Squaw Valley is the American birthplace of extreme skiing. About twenty years ago, Squaw locals began skiing impossible lines from the Palisades, essentially a cliff with snow stuck to it.

To earn your spurs as an extreme skier or snowboarder—or “freerider” in the current nomenclature of mountain sports—all roads lead through Squaw.

But the extreme reputation aside, Squaw is actually a reasonably well-rounded ski area. There’s a good amount of skiing for all ability levels, and the relatively new Resort at Squaw Creek is an exercise in extreme pampering. Squaw skiing can be ridiculously intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. An on-mountain demo center opened in 2005.

Squaw’s extreme rep may overshadow the mellower side of the mountain, which is more substantial than you might think. From High Camp, about halfway up the mountain, there is plenty of novice and lower-intermediate terrain.

Intermediates tend to congregate around High Camp, too, although there are longer intermediate runs from the Squaw Creek Chair.

As for expert skiing, the number of intriguing lines is impossible to calculate. KT-22 and the Headwall Express are particularly popular.

Squaw Valley USA
Snow Phone/24 Hour Info: (530) 583-6955

While Lake Tahoe doesn’t get nearly as cold as some parts of the country it does get a wee bit chilly here in the winter.

In fact, on January 20th 1937 the Boca Weather Station observed California’s lowest recorded temperature of 45 degrees below 0 (F). While average temperatures around the lake are generally quite a bit warmer than 45 below we still see roughly 20-30 days a year of below freezing weather.

Combine these temperatures with an average snowfall of just over 200 inches and people are bound to start asking, “Does Lake Tahoe ever freeze over?”

The simple answer to the question is, no. While some ice has been spotted in one or two well protected bays, the entire surface of Lake Tahoe does not freeze over. Why? Great question. There are roughly 3 main factors that prevent Lake Tahoe from freezing over.

1. Lake Tahoe is Too Big to Freeze Over
Lake Tahoe has a surface area of just over 122,000 acres containing an astonishing 39 trillion gallons of water. Considering the average water temperature of the lake is around 68 degrees (F), it would take some substantially cold days for long periods of time before Lake Tahoe began to freeze over. Unfortunately (or fortunately) point 3 below kind of prevents this.

2.Lake Tahoe’s Water is Always Moving.
For water to freeze there must first be a site where crystals begin to form. This is difficult in Lake Tahoe because the water in the lake is always moving. Even on the calmest days when there’s not a boat on the lake the water is moving. Water at the top of the lake is cooled by the air temperature and begins to sink. Warmer water that was insulated by the water above begins to rise. The process then starts all over. This sinking and rising water creates a current which prevents the mass of water from ever getting cold enough while at the same time making it difficult for ice crystals to form.

3.Lake Tahoe is Typically Sunny.
Lake Tahoe sees about 275 sunny days a year. While it does get cold here, it never gets cold enough for a long enough period of time to create much ice on the lake. Even if it did get cold enough to make some large sections of ice this only creates other factors that will likely stop or slow the freezing of the entire lake.

Some More Sciency Stuff
As stated in point 3 even if it did get cold enough for some ice to form on Lake Tahoe it would take quite a lot for the whole lake to freeze. Why? There are some interesting things about ice that ironically prevent freezing. First, ice is a great insulator. As ice forms at the surface the water below is insulated and therefore prevented from freezing. Second ice floats. While this may seem trivial, it’s the floating of the ice that allows the water below to stay insulated. Lastly, as the top layer of ice becomes thicker the insulation only gets better. In theory, it becomes proportionally more difficult for water to freeze the more water above it is frozen. Weird, I know.

Apart from some Hollywood special effects we probably wont be seeing Lake Tahoe freeze over anytime soon. The lake is way too big and the sun shines way to often for Lake Tahoe to become the largest skating rink in the country.

While it would be fun to cruise across the lake on a kite powered skates, seeing the contrast of Lake Tahoe’s blue water against the white snow covered mountains is something I never get tired of looking at.  Article by: Aaron Robbins

The Apricot Lane Fashion & Gift Boutique in Lake Tahoe offers affordable fashion jewelry, handbags, accessories, branded apparel, shoes and other great gifts.

Apricot Lane Fashion & Gift Boutique
Factory Stores @ the ‘Y’.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
(530) 542-1363

For once the hyperbole actually applies. A summit elevation of 11,053 feet and hefty 3,100-foot vertical drop are just some Mammoth Mountain stats that don’t need any embroidering by Bay Area marketing whiz kids.

South of Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain ski resort is served by 28 lifts numbered in the order they were built, giving a nod to in-the-know locals who are able to think in creative, non-linear ways.

The uninitiated need only to remember that the Panoramic Gondola will take you all the way to the very top, from where you should tack right to the Upper Bowl and a series of plunging drops fanning into a wider bowl. If you make it that far, you’ll have some time to catch your breath and reconsider your recklessness.

Mammoth’s signature siren-of-the-steeps is Hangman’s Hollow, a chute bordered by snarling rocks that leaves room for only one perfect turn—or one mistake. It’s not just the elevator-shaft steepness, too; it’s the mandatory air required to get into it in the first place.

