Heavenly Mountain Resort’s Adult Racing League starts Jan. 10.
This is for skiers and snowboarders who are at least 21. There will be slalom and giant slalom courses.
Team of five will compete against each other. Cost is $135 per person. Deadline to register is Jan. 9 at the Cal Lodge pass office. The cost is $135 per person.
Races are from 5-8pm on Jan. 10, Jan. 17, Jan. 24, Feb. 7 and Feb. 14. The championship is Feb. 28.
California State Park interpreters will be leading full moon snowshoe tours on Jan. 27 and March 3 on the West Shore.
Participants will be exploring the natural and cultural history around the Hellman-Ehrman estate at Sugar Pine Point State Park.
For those new to snowshoeing, there will be a beginner’s clinic at 6:30pm.
The hike is from 7-9pm, and costs $30 per adult and $20 per child 12 and younger. The cost includes snowshoe rentals, park entrance and guided hike. Tickets are available online.
The annual seasonal closure of dirt roads will go into effect on the Eldorado National Forest on Jan. 1. These roads will remain closed until at least April 1.
The seasonal closure is designed to protect roadbeds and watersheds from damage and to protect water quality. A minimum three-month closure period from Jan. 1 through March 30 was designated for the core part of the winter in the Eldorado National Forest Travel Management Plan. To maintain flexibility, the timing of the dirt road closure is determined based on current conditions each year which may cause the closure to go into effect early or be extended.
Roads subject to seasonal closure are identified on a map that is available online.
A snowboarder seems to ride right into Lake Tahoe from the slopes of Diamond Peak. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright
By Kathryn Reed
INCLINE VILLAGE – Gorgeous. It was the word I kept saying. It was almost as though I had never seen Lake Tahoe.
The views from Diamond Peak are that good; they rival any view from any Tahoe resort. The superlatives are almost endless. Every 10 feet seemed like a Kodak moment.
A conveyor belt on Lakeview chairlift is a unique experience. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright
And the resort – wow. This was my first time at this Incline Village ski area, same for Carolyn. We were both incredibly pleasantly surprised, impressed and eager to return when the entire mountain is open.
On the day after Christmas there was no waiting in line. Only once did we have to share a chairlift with others, and that was as the afternoon skiers started arriving.
Crystal Express chairlift delivers skiers to the top of the mountain at 8,540 feet. On the east side Washoe Lake dots the valley in what otherwise looks like the barren landscape of the Carson area. Doing a 180, Lake Tahoe’s deep blue waters stretch out, as though skiers could plunge into its icy embrace.
With views this good, it’s hard to want to eat inside at the Snowflake Lodge. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright
A multitude of runs descend from the intermediate Crystal Ridge run. The only problem is they are roped off. The incredibly dry December means no Tahoe area resort is completely open. And so it is at Diamond Peak.
But once Mother Nature cooperates (which forecasts show could start later this week), these slopes should be covered in white stuff. Because they face north, it means they’ll be in better shape than others as the season goes on.
The tree skiing, according to resort officials, is pretty phenomenal – when there is the snow.
Lake Tahoe from Crystal Ridge looking toward the runs off Lakeview lift. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright
The runs that were open were in great condition. No complaints.
The busiest area was the beginner terrain. The bulk of the mountain, though, is blue and black runs.
A welcome feature was the free open air tram that shuttles people between the parking area and the base. It could have been a bit of a walk, especially in ski boots, without this assistance.
Diamond Peak’s mantra is to be customer service driven. It certainly doesn’t have a corporate feel to it. Residents in the Incline Village General Improvement District actually own the resort. They also get deals on passes and daily tickets.
Diamond Peak is owned by the homeowners in Incline Village. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright
The Pike family from Granite Bay takes advantage of parents/in-laws owning a condo in the area.
“We love the views, it’s family friendly and everyone who works here is really nice,” Nell Pike tells Lake Tahoe News. She and her husband, Richard, are taking a break at the Snowflake Lodge with their four kids – ages 12, 10, 8 and 5.
For 8-year-old Robert, going fast is what he likes. He started skiing at 4 and last year transitioned to snowboarding. He boasted about how Diamond Peak was an easy place to switch sports.
Diamond Peak has all of its beginner terrain open. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright
Most of the seating at this upper mountain lodge that is accessed from the Lakeview chairlift is outside. And with good reason. The views are stunning. On this Tuesday, with not a cloud in the sky and the sun beating down, it was definitely warm enough to sit there without a jacket.
Food is basic ski resort fare, with a couple vegetarian options.
It’s easy to linger.
