This year you can ride at select North Lake Tahoe ski resorts for $40 or less, and cross-country centers for $15 and help Tahoe-Truckee schools.  Duh. Don’t miss the Tahoe Truckee Excellence in Education Foundation Skiing for Schools days.

Tahoe Cross Country ($15) – Sunday through Friday, January 22-27, 2012.

On selected days, the participating resorts are offering skiers and snowboarders special discounted lift tickets and the opportunity to support education. The proceeds from your lift ticket purchase go directly to the Excellence in Education Foundation, which provides enhanced educational opportunities for our local students.

2011-2012 Skiing for Schools Days:

• Northstar ($40) – Sunday through Friday, January 8 -13, 2012
• Tahoe Donner Cross Country ($15) – Sunday through Friday, January 8 -13, 2012
• Tahoe Cross Country ($15) – Sunday through Friday, January 22-27, 2012
• Tahoe Donner Ski Area – $25 lift ticket valid any one day from January 30-Feb. 5, 2012
• Royal Gorge ($15) – Monday through Sunday, January 30 – February 5, 2012
• Sugar Bowl ($35) – Saturday through Friday, March 24-30, 2012
• Squaw Valley ($35) – Sunday through Friday, April 15 to end of season
• Homewood – TBA

Downhill resort tickets may be purchased in advance at Porters Sports locations in Truckee and Tahoe City and cross-country resort tickets may be purchased in advance at Paco’s in Truckee and Alpenglow in Tahoe City. A limited number of tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis and will not be available at the resorts the day of the event. Check and cash are preferred form of payment. Tickets are not refundable. Tickets are not refundable.  For more information, please call 530-550-7984.

About Tahoe Truckee Excellence in Education Foundation:

The Tahoe Truckee Excellence in Education Foundation was founded in 1986 as a business/education partnership. The Foundation’s efforts are targeted to enhance the education of 4,000 students in a school district that encompasses 11 schools in a geographic area of 720 square miles.

The Foundation supports “hands-on” academic learning experiences for students and promotes instruction that is meaningful and relevant in real-world situations. The Foundation awards grants to teachers in the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District through a competitive, selective application process.  The Foundation recognizes exceptional teachers and Classified Employees through the Linda Brown Fellows and Star Award programs. The Foundation is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors and Advisory Board of over 40 community members with a broad range of experience, representing all geographic areas of the community. 

For more information, please visit their website at www.exined.org

Squallywood

A Guide to Squaw Valley’s Most Exposed Lines by Robb Gaffney, MD.

As the doctor of psychiatry (that explains a lot!) puts it, the 2nd edition has more radical lines and more amazing descents ever witnessed at Squaw. Often referred to as The Bible of Squaw Valley, Gaffney has included new classifications for each Pitch as well as epic stories by locals getting caught…

And, this season you can Ski-the-book with the doctor at the Squallywood Clinic Classic on January 30 and 31st, 2010; and the Squallywood Clinic Light on March 5 and 6, 2010. You’ll get to ski some of Squaw’s classic lines with some of the world renowned skiers and cinematographers who helped make Squallywood….well Squallywood.

But first, get the Bible with 280 pages of pure entertainment including:

• Steep skiing/snowboarding history
• The new lines in addition to the 152 described in the 1st edition
• 40 detailed maps
• 130 photographs with 26 full color pages
• 38 vistas for beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders
• An epic tale of survival on The Rockpile
• Cross-references to 35 movies in which a Squaw line is skied, with a guide to finding those specific descents in each film.

New items in the 2nd edition

Epic Tales:

Chapter called “Falling into the White”, written first hand by two local skiers who had an epic outing one morning while skiing the forbidden gnarled terrain under the tram. One was caught in an avalanche and, unconscious, was carried down over 800 vertical feet of cliffs and chutes. The other was forced to put his own life on the line and decide whether to ski one of the hardest routes on the mountain after it had been stripped of snow, to rescue a buddy he wasn’t even sure was still alive. This was just the start of their epic tale.

