Hi guys and gals,
So despite the disappointing start to winter and the ski season I once again left ol' Banner Elk in December and ventured west to Tahoe. Its now April 25 and I've been coaching and skiing at Alpine Meadows for the past 120 days. If you were to compare this season to the last one.....Alpine Meadows received 852 inches of snowfall last season and 373 this season (so far)....so thats 479 inches of snow that did not fall. That's forty feet of snow!
With that being said, this season has meant fewer powder days, more snowmaking and more ice and thin coverage. The first two months were pretty brutal. Alpine and Squaw have limited snowmaking capabilities and the ponds would run out in two days. We only had a few runs open and it never snowed. Something was strangely familiar.....I destroyed two pairs of skis this season. I have never hit so many rocks. Core shots literally everyday. Here's some of my handy work after blowing out the sidewall and edge
I could keep going about how bad it was in the beginning but it was still better than most seasons for me and how on earth can you complain with sunsets like this....
Eventually Alpine got their stuff together and set up an amazing jump line. So here's the first video of some 360's in the park on February 9th 2012.[VIMEO]36527497[/VIMEO]
Seriously fun jumps. But coming up short sucks....and we are all dying for powder. There was one or two good days in February here's one.
[VIMEO]36968712[/VIMEO]
It keeps getting better right?? So we hope...onward to miracle March! Last March brought Tahoe 246 inches....this season around 160 inches...so still amazing considering we've had nothing all season. We doubled our base in March at Alpine Meadows and had some great powder days. One of best was hiking a few hundred feet up the West shore so here's the a vid of the first real storm in March made on my iphone btw.[VIMEO]37780757[/VIMEO]
Backflips into pow...why not?
The fun really never stops in Tahoe. I'll continue this thread as time allows. I've got more powder footage and kayaking to come. Hopefully this will bring some summer stoke to folks who didn't get to ski much in the east.
The End of an Era...We are Shutting Down the Messageboard
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
Tahoe Time
-
SuperWill
- Beginner
- Posts: 193
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:50 pm
March brought winter to Tahoe...suddendly we were...back again.[VIMEO]37927952[/VIMEO]
Once the snow started falling it also started melting. Its so easy to ski in the morning and then kayak the afternoon.
[VIMEO]38255111[/VIMEO]
East coasters tend to stick together out here...I think its because of the accent, we understand each other....so here's my buddy Brandon from West Virginia riding at Alpine during a storm with music by Bela Fleck.
[VIMEO]38677263[/VIMEO]
After enough snow filled in the backcountry we headed in. One of the easiest spots is Jakes Peak on the West shore of Lake Tahoe. 2500 vertical feet. Takes around 2-3 hours to get up. Unless you stop to have fun on the way up....
[VIMEO]39122063[/VIMEO]
more to come....
Once the snow started falling it also started melting. Its so easy to ski in the morning and then kayak the afternoon.
[VIMEO]38255111[/VIMEO]
East coasters tend to stick together out here...I think its because of the accent, we understand each other....so here's my buddy Brandon from West Virginia riding at Alpine during a storm with music by Bela Fleck.
[VIMEO]38677263[/VIMEO]
After enough snow filled in the backcountry we headed in. One of the easiest spots is Jakes Peak on the West shore of Lake Tahoe. 2500 vertical feet. Takes around 2-3 hours to get up. Unless you stop to have fun on the way up....
[VIMEO]39122063[/VIMEO]
more to come....
-
THA HATTER
- Beginner
- Posts: 434
- Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:55 pm
- Contact:
Nice edit. Looks like the snow finally showed up in March. Wish I could have made it out there this year.
-
dreamnofpow
- Expert
- Posts: 3447
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 4:35 pm
- Has thanked: 1 time
Now this is TR. You guys are rip'n it. What are you using for your edits?
-
SuperWill
- Beginner
- Posts: 193
- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:50 pm
Alright...so been on the road for the last week...back in Banner Elk and welcome to the jungle..which is my yard. Its kinda weird after traveling through the desert for a few days to see so much grass. Anyway, I've got a few more edits that I think some folks might like to see. Tahoe was incredibly beautiful this season. I took more photos than video so here's a short slide show to showcase a few of them.
[VIMEO]39867257[/VIMEO]
One of the newest neat things at Alpine Meadows this season was the smart phone app....able to show us top speed...maps, snowfall, temps....everything basically. So of course you have to see how fast you can go...I was surprised at how fast we went. This day I hit 65...
[VIMEO]39856816[/VIMEO]On another day I found a spot to go 73mph....on rockered volkl bridges....heh, heh. kinda sketch.
By far one of the best days was in the backcountry above Tahoe City with my buddy Pauly and his snowmobile. If you don't have one in Tahoe...know somebody who does...its that simple. Here's why....
[VIMEO]40295084[/VIMEO]
....thanks for the comments...I'll post up the final vids next time.....
[VIMEO]39867257[/VIMEO]
One of the newest neat things at Alpine Meadows this season was the smart phone app....able to show us top speed...maps, snowfall, temps....everything basically. So of course you have to see how fast you can go...I was surprised at how fast we went. This day I hit 65...
[VIMEO]39856816[/VIMEO]On another day I found a spot to go 73mph....on rockered volkl bridges....heh, heh. kinda sketch.
By far one of the best days was in the backcountry above Tahoe City with my buddy Pauly and his snowmobile. If you don't have one in Tahoe...know somebody who does...its that simple. Here's why....
[VIMEO]40295084[/VIMEO]
....thanks for the comments...I'll post up the final vids next time.....
