TahoeGirl’s blog

My new writing gig

3 days ago

Because my life isn't full enough with work, teaching, playing and my feeble attempt at finding balance, I've started writing about telemark and backcountry skiing in the Lake Tahoe region for Examiner.com.

Check it out - and don't worry, I'll still be ranting about stupidity and posting photos of my latest culinary disaster here.

The joy of skiing

4 days ago

Ski season has finally started at Lake Tahoe, with the openings of Mt. Rose, Heavenly, Northstar-at-Tahoe and Squaw Valley this week. N and I actually had plans to head to Mammoth (which has been open since October), but his asymptomatic manflu reared up again, leaving him with no desire to move, much less drive 2+ hours to ski - especially after a snowstorm left the roads a bit messy, and the mountains with upwards of 6 inches of new snow.

I decided to head to Heavenly for opening day on Saturday. I was cautious in my enthusiasm, knowing that there would only be two runs open. I figured the resort would be mobbed with people by about 10 am, all fighting for the same 20 acres of man-made/natural groomed snow. Add to that my own skepticism about my still-injured chest, and a strangely irrational fear that I'd forgotten how to make a tele turn, and, well, you might say I had low expectations.

Happily, my expectations were surpassed exponentially. Not only did my chest not hurt, but I could still link a tele turn, there were very few people around for the first few hours, and the snow conditions were pretty darn good, with soft carveable groomers and some untracked snow on the sides of the run. Did I mention it was a bluebird day after a snowstorm, which meant the white peaks nicely contrasted with the cerulean blue of Lake Tahoe?

I had a huge, stupid grin on my face for the 2+ hours I was out. I had forgotten how much FUN I have skiing, and it took a groomed blue run to remind me of the exuberance and dumb joy I get from telemark skiing.

And I'm not in this official Heavenly vid, but I think it shows the excitement everyone had about getting back on snow.

11.21.09 Opening Day @ Heavenly

More homeownership fun

Nov 18, 2009

Our older house had gifted us with a few surprises over the years, but nothing dramatic like rodent infestations or exploding pipes. [knock wood]

So the backed up shower this week has been a bit of a surprise. More so the discovery that our house's 50+ year pipes have about 50+ years worth of built up hair in them. Which decided to show up yesterday.

I'm just really thankful that N's trip to Belgium didn't pan out. I am terrified of plumbing, and this development has me severely skeeved out. So I'm leaving him to deal with the new snake he bought and the plumber he eventually called when it became apparent that 50 years of hairstory was too much for him on his own.

Waiting for Winter

Nov 16, 2009
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The weeks before ski season always leave me in an uncomfortable state of limbo. The days are too short - and cold - for any long mountain bike rides, and hiking requires more layers and planning. Add to that a stupid injury (mine), the start of a bad cold (N) and unusual arctic temps, and we realized our options were limited this weekend. In the end we headed to Fallen Leaf Lake, an area neither of us had been to recently.

Boathouse - Fallen Leaf

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It had been awhile since I'd explored the north side of the lake, where little treasures await, including an abandoned boathouse and the stone foundation of what might have been a grand lake house. The vantage point from this side of the lake is unfamiliar, and we both stared at Freel Peak for a second or two before we realized what it was.

Old House Foundation -Fallen Leaf

The trail on this side of the lake eventually meets up with an enclave of summer homes located in the shadow of Mt. Tallac. While not as extravagant as some of the homes at the end of Fallen Leaf Lake, these were still a far cry from a Forest Service cabin. I'm pretty sure that the paved road out there isn't plowed in the winter, but as there was nobody around, I couldn't confirm. We both agreed that having a snowmobile and stockpiled supplies in one of the lakefront properties would make for an awesome winter, considering the backcountry skiing possibilities nearby.

November Snow

Nov 12, 2009

Newsnow

While cynics may claim this is but a dusting, last night's storm brought a few inches of snow to our house at lake level, and the resorts are reporting up to 6 inches.

So it's a start. Though with a few resorts slated to open next weekend, I'm guessing this isn't quite enough yet.

And while my brother's crowing about Mt. Baker opening with a ridonkulous amount of new snow (50+ inches), I must remind him that I will still get more skiing in this season than he will. Even with a head start.

So there.

Coffee, How I Miss You

Nov 11, 2009

A few weeks ago I decided to reduce my coffee dependency for a number of reasons. I've reduced my consumption substantially (threw out the IV drip and everything), but I'm not giving it up entirely. Were I to do so, I think I'd end up alienating everyone in my life.