“Pitch” Classifications:

In addition to “Difficulty”, “Hero Factor”, “Fun Factor”, and “Movies” that were used to describe each line in the last edition, Gaffney has added “Pitch”. Each line is measured by a surveying tool to measure degrees of steepness.

Photos:

Diversified contributing photographers to gain a more grass roots feel. Those photographed in the book are not necessarily the pros but local people passionate about the mountain. New color photo section documenting the younger generation skiers and snowboarders on the mountain.

Then the only sounds you hear are your heart pounding and the snow hissing as it passes around your knees as you float effortlessly dropping a couple thousand feet of the most pure bliss that exists on this planet! Well that rain was ugly and worrisome for a bit, but we still got our bliss anyway, right!?!

Right in the middle of one of those storm sessions during the holiday I found myself at a resort, working the singles line and then of course sitting on the chairlift next to this couple that had suddenly appeared in my bliss. How’s it going she asks me. “WONDERFUL, how else could you be on a day like this?” I answer just as her male companion and I turn to look at each other, which is when I realize he is looking at me through his clear prescription glasses with one lens fogged so badly that I couldn’t actually see that one eye. He had that shoulder slumped forward I’m freezing posture, his hair white with the snow steadily building up on the top but not on the sides because he had his HEADBAND on just right! His jacket looked fast, you know nice and tight, form fitting, the bottom of it almost met up with the top of his ‘90s stretch race pants, yeah buddy. My jaw had probably dropped at that point but you couldn’t tell because my face gaitor was pulled up nice and warm. Now keep in mind that it had been snowing some of the day before, all night pretty much, and all morning so far so this weather was no surprise!

That was when she said they were hoping to find some nice powder runs and maybe I knew where they should go. What level skiers are you I ask. Expert he says, yeah we can ski black diamond runs she adds in. Right then one of those wind gust hits us, you know the type, the snow is going horizontally, the chair gives that swing that makes you reach to pull down the safety bar, and you are so happy you don’t have one bit of skin exposed anywhere. Suddenly that gust took me far away as I watched the snowflakes race from right to left across the field of vision through my goggles, the sound of the wind somehow went silent in my head and all I could hear was, “We are experts…experts…exp…”.

Wow, what a misused word in ski world. Yes perhaps you can ski or board down some black diamond or even survive some double black diamond “expert” runs. But doesn’t it mean something completely different to be an expert? It has always seemed to me that an expert skier/boarder would also have a very good understanding of their equipment, how it works, how it differs from other stuff out there, why they are riding that gear and not something else. Some knowledge of waxing, maybe not doing it yourself but understanding the importance of it and the difference between cold and warm waxes. An expert would be a good snow hunter which means they understand a great deal about snow, what affects it in the air and once it is on the ground, which means they can go find that snow condition they desire. Some knowledge of snow safety would be important as well. An expert would have a good understanding of weather and probably keeps an eye on it way too much. There are so many more aspects and so much knowledge that should combine to make one an “expert”. Oh did I mention being able to dress for the conditions?

Suddenly the sound of the wind returns to me, I had all but forgotten where I was for a minute or two there. Oh yeah my two chair mates, he is asking if maybe they could tag along for a run. It would be really fun to turn these two on to a nice little bit of bliss somewhere. But would old fog eye be able to see where we are going? I agree to let them follow for one drop. We start off down a run, where shortly I hook a left off and into the trees, knee deep and completely untracked, oh yeah blissfulness. I glance back just quickly enough to see the two of them standing there at the edge of the run looking down where my track went, oh well, I never even got their names anyway. Go get a hat and some goggles and maybe next time! Oh yeah, an expert should know better than to ride the trees on a storm day alone, hmmm.

Well if that start of the season was too much agony, you just might get a little break for the first couple of weeks of January, but after that, let’s get going again, blissfulness.