Even the local wackos won’t try Hangman’s unless there’s a foot or more of new snow, guaranteeing a pillowy landing.  Story by: Alistair Wearmouth

It’s been well publicized that once pristine, Lake Tahoe has continually become more murky.  But maybe a change has already begun.

Scientific researchers are now using more sophisticated statistical analysis of environmental data.  The good news is that the clarity of Lake Tahoe has actually been stabilizing since 2001.

What are the reasons behind this exciting news?  “It’s a good hypothesis that the land use restrictions and erosion controls have something to do with it,” said John Reuter, a lake scientist with the University of California, Davis, Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

This is definitely terrific news to everyone involved in the 40 years of monitoring the clouding of Lake Tahoe.  Charles Goldman, a UCD professor was the first to foresee Tahoe’s troubles in the 1960’s.  Full article

Photo courtesy of: Heavenly.com

Although it’s only March at this mountain resort with the killer Lake Tahoe view, plans have already been established for May. Unless the exceedingly cooperative weather turns angry and decides to reverse course, skiers and snowboarders will be getting in their final runs until May 4 this year at Heavenly. In an unprecedented move, the South Lake Tahoe resort decided over two months out that it would extend its closing date, which rarely ventures into May and was originally supposed to shut down its massive, 31-lift system by April 20.

Of course, the reason for an extended season is the massive amount of snow Heavenly and all Northern California resorts have received this winter. Despite a slow start, the snow began arriving by mid-December, providing an early Christmas present. And it kept right on snowing through January and into early February.

Heavenly Mountain Resort received 167 inches of snow in January, marking the most snowfall in a single month since the resort began keeping data in 1975. The record snowfall has Heavenly’s snow pack 23 percent above average and heading into the second week of March the snowfall had exceeded 300 inches overall.

“We’re in one of those epic snow cycles that the Sierra mountain range is famous for,” said Blaise Carrig, Heavenly’s chief operating officer. “We beat the next closest month by 20 inches. There is no destination in the U.S. that has the kind of snow we have right now.”

Frankly, the Tahoe resorts were due for a wet winter. Two years ago was a down season and 2007 was characterized by warm temperatures and below-average snowfall. That combination led to a forgettable season in not only Tahoe but all of California where skier/snowboarder visits were down 1.6 million from the previous year (7.8 million).

For Heavenly season-pass holders like Justin St. Onge, it’s about time. The Marquette, Mich. native has been waiting for a season like this since he decided to call South Lake Tahoe his home six years ago.

“Yeah, definitely, it’s been a pretty good year, especially after the last two, which were horrible,” said Onge, 29. “We’ve had consistent snow all season.”
Russ Pecoraro, Heavenly’s director of communications, says extending the season two more weeks is a way to reward loyal pass-holders like Onge, who skis at least five days a week thanks in part to living only a few blocks away.

“It’s a chance to give people like our pass holders the value that they didn’t get last year,” Pecoraro said. “But it is important to know that it is weather dependent. If we don’t get more snow, we may not extend it.”

Like many Heavenly loyalists, Onge gravitates toward the tree runs, especially on powder days, which were frequent in January. One of Heavenly’s greatest drawing cards for expert boarders and skiers like Onge has always been its abundance of trees.

“Heavenly is so big and has so many tree areas that you can always find secret stashes (of snow) that no one knows about,” he said. “Even a couple weeks after a storm you can still find some stashes no one has skied.”

Good news for all Heavenly visitors this year has been the long awaited upgrade of the Olympic chair, which went from a dreadfully slow, old-fashioned two-seat wooden bench to a high-speed quad that cut the ride time from 18 minutes to around five.

“It was the type of lift that if you rode up with someone you had time to hear their entire life story,” laughs Pecoraro. “Olympic had been underutilized in the past, now a lot of people head over that way, so we got the desired result, people moving away from the Comet and Dipper lift.”

Not only does the Olympic lift now transport people up the hill in no time, they can easily access three new runs – The Pine, Cloud 9 and Bohemian Grove. Cloud 9 is a classic groomer run, The Pine is a mild tree run that is frequently groomed, while Bohemian Grove offers the type of tree skiing that makes Heavenly, well, Heavenly.

“It’s beautiful in that area, but it does get skied out in a hurry,” Onge said.

Article by: Jeffrey Weidel – freelance writer

Susan S. Kurth of Dallas won a $6,714,119 Wheel of Fortune quarter MegaJackpot at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe on Friday.

The 60-year-old homemaker was visiting Lake Tahoe with her husband.

“It’s almost as if I felt the Wheel of Fortune machine wink at me,” she said. “I heard one click, then another, and then I heard music. I realized I had hit the progressive jackpot and all I could think of was finding my husband to share the exciting moment.”

The win will enable the couple to fulfill a lifelong dream, Kurth said.

“My husband is planning to retire soon, and it’s been our dream to build a retirement home in Colorado,” Kurth said. “He’s been telling me that my dream home would cost millions. Winning this jackpot will make our dreams come true.”

When you walk through one of the fabulous Lake Tahoe custom homes, you are in awe of the magnificent lake views and beauty of the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains.

Like the rest of country’s real estate market, Tahoe’s has softened as well. But not in the above $5 million range, titled the “ultra-high end”. Full article