Spring skiing is finally here!

As Julie, Carolyn, and I loaded the chairlift Friday night, thoughts of spring skiing and soft corn snow were swiftly swept away by temps in the teens and the sound of skis and snowboards scratching the hard-packed ice on the slopes below. Mid-March? Yikes, a few days earlier Julie and I had been gliding over the pristine conditions in Lake Tahoe and now we were bundled up like it was mid-January.

After several fast runs down the lit trails of Sunday River’s North Peak, we retreated to the Foggy Goggle for some warm après and friends.

While I was far from discontent, I wondered if spring was coming or if I needed a good stone grind to get me through the weekend, but as the Saturday afternoon sun crept up and shone brightly on the thousands of visitors to Sunday River, the glare got stronger and the snow softened. Smiles widened and grills in the parking lot sparked up.

By the time we packed up the car this afternoon, the snow had turned to mashed potatoes and both Julie and I were comparing the redness of our faces. In a short 48 hours, spring had arrived. It’s the best time of the year!

Late season Sierra storms blanket the slopes!

It’s been nine days since Julie and I arrive in South Lake Tahoe and sadly, we’ll be leaving in two days. Having begun this year’s trip over a week later than usual, we arrived to the unusual sight of brown lawns and a mild breeze. Sure, this is the beginning of spring around Lake Tahoe, but aside from the snow-covered trees and slopes beginning part way up the mountains, the lack thereof at lake level, was just weird.

Then less than 24-hours after our arrival, the latest storm models began to take shape and in a season that was being described as nothing short of a drought, the locals were beginning to salivate at the thought of a true Sierra Storm cycle. If you’ve never experienced a Sierra snowstorm, they can be best described like heavyweight prize fighters that may be a little slow out of the gate, but when they unleash their fury, they don’t hold back punches – for days.

Less than four days after the storm cycle began, we had seen about four and a half feet of snow at lake level and about eight feet above 8500 feet. Needless to say, Julie and I were pleased about the storm, but also pleased for all the resorts and communities in the Sierras that saw a huge influx of skiers and riders over the past week with the weather.

The snow is falling just about everywhere!

I suppose if you live anywhere where the temperatures typically get below freezing during the winter months, chances are you have had at least one snowstorm already this year. While the west coast, Rockies, and eastern seaboard have been hammered by storm after storm, even places like Las Vegas and New Orleans have received snowfall this winter and we’re still in the early stages.

This past week alone, some of my favorite mountains in the Sierra’s like Squaw Valley and Heavenly Mountain Resort have received totals of around 4 feet of snow. And while the amounts haven’t been as high, and normally aren’t, here in the east, Sunday River and Sugarloaf have each reached the 3 foot mark for December. What this means to skiers and riders is an abundance of early season terrain that normally doesn’t open until January or February.

Heavenly Opens with one trail and four high-speed lifts...

On Friday, November 28th, Heavenly Mountain Resort opened for the 2008/09 season with skiing on Orion’s. Yep, a 3000’ vertical gondola, a high-speed six-pack, and two high-speed quads for skiing on one, one-mile long trail. I know that it may sound a little hypocritical for me to be passing judgment on this move by Heavenly when I was skiing on one trail just a month ago, but one trail at Sunday River, which was serviced by one triple chair is a lot different than the massive amount of resources needed to have Heavenly open right now. Personally, I see Heavenly as a destination resort and not a locals hill and thus the early season skiing doesn’t attract new skiers. And still I applaud their efforts. Perhaps they got some good press in the Bay area and ticket sales will be all the better for it…

The Blue World get its' first coating of the white stuff!

While overnight temperatures dip below 40 degrees here on the coast of Maine, the mountains have been seeing their first temps below freezing. And while some of the much higher elevations have seen a trace of snow, there hasn’t been enough to stick through the daylight hours here in the east. And yet out west this isn’t the case. I obviously wrote about the snowmaking battle that has already begun between Loveland and Arapahoe Basin ski areas, but many other ski resorts in the west have seen measurable snow. So of course I would be remiss if I didn’t honor the namesake of this website and report on the first snowfall of the season in Lake Tahoe. While the upper elevations saw a few inches, almost the whole of Heavenly Mountain Resort got at least its’ first coating of the white stuff. A true sign that ski season is very near indeed!