Enjoy Earth,

Gary Bell

Gary has owned Sierra Ski and Cycle Works in South Lake Tahoe since 1980.  He’s having a 30th birthday bash in 2011, so stay tuned at www.sierraskiandcycleworks.com

Sierra Ski and Cycle Works
3430 Lake Tahoe Blvd
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

OPEN: 8ish to 6ish – 530.541.7505

Right next to Safeway in the middle of South Lake Tahoe

Big fun in the small shop since 1980.

Check the Sierra Avalanche Center website link daily, and attend the SAC ski and ride days. All ticket sales go to SAC, our backcountry life line.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 – Thursday, February 9, 2012 at Heavenly for just $50!

The Sierra Avalanche Center (SAC), a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to promoting safe backcountry travel, has partnered with six major Tahoe resorts this winter season to raise money in support of the only daily avalanche forecast for backcountry travelers in the Truckee/Lake Tahoe region.

Skiers and riders are encouraged to purchase discount lift tickets online to their favorite Lake Tahoe resorts and take pride in knowing that one hundred percent of the proceeds will go directly to support the continued operation of their local avalanche center.

Friday, January 20, 2012 Steep & Deep – Free avalanche awareness clinic at Squaw.

Steep & Deep is a free avalanche awareness clinic presented by the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol Avalanche Education Fund. Speakers include Daron Rahlves, Lel Tone, Danny Toumarkine, Michelle Parker, and the Sierra Avalanche Center Forecasters.

Sunday, January 29, 2012 – Friday, February 3, 2012 Squaw and Alpine Meadows Ski Days  $45

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 – Thursday, February 2, 2012 at Northstar  $45

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 – Thursday, February 9, 2012 Heavenly   $50

Friday, February 10, 2012 Bear Valley  $35   Support the Sierra Avalanche Center by purchasing a discounted lift ticket for a day of skiing and riding at Bear Valley on Feb 10th – the first day of Telefest! In addition to a day at the ski area, you will have a chance to meet the forecasters and board members, ask questions, purchase t-shirts, and win raffle prizes ranging from backcountry gear to technical clothing.

Sunday, March 4, and March 11, 2012 Mt. Rose  $35  Support the Sierra Avalanche Center by purchasing a discounted lift ticket for a day of skiing and riding at Mt. Rose on March 4th or March 11th. In addition to a day at the ski area, you will have a chance to meet the forecasters and board members, ask questions, purchase t-shirts, and win raffle prizes ranging from backcountry gear to technical clothing.

Saturday, March 17, 2012 Kirkwood $45  Support the Sierra Avalanche Center by purchasing a discounted lift ticket for a day of skiing and riding at Kirkwood on March 17th. In addition to a day at the ski area, you will have a chance to meet the forecasters and board members, ask questions, purchase t-shirts, and win raffle prizes ranging from backcountry gear to technical clothing.

Each SAC Ski & Ride Days will feature Q & A sessions with the SAC’s professional avalanche forecasters. Skiers and snowboarders can demo avalanche safety gear, inquire about avalanche conditions and items related to backcountry travel and recreation.

Tickets are limited and will sell out. Backcountry skiers and riders, as well as resort enthusiasts, are encouraged to purchase their tickets early and plan for a great day on the slopes. Tickets must be purchase online in advance at www.SierraAvalancheCenter.org.

Click this link for the daily Avalanche Advisory: http://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/advisory

What is SAC?

To help keep backcountry travelers informed about snow pack stability, the Sierra Avalanche Center (SAC) headquartered out of Truckee posts a daily advisory that covers the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yuba Pass on the north and Sonora Pass on the south.

The advisory applies only to backcountry areas outside established ski area boundaries and describes general avalanche conditions. Local variations always occur. The information in the advisory is provided by the USDA Forest Service who is solely responsible for its content.

SAC is a non-profit organization run by volunteers who have spent lifetimes guiding, teaching and playing in the backcountry and know the inherent risks.

Learn how to correctly and efficiently use an avalanche beacon at free monthly clinics at Squaw on the 1st and 15th of every month all winter , sponsored by the Squaw elite team – Squaw Dogs. Workshops are from 5:30-7:30pm at Ski Patrol Base in the Red Dog Complex.

