Photo Memory - First Ski Trip to California

The year was 1994, I had been on 7 straight ski trips out West, a few I have included here as Photo Memory posts. This would be the eight straight trip and the first time we would visit California.  I had read a lot in ski magazines about the wonderful slopes, and my childhood friend, David Paquette was working at Alpine Meadows. Skiing and visiting an old friend would make for a good vacation.

There was a core group of people who were going on the ski trips. My brother Tom was joining us consistently from Vermont. My coworkers Ron Cunfer and Gaylen Drape were making most of the trips with me.  Jim Roskind and his girlfriend Melinda (who is now Jim's wife with two kids) were making most of the trips. This time, our destination was South Lake Tahoe.

A view of Lake Tahoe from Heavenly in California

Our group was typically 8-10 people so we had started to rent condos or sometimes even a house.  In South Lake Tahoe, houses were actually cheap for a week rental. Here were are on the front porch of our latest ski home.

BJ, Nancie & brother Tom at rental house in South Lake Tahoe California

Nancie Marin was a coworker and originally from Massachusetts. She knew how to ski but her husband Jose, who was born in Puerto Rico, was looking for a new experience in the snow. I think he had seen it before but I do not think he had skied before. He was a natural athlete so I knew he would be fine.

Inside our home it was very cozy and ski chalet-like.  Here is Tom and I with Nancie Marin and her sister Karen. Karen and her husband had come to visit for the day.

Karen, BJ, Tom & Nancie in our ski chalet

To get to our rental, we flew into Reno Nevada.  There, we rented vehicles for the drive to South Lake Tahoe. We got to drive through Carson City Nevada, the capital. There is a ride up a steep mountain and then you drop into the Lake Tahoe area.  Bonanza use to be filmed in the area on the East side of the lake. We needed to be on the South side.

Of course, there is gambling in Nevada, but at this time, no gambling on the California side.  The town of South Lake Tahoe sits on the Nevada-California line. Since we were driving in from the Nevada side, we had casinos (large ones) on both sides of the main street until you hit CA, then you have gas stations and convenience stores. Our house would be on the California side. Literally, the casinos abut the state line.

Our first day of skiing would be at Heavenly (I think it used to be called Heavenly Valley) Mountain Resort.
It was a short drive from our rental, and the day was sunny. I caught the following picture of the lake with Jose standing in the middle.

Jose Marin at Heavenly with Lake Tahoe in the background

 From the top of the slopes at Heavenly, one can see the whole town of South Lake Tahoe and the marvelously blue lake.

South Lake Tahoe viewed from Heavenly

 The Heavenly ski area is partially in Nevada, and one can see the Nevada desert to the East.

On Nevade side of Heavenly looking East into desert

 But there were many other ski areas in the locality of our house. On this trip alone, we would ski at five different areas. That is one of the attributes that attracts skiers to this place. The varierty of skiing one can do.

One of the stops was at Alpine Meadows, located on the North West side of the lake. This is where my friend David Paquette was working. We had another beautiful day at this wonderful ski area.

Ron Cunfer & Nancie Marin at Alpine Meadows with Lake Tahoe behind

Of course, it was a great place to catch the newly married couple.

Jose & Nancie Marin at Alpine Meadows

Another great ski area on the North West side of the Lake is Squaw Valley.  It is known for hosting the Olympic winter games. I have included a group picture at Squaw Valley.

Gaylen, Tom, BJ, Jim, Melinda, Nancie, & Jose at Squaw Valley

One of my favorite places was Sierra-at-Tahoe.  This was located to the South West side of the lake. You actually have to leave the lake basin and cross a gap to get to the area. Jose Marin was taught how to make a snow angel here...

Jose Marin makes snow angel at Sierra-at-Tahoe

We had a really nice spring skiing day while here.  Outer wear was coming off and sweat was running. A lesson is always keep hydrated when skiing. Because it is cold, people do not realize how much liqyuids you lose when skiing hard. Here we are taking a water break at the base area.

BJ, Nancie, Jose, Melinda & Jim at Sierra-at-Tahoe on a warm day

Our last area we would visit on this trip was called Kirkwood.  It is about 40 miles south of Lake Tahoe but takes an hour to drive through some very scenic highways. When we got to Kirkwood, it was snowing and kind of socked in. The clouds slowly left as the day developed.

Ron, Melinda, Jose, gaylen, Nancie & BJ at Kirkwood

Kirkwood is a big mountain with a lot of black slopes. There are some great back bowls and they even have a lift with a skull & crossbone as you enter the line. Black slopes only and no easy way down. The next photo shows the top of that lift and the mile of moguls that need to be skied. God, that was so much fun!

Jim, BJ, Nancie, melinda & Gaylen on the slope called "The Wall"

The peak at the top of the Wall is called Thimble Peak and is 9,876 feet high. The base is at 7,800 feet. I really liked the area and we would make it back again. Here is a photo of the whole group at Kirkwood.

Jim, Melinda, Nancie, BJ, Gaylen, Ron, Tom & Jose at Kirkwood

I look at these photos and they bring back fond memories. Again, I need to ski again before I get too old.
California is a wonderful place to ski and Lake Tahoe is a beautiful place to visit. Until next time!