rifle.

Four years later, Holan, a Nordic skier and Truckee resident, is a competitive biathlon athlete.

The ancient and grueling sport that combines cross-country skiing with target shooting is largely ignored by American sports fans and adventure athletes.

But for people like Holan, who tried biathlon after seeing a flier advertising an introductory clinic, it can become a near-obsession.

Read the whole story

A coyote with a jar on its head was found in El Dorado County. Photo/Sierra Wildlife Rescue

By Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee

 A young female coyote has been freed after spending at least a week-and-a-half wandering Placer and El Dorado counties with a plastic jar stuck over its head.

The coyote’s unfortunate situation was first reported to Gold Country Wildlife Rescue on Jan. 26, prompting several search parties to trek into the woods over the next few days.

The jar appeared to prevent the coyote from eating and possibly drinking, though people reported seeing the animal stick its entire head – jar and all – underwater on at least one occasion.

Read the whole story

By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal

Human-induced climate change could make future winter Olympics risky business for some of the world’s likeliest host venues.

That’s according to published research by scientists who studied 21 former and potential future winter Olympics venues.

They found that by mid-century, as many as 10 former venues, including Lake Tahoe and Vancouver, B.C., in North America, would be considered risky or unreliable bets for delivering the cold and snow necessary for winter sports.

Read the whole story

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, which includes local, state and federal agencies, may continue prescribed fire operations this week in some locations around Lake Tahoe, weather and conditions permitting. 

Smoke may be present. To receive prescribed fire notifications, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us. 

When weather and conditions allow, prescribed fire operations are conducted to reduce overgrown vegetation, which decreases the severity of future wildland fires, protects communities, reduces the risk of insect and disease outbreaks in our forests, recycles nutrients that increases soil productivity and improves wildlife habitat. 

Each prescribed fire operation follows a specialized prescribed fire burn plan that considers temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation, and conditions for the dispersal of smoke.  This information is used to decide when and where to burn.

When prescribed fire operations are conducted, the TFFT posts road signs around areas affected by prescribed fire, sends email notifications and updates the local fire information line at 530.543.2816.