Ski patrol crew will also talk about avalanche awareness, the RECCO avalanche technology and the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol dog program.

Find out more about the important role patrol dogs play in mountain safety and Tahoe ski culture. The Squaw Dogs provide a service not only to the Squaw Valley skiing and riding community, but to the greater Lake Tahoe community as well. All of the Squaw Dog teams are also members of the Placer County Sheriff Search & Rescue Team.

Please RSVP by calling 530-452-7260. Beacons are provided for you to practice with or you can bring your own.

2012 dates

After skiing and riding, jump on a bike, take a hike, get on the lake, go climbing or just stroll along one of our pristine beaches and bird-watch.  Only in Tahoe.

Besides being loads of fun, it’s a great way to get your parents out on the slopes every Sunday at Sierra-at-Tahoe.  Many of the adult volunteers today were graduates of Buddy Werner themselves, so they understand how much fun it is.

Grab your parents and go!

The  Buddy Werner Youth Ski League is an all-volunteer not-for-profit corporation providing ski race training and ski race participation to the youth of South Lake Tahoe and Western El Dorado County. The focus is on slalom racing, but those skills make participants able to ski better under all conditions. There are “developmental” and “Race” teams so kids are paired with others of similar ability and interest. Fun is stressed over hard core competition and allow kids to pair up with friends and to request specific coaches. Virtually every successful High School racer started with a Buddy Werner program.

For more information, please visit www.bwtahoe.com.

Who was Buddy Werner?

Wallace “Buddy” Werner
1936-1964

Buddy Werner, a native of Steamboat Springs, Colorado started out his skiing career as a ski jumper, winning his first Regional Championship at the age of 10. Buddy soon decided to focus his attention on Alpine skiing during his younger years. This decision would take Buddy Werner from a local hometown skier to an international icon, and one of the greatest skiing legends there ever was.

Buddy was a three-time member of the United States Olympic Team and a 2-time member of the United States Federation Internationale De Ski Team. Buddy made the international ski competition circuit as a member of FIS at the age of 18. Two years later, he made his first Olympic appearance at the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. He also competed in the FIS games in Austria in 1958. Although Buddy was a team member for the 1960 Olympic winter games just up the road in Squaw Valley, California, a broken leg suffered eight weeks earlier would keep him from competing. But just four years later, Buddy would again secure his place on the Olympic Team and competed in Innsbruck, Austria for the United States.

Buddy was favored to win in those 1964 Olympics, but as it would happen, he crashed during his race. At the time, the US Men’s Alpine Team had not won a medal for their country. Buddy’s hopes to become the first had been crushed during that final attempt. However, when his teammates, Billy Kidd and Jimmie Huega, who were both considered longshots to medal, clinched second and third place to capture the first two medals for the US Team, Buddy leaped into the finish arena and threw his arms around them. His enthusiasm and sportsmanship were impossible to deny. This, it is said, was typical of Buddy’s attitude.

Perhaps the most famous of Buddy’s numerous accomplishments was the stunning victory at the 1959 Hahnenkamm race in Kitsbuehel, Austria. Buddy was the first American skier to ever win the most notorious event in ski racing history. His history-making victory, on the most dangerous downhill course on the World Cup circuit, had not been repeated by a US skier for 44 years, when Daron Rahlves won the prestigious race in 2003.

On April 12, 1964, Buddy was in the Swiss Alps skiing in a television documentary when an avalanche struck. Buddy tried to outrace the thundering snow, but to no avail. Buddy did not survive and the world lost one if it’s most enigmatic, dedicated sportsman. Buddy always gave 110 percent. People said he would finish first or last because he gave it his all. Locals tell of a young man who, even at the height of his fame, would always come out to ski with the local kids.

After Buddy’s untimely death, the councilmen of Steamboat Springs unanimously voted to rename the town’s ski mountain from “Storm Mountain” to “Mt. Werner”, in honor of their beloved hero and friend. The US Department of the Interior approved of the renaming, and the dedication ceremony took place in 1965. Buddy was posthumously inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1964.