I'm adjusting to one small latte a day, and I must admit that even 2 weeks into this, I'm still going through the withdrawal symptoms. So it makes me smile when I see something like this. Maybe my current state of sluggishness isn't so bad after all?

Grateful

Nov 1, 2009

Last week I managed to punch myself in the chest with my bike handlebars. At the time it hurt, but I was more focused on getting through the rest of the bike ride and back to the car. While I've had more than my fair share of cuts and bruises, I've not had an injury like this in quite awhile - one that actually sidelined me for a few days and made the smallest of tasks (changing sheets, carrying a laundry basket) painfully difficult.

For someone like me who is active, there was the added realization that I couldn't do much - I couldn't swim, ride my bike, roller skate, or get my butt kicked in the ladies group fitness class I joined. Heck, even the notion of cooking wasn't appealing (chopping, lifting pots, etc.). Having physical limitations that prevented me from doing what I enjoyed most was almost worse than the injury itself, especially as I had no idea how long the recovery would be. If there was a cracked rib amongst all the bruising, it could be awhile.

Luckily the pain started to subside mid-week, and I could walk and even run by this weekend. I haven't been so excited about the prospect of a run (ok, a jog given my pace) in a long time. It was a huge reminder about how lucky I am, that despite some chronic lower grade issues, I am able to do most anything I want to. For that I am grateful.

The Joys of Home Ownership

Oct 27, 2009

Mudroom Door

Being a homeowner at Lake Tahoe is an exercise in quirkiness, frustration and required inventiveness. Beyond all the zoning regulations required for something as seemingly simple as tree removal, there’s the inherent silliness of home construction. For many middle-class folks, buying an older (read: built before 1999) home is the only option available. And homes built circa 1950-89 aren’t really built for winter. Single pane windows, little or no insulation, baseboard heating (if at all), drafty construction, not to mention oddly designed kitchens meant more for weekend visitors than full time residents. These were a generation of homes built for summer visitors, and making it a truly year-round home requires sometimes considerable effort.

While we were lucky when we found our house – it had double pane windows! a new roof! – we knew that we would have to invest in some upgrades if only to allow wintertime temps to get above 55 F. Over the past few years these upgrades have included a clean burning wood stove, new heavier curtains and blinds, and the great ‘Insulate the walls from within’ project, where we lost a bit of floor space by adding insulation to all the external walls of the bricked ground floor.

Alas, even with all that effort, we were still losing enough heat that we still couldn’t maintain the house at a temp above 62 degrees. Luckily, a friend of ours needed a client/victim for a home efficiency study, and we offered up our quirky home. Thanks to professional evaluation, we learned that much of the heat was escaping through our afterthought, uninsulated mudroom. The solution? Add a door between the mudroom and kitchen.

Simple enough, but you must understand that nothing is simple here. The door frame was a combination of wonky (think Alice in Wonderland on a mild scale) and masonry, which is apparently a tough combination for the hardiest of DIY folks. N, to his credit, saw this, like all the other home projects, as an engineering challenge. We opted for a custom made door, which had it been cut to our measurements initially, would have been fine. Alas, the door manager at the local hardware store was not only dyslexic but stupid, and we ended up the first time with a door that didn’t fit.

Cue to this month, a year later. N was able to speak with the store managers and get a new door ordered, and spent the past weekend measuring and drilling, with little help from me, Mz. Stickyfingers. It’s up, and while there’s no finishing trim, its effects are already being noticed, both by us (house is staying warm downstairs!) and the dog (confused). And as an added bonus, we no longer have to worry about the dog getting into the trash in the mudroom.

We’re hoping that this door minimizes any immediate need to insulate the floors (another leaky part of the house), as that would be a monumental task compared to these other projects. And time will tell whether we're saving money on our energy bills.

Things Learned this Month

Oct 26, 2009

Lake Tahoe Sky

I may be getting older, but the wisdom thing ain't happening
Giving up coffee is not for the weak
You use your chest muscles for a lot more things than you realize
A chest contusion is unpleasant (and makes comedies painful)
Stretching does make a difference
Patience is overrated

Hungry for Winter

Oct 25, 2009

October typically marks the beginning of the ski film season, when filmmakers of all winter persuasions (telemark, alpine, snowboard) take their shows on the road, fueling the winter lust of die-hard skiers like me. This weekend brought a double whammy of telemark films, including the newest film from the Powderwhores, a Utah based collection of rippin' backcountry telemark skiers.

While non-skiers will probably never fully understand the addiction that is powder skiing, this trailer captures a bit of the energy and joy that I get when dancing through untracked snow. I'm just hoping Mother Nature pulls through with this El Nino crap, as I'm jonesing for some deep snow after this movie.