If you don’t get enough action on the slopes today, the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival is at MontBleu in Stateline tonight.

Here is theski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Anastasiya Bolton Kusa, Reno Gazette-Journal

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — Thanks to some bright minds, technology similar to what powers your computer at home or work is helping people with disabilities ski or snowboard.

Several hundred disabled skiers, including more than 150 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, came from all over the word to take part in this week’s 23rd Annual Hartford Ski Spectacular in Breckenridge. The gadgets they’re using were not even conceivable just a short time ago-like a computerized prosthetic limb.

“I’m an amputee. I work in a slow-motion world. All of a sudden I get to the top of a mountain; I can go 30, 40, 50 miles an hour down the slopes,” said Kirk Bauer, the executive director of Disabled Sports USA. “It is the most exhilarating feeling and free feeling in the world.”

Bauer lost his leg in Vietnam. He told 9NEWS he couldn’t imagine running a marathon until recently because technology now allows for that.

This is one of the few times each year that people can see some of the latest developments in snow sports in one place.

Read the whole story

By Allen Pierleoni, Sacramento Bee

Snow will be piled up in the Sierra between Christmas and New Year’s Day, making for an abundance outdoors options during the holiday season.

There’s a new one that combines a walk in the woods with a learning experience: the Stargazing Snowshoe Tour at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort.

“We had such a phenomenal year with our summer stargazing tours that we decided to open this new product,” said “star guide” Tony Berendsen, who operates Tahoe Star Tours in Reno (www.tahoestartours.com). “We get people from all over the world (for summer stargazing), and a huge number of them come from the Sacramento area.

“My goal is to bring awareness of the night sky to those who wouldn’t normally have it,” he said. “We’ll see stars hundreds of light-years away, so we’ll actually be looking hundreds of years back in time.”

Berendsen, 58, said he has “a huge passion for stargazing” and has been in love with the night sky for 50 years. He is the president of the Northern Nevada Science Coalition and past president of the Astronomical Society of Nevada.

Read the whole story

Homewood Mountain Resort and Tahoe Donner Ski Area open today.

Winds — again — may hamper operations on the upper parts of some resorts today.

Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Lindsey Sine, U.S. Snowboarding

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. – Halfpipe athletes from around the globe were right back at home Thursday as they dropped into the qualification rounds of the Visa U.S. Halfpipe Grand Prix at Copper Mountain in Colorado. And none other than Olympic gold and bronze medalist Kelly Clark (Mount Snow, Vt.) was back in top form, taking the top qualification spot for the ladies.

“I qualified first for finals, which is always a great way to start the year. I’m really looking forward to Saturday, there’s a lot of great riding out there and I feel like it’s going to be a good event,” Clark said.

The hafpipe was full of energy as the sport makes its return to competition for a new winter season following an incredible Olympic year.

Clark was the leader for three of her U.S. teammates, including Kaitlyn Farrington (Sun Valley, Idaho) who had a breakthrough string of events to bump up to the Pro Team, and Ellery Hollingsworth (Stratton Mountain, Vt.), who’s no stranger herself to the Grand Prix podium.

“The pipe was really good today better than it has been and it was good to get out there and do the best quail of the season everyone was ripping,” Hollingsworth said.

Norway’s Torre-V. Holvik took the men’s first spot, followed by Luke Mitrani (Mammoth) in the second spot. Colorado’s own Broc Waring (Edwards, Colo.) had a killer performance against a tough field to come in the third qualification spot.

“I’m pumped. I’ve been riding well and it’s so good to land a solid run,” Waring said. “It gives me some extra confidence beginning the competition year like this. It’s the right way to kick it off and hopefully I can bring in the same thing in the finals.”

The snowboarding continues Saturday with men’s and women’s finals at 11:30am.

Offial Results, 2011 Visa U.S. Halfpipe Grand Prix, Copper Mountain, Colo., Snowboard Qualifications

Men

1. Tore-V. Holvik, Norway, 26.90

2. Luke Mitrani, Mammoth, CA, 26.80

3. Broc Waring, Edwards, CO, 26.70

4. Greg Bretz, Mammoth, CA, 26.40

5. Brett Esser, Breckenridge, CO, 26.20

6. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 25.60

7. Zack Black, Breckenridge, CO, 25.30

8. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 25.00

9. Kohei Kudo, Japan, 24.90

10. Kosuke Hosokawa, Japan, 24.60

11. Nathan Johnstone, Australia, 24.40

12. Ben Farrow, Mount Holly, VT, 24.30

13. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 23.90

14. Kazuumi Fujita, Japan, 23.50

15. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, CO, 23.30

16. Spencer Shaw, Stratton, VT, 23.20

Women

1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 27.90

2. Kaitlyn Farrington, Sun Valley, ID, 26.20

3. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton Mountain, VT, 25.70

4. Queralt Castellet, Spain, 25.30

5. Soko Yamaoka, Japan, 24.40

6. Rana Okada, Japan, 24.30

7. Holly Crawford, Australia, 23.90

8. Sarah Conrad, Canada, 23.60

By Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee

Fall in Northern California brings a rustle of leaves and a welcome chill to the air. Nothing’s changed about that. What’s been missing the past three years is the pulse of salmon returning from the ocean to their spawning streams.