Today, you can ski Mt Vernon, just as Buddy did and you can also visit the Bud Werner Memorial Library in Steamboat Springs. Truly the best way to experience a little Buddy Werner magic is to ski your heart out and cheer on your teammates in our Buddy Werner Youth Ski League. The League encourages our young skiers to emulate the values, work ethic, and sportsmanship demonstrated by the late, great Buddy Werner.

And she’s headed to the 2012 Winter X Games along with Sierra-at-Tahoe team riders, Hannah Teter, and Maddie Bowman.  Go get em girls!

It’s clear that Jamie dominates slopestyle and big air competitions all over the globe. From grom to female snowboard domination, we’ve followed Jamie through X Games Golds, TTR Championships, Signature Billabong outerwear lines, Rider of the Year, Dew Tour Championships, and Burton Open Championships. In the midst of a hectic travel and contest season, we’re happy to know that Jamie keeps it real right here at her home mountain.

She was even awarded Female Rider of the Year by both TransWorld SNOWboarding and Snowboarder Magazines in 2009.

Jamie is training hard these days, hoping to stay on top of the competition and win a place on the women’s halfpipe team, as her main event, slopestyle, is not an Olympic event. “The level of women’s riding is insane these days,” commented Jamie during some recent downtime in South Lake Tahoe . “This summer, all of the girls were going so big in New Zealand doing bigger tricks than ever. The competition is going to be intense this winter and I can’t wait.”

Jamie is a member of the Sierra-at-Tahoe Elite TEam.

Click here to learn more her home mountain.

Snow Camping 101 will cover the preparation steps that are necessary before venturing out into the winter backcountry. You will learn important techniques and other considerations once you are out traveling and camping in the snow.

Specifically, your guides/instructors will cover: packing for snow travel; basic orientation skills; winter travel hazards; winter survival techniques; campsite selection and set-up; cooking hints and demonstrations; and principles of Leave No Trace.

Dates:  February 25-26, 2012

(Weather permitting)

Cost: $35

Age: 21 and over, limited to 12 participants

For more information, and for prerequisites for this course, please call the TRTA office at (775) 298-0238 or email programs@tahoerimtrail.org.

And, in usual Heavenly fashion, it is meticulously maintained and groomed to perfection for tubing aficionados.

Impressed by the size of it, I just had to try it even though the skiing was superb.

It’s all about the experience.

Kicking off my skis I grabbed a large red tube and jumped on a conveyor belt gliding up what looks like a Habitrail.  The whole ride up I watched the tubers fly down the mountain as I concocted my tubing strategy. I was trying to figure out which tube loader I wanted to launch my first ride.

I knew I wanted to ride feet first, rear down.  I saw several people riding superman style, but I’d better build up to that technique after I got my tubing legs.

Turns out I chose Heavenly’s top twirler. When uncontrollable screams and hysterical laughter took over, I remembered a similar sensation when I jumped out of a plane (to skydive).  It seemed to go on forever and I was starting to wonder if I was going to catapult over the gondola into Lake Tahoe. Just how long IS 500 feet?

When I finally stopped, and stopped laughing, it hit me.  I had 45 minutes of tubing to do!  For just $30 you get an hour of tubing to suit your threshold for fun.  I managed to ride all 5 lanes handled by a new loader each ride.

It was much safer than stepping out of a plane.

If you don’t have a daily ski lift ticket or season pass, you will have to purchase a gondola ride for $30 per person to access Adventure Peak, which is well worth it.

The gondola takes you 2.4 miles up the mountain in 12 minutes while you stare at magnificent views of Lake Tahoe. Half way up is your chance to unload at the mid-station and wander around the observation platform as you gaze upon Lake Tahoe’s endless beauty before heading to the top.

At the top of the gondola at 9,156′ is Adventure Peak, fully equipped with a bar and the Smokehouse Grill, the Heavenly Flyer zipline ride – another thrilling ride, and the Tubing Hill.  While the rides are a rush, you are welcome to stay at the top all day and play, or soak in Tahoe’s enchanting mountain life in the winter.