Lake Tahoe

Hello 2022! Best wishes for a fresh start and a smooth(er) ride, from Truckee, California! December was Snowmageddon, with the most December snowfall since 1970.  Given our drought situation, unsurprisingly more snow is needed.  Fresh powder abounded on December 31st, my first day on the slopes in nearly two years.  Imagine gliding on the snow, frictionless, skimming the clouds.  For those less adventurous, most, if not all, of the 17 runs at Tahoe Donner (TD) Resort (https://www.tahoedonner.com) were groomed, iceless and then perfectly dusted by a passing snow flurry in the early afternoon. Saturday was perfect, cold, but no wind, relatively empty, at least in the morning, thanks to the celebrations of the previous night, followed by the obligatory grogginess and realization, alas, that a new year had commenced.  TD’s two lifts, Snowbird and Eagle Rock, hummed and whirred, carrying skiers and snowboarders to the 7,350-foot peak, from its 6,750-foot base. There a few black diamond runs, but these are straightforward and would easily be classified as intermediate virtually anywhere else. Fire Break was my favorite. 

With 120 skiable acres, TD is one of the smaller resorts in the Lake Tahoe region and surely one of its least expensive ($74 for an adult day pass).  The lodge is small, but comfortable, with an efficient ski rental operation, a competent grill, and a sufficiently spacious, but still intimate, outdoor patio.  Enjoy bratwurst and fries ($14), look around, and Hot Tub Time Machine to the not-so-recent past.  But for patrons (still?!!!) glued to their cell phones, you might as well be in 1986, enjoying (?) a Chernobly, before hitting the slopes. This, minus the Chernobly, of course, is all salutary.  While not a world-class skier, I am certainly no slouch, having skied some of the most challenging runs at nearby Palisades (née Squaw Valley), Alpine Meadows, and NorthStar, to name a few, and outside of California, Aspen, Snowmass, and Vail.  That said, at the current point of my life, a nice, relaxing run with a few moguls and some fresh powder, for variety’s sake, is perfectly fine.  For better or for worse, I am mindful of my deductible, co-pay, out-of-pocket maximum, etc. and do not feel compelled to take on any unnecessary risk.  Give me cold, crisp air, a cloudless sky, a lake or mountain view, a brief respite from Zoom, Omicron (assuming, of course, that my neighbor on the lift chair does not have it), geopolitics, etc., and I am content, to map out the year ahead or to do or think nothing at all. 

Mark Twain wrote: “As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface, I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” I agree.  Lake Tahoe never ceases to inspire. 

Comments welcomed.