The Central Valley fall chinook run was once the most abundant salmon population on the West Coast. But three years ago, its numbers plunged, hitting a record low in 2009, due to what scientists think is a mix of environmental problems.

Fishing was banned, salmon festivals canceled.

Now chinook are surging back to the American, Feather, Mokelumne and Sacramento rivers.

Read the whole story

By Jessie Marchesseau

STATELINE — The South Shore’s marketing plan for the upcoming 2011 Amgen Tour of California is off and rolling.

At the Dec. 9 Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority board of directors meeting, Executive Director Carol Chaplin provided an update on event promotion in the coming months.

The tour is the largest cycling event in the United States and will kick off seven days and 800 miles of road bike riding at the South Shore’s California-Nevada border on May 15. The first stage will consist of 1 1/2 laps around the lake, ending at Northstar-at-Tahoe. The second stage will start at Squaw Valley and take the riders to Sacramento then farther into California during the next five days.

Chaplin announced the new website is up and running, as is the organization’s Tahoe Tour of California Facebook page. The LTVA, along with the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, has also revealed the new event logo featuring iconic Emerald Bay and the tagline “Start at the top.”

She also said the agencies are now working on the development of Tahoe’s 10-day Countdown to the event, which will start on May 5. The countdown will offer a variety of bike demos, expos, participation rides and other community events. While the LTVA and NLTRA will be hosting the tour-specific events, they are looking for partners to organize auxiliary events.

A new team member with experience working on the Amgen tour may also give their efforts a little boost. Joanne Shepherd, a business tourism management student from Southern Cross University in Australia, will be working on the Amgen event at LTVA for the next six months as an intern.

Shepherd worked on the tour four years ago in Long Beach and approached LTVA about doing her college internship with them so she could work on the event once again.

Though Shepherd has only been in Tahoe for less than a week, she says she is looking forward to the next six months. Chaplin says she likes the idea of having someone here who has worked on the tour before.

Chaplin, along with Sue Barton, deputy director, and Mike Frye, sales and events manager, attended an Amgen meeting in Los Angeles in November with representatives from the other 15 host cities. They discussed the rules, regulations and benefits that go along with hosting the event.

“One of the things we really want to do is promote that cycling is a part of our community, and it is,” Chaplin said.

amgen route

Stage 1, Sunday, May 15: South Lake Tahoe → North Lake Tahoe-Northstar (Tahoe Resort)
Stage 2, Monday, May 16: North Lake Tahoe (Squaw Valley) → Sacramento
Stage 3, Tuesday, May 17: Auburn → Modesto
Stage 4, Wednesday, May 18: Livermore → San Jose
Stage 5, Thursday, May 19: Seaside → Paso Robles
Stage 6, Friday, May 20: Solvang (Individual Time Trial)
Stage 7, Saturday, May 21: Claremont → Mt. Baldy (Mountaintop Finish)
Stage 8, Sunday, May 22: Santa Clarita → Thousand Oaks

Look for fresh snow above 7,000 feet today.

Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Kathryn Reed

If people didn’t know who Emily Clothier was before, they will now – assuming they are skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

A run off Stagecoach bears her name. Emily’s Run is printed on maps and posters of the ski resort. Signs go up this week.

Emily Clothier

Emily was 14 years old when she died in a ski racing accident at Heavenly in 2008. She had been a member of the Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation for eight years.

“I wanted a legacy for Emily,” her father Steve Clothier told Lake Tahoe News. “A lot of good stuff has come out of a really bad situation.”

Clothier was instrumental in getting the resort to clear trees to make Stagecoach Run wider and safer. In doing so it essentially created another run. That new run is the one for Emily.

It’s in the area where she was skiing that day and where the racing team still practices.

The resort is not organizing a ceremony, but Clothier plans to gather the patrolmen who helped that tragic day and others to have a picture taken as soon as the sign goes up – which will be today or Friday. He envisions it being the family Christmas picture this year.

Heavenly has other runs named after people, but it’s been years since it has done so. It took going to corporate in Colorado to make this happen.

A memorial was established at the base of the tree where Emily was found. It’s a weatherproof shadow box that tells the story of what happened. Inside the box is a book people may write in.

“I ski by it every single day to see who signed it,” Clothier said.

Sierra Avalanche Center is having a benefit party at the Divided Sky in Meyers on Dec. 10 at 6pm.

Door prizes, old school ski/ride flicks, beacon games, and music. The $10 cover charge benefits Sierra Avalanche Center.