Heavenly's Biggest Little Project!

For decades, skiers and snowboarders alike have complained about trail in particular at Heavenly Mountain resort – The Skyline Trail. This very long cross-cut style trail is the only route to get from the top of the Sky Peak in California, to the Nevada side of the resort.

After a slight downhill start with a couple of turns, the trail actually turns uphill slightly, leaving skiers and boarders have to push their way to the border. If you’ve done it, and if you’ve skied Heavenly, you have; you know that while the views from the trail are unreal, the poling aspect is a pain. Granted, there has always been the option to drop into the Ski Ways glade that it accessible from almost any point along Skyline, but this is only an option for experts and brings you back down to the California side. Of course on a powder day, Ski Ways is pure glade heaven!



Now I don’t know why it took so long for the folks that run the mountain to do the math on this one, ‘cause let’s face it; the complaints about Skyline have been flowing for years, but finally Heavenly has regarded the trail. This past summer, crews blasted rock on two sections of the trail and have regarded the trail to have a constant 10 percent grade from California to Nevada. Cheers to Heavenly for listening!

Heavenly Mountain Resort honored for being "car-free!"

I feel fortunate to have travelled to some of the best ski resorts in the world. And while I still love being at home in Maine, I treasure the trip I get to take to places like Europe and out west. A few years ago, Julie and I started to ski at Heavenly Mountain Resort on the border of California and Nevada. We were instantly taken by the awe-inspiring views, the friendly people, and the wonderful skiing. Of course, you only need to look at the title of my blog, The Blue World, to understand how much Heavenly and Lake Tahoe mean to me. And despite all that I love about the South Shore, I never would have put Heavenly in the same category as a European resort. It’s not because of the skiing – the skiing is great and the snow is far better, but American resorts are just totally different from anyone on the other side of the pond. Be it the culture, the jagged peaks, or the architecture, there really isn’t any comparison, they are just different experiences and both are great. So it came as a surprise when I read an article recently that was talking about ski resort where you don’t need a car. It’s commonplace in Europe, but here in the US, no way – until now. Heavenly Mountain Resort was named #7 in the world for being car-free. It’s not something I gave any thought to, but now that I look at the map, the villages, and the public transportation system, I can see that at Heavenly, you really don’t need a car. Just think how much money you could save by not having to rent a car on a ski vacation? You can have that experience in South Lake Tahoe!

Ski Resorts Not Exempt From Economic Woes!

I’m often surprised at how many people perceive the ski industry and how it’s affected by the economy. Lot’s of people think that ski resorts and their quests are isolated from the downturn of the economy because of the perception that skiing or snowboarding are wealthy people’s sports. While skiing is expensive and many resorts cater to people that are willing to pay a little extra for their vacations, the spectrum of people that ski is wide and most of these people have jobs, families, and mortgages. Those three things right there are going to come before skiing and that is why some economists are predicting that this winter will not be a good one for resorts across the United States. While last year saw records shattered across the country, it was ahead of the $4 plus a gallon cost for gas, the surge in oil prices, and let’s not forget about the airlines – a lot of resorts count on travelers who comes from away. While there have been several signs of this in the east and they have been reported on locally, I think that a good indicator is with the country’s only publically traded ski resort holding company, Vail Resorts. The owner of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Heavenly, Vail Resorts shares have tumbled recently, falling for the low $40’s to the mid to low $20 range. The stocks fell further this week as Wall Street analysts downgraded Vail’s status from a stock to buy to one to hold off on. Some people were surprised that Vail Resorts would be so directly impacted. Just look at the list of resorts and you see five extremely large destination resorts that each draw near to or over a million skier visits each year, but many of these people comes from all over the United States and get to the respective resorts by plane. In case you haven’t heard, airline tickets are expected to double in price by early next year. That’s a big punch in the stomach to some of these resorts. While Vail in Colorado and Heavenly, which straddles the border of Nevada and California, may be more insulated because of their massive European share of visitors and the weak dollar, there’s no promise that those numbers will hold. In all, it should be an interesting time for skiers and riders all over the country and a time where resorts will need to make cost cutting changes to help manage their places in the market in the hopes of drawing and retaining skiers and riders.

