Ski report: Wind may be factor on the mountain
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for Lake Tahoe for Dec. 2 from 10am to 10pm.
Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.
Next round of storms should cover remaining bare spots
With a 40 percent chance of snow today increasing to 60 percent tonight, the handful of bare spots that could be seen at Heavenly Mountain Resort on Wednesday are likely to be covered up.
Mott Canyon is slated to open today.
The few people who ventured out on this sunny, warm Dec. 1 morning were taking lap after lap on the wide-open terrain. It’s 11am and one guy said he already put in a full day of profitable work. Such is the life of a stock trader.
Full sun is not in the forecast for the entire weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.
ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)
— Kathryn Reed
Carson City man hospitalized after being buried in avalanche
By Kathryn Reed
A Carson City man who grew up in South Lake Tahoe is being treated for severe head injuries he sustained in an avalanche near the Carson Pass.
Darren Johnson, 47, was backcountry skiing with his friend Matthew Beler of South Lake Tahoe on Sunday when he triggered an avalanche as he going from the saddle of Red Peak to Crater Lake.
Beler was able see Johnson’s poles sticking out and dug him out in about seven minutes. He was conscious, but responsive at that time. Renown Medical Center in Reno where Johnson was taken is not releasing his status. Alpine County sheriff’s officials knew he was alive and still at the hospital early Wednesday afternoon.
“With as much snow that had fallen, the chance of an avalanche was extreme,” said Lt. Ron Michitarian of the Alpine County Sheriff’s Department.
Even though the two skiers were considered experienced and carried beacons, it is still necessary to understand how that much snow would be unstable.
It took Beler about two hours to ski out to Highway 88 where he was able to flag down a deputy. The deputy in turn called out all the search and rescue crews. A CalStar flight crew located the avalanche field about 12:20pm.
A California Highway Patrol chopper lowered a paramedic to Johnson who packaged him in a rig to airlift him to Blue Lakes. From there CalStar flew him to Reno.
Because Johnson was on a cliff the search and rescue crews on snowmobile were not able to reach him.
Also assisting in the rescue were Woodfords volunteer firefighters, South Tahoe fire and Lake Valley fire.
Squaw’s Ganong in top 10 in training run
By Elizabeth Karam, U.S. Ski Team
BEAVER CREEK – Travis Ganong of Squaw Valley produced another strong result, finishing seventh in the second Audi Birds of Prey downhill training run before the race was canceled after 45 racers because of visibility. Austria’s Michael Walchhofer, who won the season’s opening downhill in Lake Louise last weekend, led the run in 1:48.34.
“The course is in great shape. It’s a little slicker than it was the first day – you can really take at it. It’s pretty fun,” said Ganong, who was 24th Tuesday. “It’s my first top-10 in a training run or anything, so I know I have the speed.”
Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller led a tight string of U.S. with 11th followed by Steven Nyman of Utah and Andrew Weibrecht of New York in 12th and 13th.
A third training run is scheduled for Thursday at 10am.
Official results, Audi FIS Alpine World Cup, Beaver Creek, Dec. 1, Downhill Training
1. Michael Walchhofer, Austria, 1:48.34
1. Peter Fill, France, Italy, 1:48.34
3. Hans Grugger, Austria, 1:48.40
4. Erik Guay, Canada, 1:48.41
5. Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway, 1:48.65
–
7. Travis Ganong, Squaw Valley 1:48.84
11. Bode Miller, Franconia, N.H., 1:48.97
12. Steven Nyman, Sundance, Utah, 1:48.98
13. Andrew Weibrecht, Lake Placid, N.Y., 1:49.09
32. Ted Ligety, Park City, 1:50.39
40. Marco Sullivan, Squaw Valley, 1:52.64
Sierra ski resorts continue effort to be green
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
Sierra ski resorts are continuing a greening trend, according to an environmental report card prepared by conservationists.