Laid back is a good way to describe Diamond Peak. It’s unpretentious. It’s welcoming.
The Carson Ranger District is changing how it handles permits for noncommercial group use like family reunions, weddings, and group camping excursions.
From Jan. 1-March 1, and annually thereafter, the district will accept proposals for summer recreation events and noncommercial group use gatherings that take place between May 1 and Oct. 31. Proposals submitted during this open season will be date stamped and evaluated in the order received. Once the review process has been completed, proponents will be notified of the outcome and additional requirements, if any, for processing accepted applications.
It could take up to eight weeks for the initial review of the proposal package.
A separate open season for wintertime (Nov. 1 to April 30) recreation event and noncommercial group use proposals will be offered next year in a separate solicitation.
For more information, or to submit a proposal, contact Sheryl O’Brien at 775.884.8112 or sobrien@fs.fed.us.
By Todd Dewey, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Nevada sports books lost a record $11.4 million on baseball in November after bettors cashed on the Astros beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 and on futures wagers on Houston to win the World Series.
It was the largest baseball loss ever suffered in a month by the state’s sports books, according to Michael Lawton, the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s senior research analyst.
The books’ previous record baseball loss was $6.2 million in November 1999, when bettors cashed their winning tickets on the New York Yankees following their World Series sweep of the Atlanta Braves.
By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) led three Americans into the top 20 in Friday’s FIS Ski World Cup alpine combined event in Bormio, Italy.
Alexis Pinturault of France won Friday’s race, Italy’s Peter Fill was second, followed by Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud in third.
Cochran-Siegle was 14th, followed by Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) in 15th and Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley) in 19th.
“When I kicked out of the start gate, I wasn’t able to let it go as much,” said Cochran-Siegle, who tweaked his knee earlier this week in downhill training. “But there is some good that I am able to take away from this race, and some things I still need to work on.
“I think it’s good that we’re all in the points and we can move forward from today,” he added. “But we also have a lot of work to do as well.”
On the women’s side, in one of the tightest finishes on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit this season, Italy’s Federica Brignone edged out Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg and Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) by just 0.08 seconds to win Friday’s giant slalom in Lienz, Austria.
In finishing third, Shiffin picked up her ninth podium result of the season and maintained her overall World Cup lead over Rebensburg. However, with her second-place finish, Rebensburg moved into the overall World Cup giant slalom lead by 13 points over Shiffrin.
By Benjamin Spillman, Reno Gazette-Journal
What a difference a year makes.
The winter of 2017-18 is off to a slow start in the Sierra Nevada, a stark contrast from the record-busting snow totals last year.
The contrast from last year is particularly evident in the Lake Tahoe Basin where winter is off to its third-driest start since 1980-81.
Snow survey results posted Thursday show the basin is at 30 percent of normal for the date, compared to 67 percent on the same date last year.
By U.S. Ski & Snowboard
Bryce Bennett of Squaw Valley finished 16th in Thursday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill in Bormio, Italy, to lead three Americans into the top 25.
Dominik Paris of France edged out Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal by 0.04 second for his eighth World Cup downhill victory. Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud was third. Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) was 18th and Wiley Maple (Aspen, Colo.) was 24th.
For the women, in her classic dominating style, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) built up a huge advantage on her first run, then charged in the second to win her 36th career FIS Ski World Cup race on a rutted slalom track in Lienz, Austria, Thursday.
“They did a really great job preparing (the course) after the rain and the snowfall. It was not easy, but it was a pleasure to ski,” Shiffrin said following her 27th career World Cup slalom victory.
Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener was second, followed by Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter in third. Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, Wyo.), whose father Pepi – the 1964 Olympic slalom gold medalist — grew up in Lienz, was 25th.
Shiffrin, who scored her first World Cup podium in slalom in Lienz in 2011, skied to a 1.14-second first-run advantage over Hansdotter. In the second run, she charged the top portion of the course, throttled back a bit in the steep middle section and then in classic Shiffrin style, charged to the finish to win by 0.89 seconds.
By Jenny Kane, Reno Gazette-Journal
Ski resorts in Nevada and California say that they are plenty prepared for stoners on the slopes because, frankly, it’s not a new problem.
“It really shouldn’t change much of anything. Legalizing marijuana is not an invitation to come to the ski resort and smoke marijuana,” said Michael Reitzell, spokesman for California Ski Industry Association. “For some reason, people think outdoors sports are different than other sports. Would you smoke pot and play basketball or any other sport where you could really injure yourself if you weren’t sharp?
“You can take breaks, you can hang out, and maybe it has something to do with après-ski. It can wait.”