Heavenly adds some Warren Miller to its' site!

Heavenly Mountain Resort has unveiled some new perks to its' website. Always a well-maintained and attractive site with tons of interactive features, Heavenly has finally devoted an entire sub-domain to videos. While you can see the latest Another Heavenly Morning broadcast and promotional videos, the coolest part is that they have been able to get the clips of all the Warren Miller movies where Heavenly has been featured, whether it be as Heavenly Valley or the modern day Heavenly Mountain Resort. It's a real treat to be able to catch all of these without having to rent or even find some of the movies as there are quite a few featuring Heavenly. Have fun with these clips...

Season Finale at Heavenly Valley

Okay, so it's not called Heavenly Valley anymore, but the title rhymes, so there. Highlighted by 15 feet of snow in January alone, Heavenly had an epic ski season that came to a close on May 4th, two weeks later then usual. While plenty of snow covers the trails and glades above Lake Tahoe, the season changes quickly and people turn their sights to the Blue World for the next several months. For those still looking to make turns in the Tahoe Basin, head to Squaw Valley for lift-served terrain or strap your skis to you back and head up anywhere into the Sierras. Make sure to check out the season-ending thank you video from the staff at Heavenly Mountain Resort!

Heavenly to stay open into May!

There are pros and cons in having a large percent of your ski resort be in National Forest Land. Quite frankly, I haven’t found any of the pros as of yet, but I know there are many people out there who have a laundry list of them, so out of respect, I’ll agree that there are pros. I think one of the drawbacks for western resorts in the last few decades is that most have to close in mid-April when the mountain is 100% open, because of agreements with the forest service. Now I understand that there is a unique balance of nature, but as a skier, I doubt I’d make many friends with the environmentalist ‘cause I think people should ski till the snow is gone. Interestingly, Heavenly Mountain Resort is almost entirely on National Forest Land, but for some reason or another, someone gave them the go ahead to break from tradition as Heavenly recently announced that they will not close at the traditional time in April and have extended their season into May due to the large snowfall totals to date. While I think this is fabulous, I also think it should be noted that both the forest service and the mountain have worked well over the past few years and this might be the fruits of the relationship. Perhaps both can have their way!

And to help you in a more tangible search...

The Internet has brought us so many wonderful things. Thankfully, it has not ruined our journey down the snow-capped peaks, but in many ways, it has helped. Nope, I'm not talking about surfing the web on your iPhone on the chairlift. Hell, I think if I saw someone doing that, I'd really want to throw them off the chairlift, but I digress. The think I am alluding to has to do with two neat sections of many mountain websites - the interactive trail and conditions maps! I love 'em!
Okay, an http://www.skiheavenly.com/mountain/trail_map/ isn't gonna help all that much while your skiing or riding unless you've got something like that iPhone with you and believe you me, I'm not the only one that would want to give you a heave-ho. It is quite neat to be able to look at one of the maps before heading out on a trip to a new resort and choosing some areas you want to ski or ride. Sure, you may still want to have one of the hand-held - I feel like such a tourist - versions, but only for quick reference. They're such a pain to fold. So go to the website of the mountain you plan to conquer and map out a plan of attack. Most will let you select different sections of the resort and even zoom in and out. Pretty cool! Not only will it give you a better sense of where you want to ski, but it will help you avoid the areas you don't want to ski. Tres important!
As for the interactive conditions; they're not as widely used yet. There are a couple of reasons behind this, IMHO; first, they take more manpower. Someone has to update them to reflect what's going on and second, I would think they probably take a lot of server space. Nevertheless, I like to check out Sunday River's conditions map before each day. I get to see where snow was made (using a variety of time frames), what's been groomed, perhaps more importantly - what hasn't been groomed, where snow is going to be made, what trails are open, and what lifts are open. You combine this with your interactive trail map and you can skip the lodge, customer service, and all those things that are great on vacations, but not necessary when you're just out to rip it up. Have fun!