The Ski Area Citizens Coalition released its annual evaluation of western ski resorts Tuesday, concluding they are showing an improved environmental performance for the fourth year in a row.
Squaw Valley USA and Alpine Meadows placed No. 1 and No. 3 in the rating of 82 resorts, while no Sierra resorts made the list of the worst 10 for their treatment of the environment.
“For the Sierra, with a lot to lose from climate change shrinking our snowpack, improving environmental stewardship is a good thing,” said Richard McIntyre, campaigns director for the Sierra Nevada Alliance, a coalition member group.
Source: Ski Area Citizens Coalition
Ski report: Get out before the weather changes
The morning is starting off with mostly blue sky, but that is not likely to last all day. Unsettled weather is the forecast.
Here is the ski ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.
Astronomy Snowshoe Adventures on N. Shore
Astronomy Snowshoe Adventures with Tony Berendsen are Dec. 22, Dec. 29, Jan. 22 and Feb. 26.
Astronomy Trips include guided snowshoe tour followed by a program by professional astronomer Tony Berendsen, complete with high powered telescopes and iPad for close-up viewing.
Astronomy tours start in either Tahoe Vista or Truckee. Tours are between 2 and 4 miles and appropriate for all ages and abilities. Call for exact start time and location.
Day tours are throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin and Truckee areas. Several snowshoeing adventures are available through the Tahoe Adventure Company.
For more information is online or call 866.830.6125 or (530) 913.9212.
North Tahoe sled hill, snowmobile track open
The North Tahoe Public Utility District and North Tahoe Winter Adventures have opened Sled Hill and Snowmobile Track Rentals at the North Tahoe Regional Park. It will be open daily from 10am-4pm.
The cross country trails in the park were groomed for the first time last week. There is no set schedule for grooming the trails. Snow conditions, available personnel, temperature, budget and grooming needs of the concessionaire at the sled hill are factors that determine when the groomer is in operation. At a minimum, our groomer operator attempts to prepare the trails before the weekend (Friday evening) and repair after the weekend (Monday morning), but this is not always possible if the snow depth and temperatures are not conducive to grooming or trained staff are not available.
The North Tahoe Regional Park and its facilities are open from 7am-5pm. All vehicles must be removed from the Park before 5pm.
More information may be found on the District’s Park Facilities website and then navigating to the North Tahoe Regional Park page. Grooming status is indicated on this page.
For more information regarding the sled hill and snowmobile track rides, call (530) 546.0605.
Ski report: Bundle up
It’s another one of those days to dress warm for the slopes.
Here is today’s ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.
Northstar expects benefits from being a Vail property
By Jim Sloan, Sacramento Bee
When Northstar-at-Tahoe ski area opened in 1972, it was nicknamed “Flatstar” and derided for its lack of black diamond terrain.
Northstar has opened more terrain through the years. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Over the years, the resort has opened up steeper terrain, and its dated-looking base village has been remodeled with cobblestone plazas, trendy shops, expensive condos, restaurants and a 9,000-square-foot skating rink surrounded by fireplaces and lounging areas. Last year, Northstar developers unveiled a $300 million Ritz Carlton perched at midmountain.
Try as it might, though, Northstar never acquired the luster of some of those magnificent Colorado resorts like Breckenridge and Beaver Creek, with their European-style villages and $3 million slopeside condos. Last year, Northstar recorded 700,000 skier visits; Breckenridge, 1.6 million.
But with the arrival of Vail Resorts Inc., which acquired Northstar from Booth Creek Resort Properties Inc. for $63 million on Oct. 25, some say Northstar is poised to vault into the upper echelon of modern ski resort destinations. Vail’s other holdings – Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone in Colorado and Heavenly on Tahoe’s south shore – aren’t just popular among skiers, they’re legendary.
“Vail Resorts is simply the best-run resort management company in the country,” said Charles Goeldner, a retired professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an expert on ski area economics. “They know how to bring people to their resorts and get them to spend money. This formula is what they will bring to Northstar.”