Where to Sleep When You Ski #1: A Cabin

Lodging options at Lake Tahoe run the gamut. Since I have laid my head in a variety of places, I will write about several options in my next few blog posts.

Our ski cabin companions putting on their gear at the cabin

Starting with ski cabins, we rode up with the Bay Area Ski Bus last Friday to ski for the weekend. Except this time, we didn’t ride on a bus and we weren’t up before the crack of dawn;  we were picked up in Sunnyvale on Friday afternoon by a 15-passenger van equipped with captains chairs and a DVD player to watch movies. Our bags went in the back, while people’s skis and snowboards were placed in a roof rack. One stop in San Francisco to pick up our last passenger, and we were on our way to Truckee for margaritas and Mexican food at La Bamba. My margarita came with green salt around the rim and tasted so-so, but the carne asada was delicious.

Next, we bought breakfast and dinner supplies for the next day at the local Safeway. Tammy, with the Bay Area Ski Bus, said the Truckee location is one of the busiest Safeways in California, and suggested going to a different grocery store if you’re in a hurry.

We arrived at the cabin, which has a master bedroom upstairs with a king-size bed (where we stayed) and a whirlpool bathtub in the attached bathroom, a smaller master bedroom downstairs with a queen-size bed and a twin-size bed and two other rooms with twins, so it can sleep eight. The kitchen was fully stocked with cooking utensils, and there was food (coffee, tea, beer, wine, snacks, etc.) in the cupboards. Our host, Brian McCooey, CEO of Bay Area Ski Bus, started a fire in the wood-burning stove.

The wood-burning stove and cozy chairs in the great room at the Bay Area Ski Bus cabin

Some of our companions–anxious to test the snow–took sleds down a sledding slope in the backyard, while we headed to the hot tub on the backyard patio. Tammy had warmed it up before we arrived. Aaahhh.

View of the backyard at the Bay Area Ski Bus cabin

In the morning, we awoke to the sound of Brian cooking eggs and bacon in the kitchen. I stepped out of the bedroom and was greeted by lovely views of the snow-covered trees in the backyard. I was starting to think that this was better than any hotel.

After breakfast, we put on our gear and headed to Alpine Meadows for our first day of skiing and boarding. On Sunday, we headed to Sugar Bowl. Both days, the Bay Area Ski Bus took care of buying our lift tickets and dropped us off at the lodge–front door service!

We arrived at our Sunnyvale stop on Sunday at around 8 p.m., after a weekend of having no worries. We were in good hands with the Bay Area Ski Bus.

The Bay Area Ski Bus cabin package costs $329 per person for the weekend.

New Year’s Resolution #2: Get My Own Ski Gear

It’s time folks. I am tired of waiting in the winding line at the rental counter to get my gear. Most rental skis are general, all-around skis, and have been put through the wringer by countless other skiers–my loaner Rossignols at Sugar Bowl last Sunday were badly scratched and gouged on the bottom. Plus, with the changing lengths, brands and styles, I spend my first hours on the hill getting used to how the skis and boots fit and operate.

Try Before You Buy

I was advised to test a bunch of skis in one day at a demo shop. That way the snow conditions will remain the same, and the only thing different will be the skis. Squaw Valley and Northstar at Tahoe have mid-mountain demo centers that allow skiers to try out as many makes and models as they like in one day (for only $51 at Squaw).

Read Reviews

Check out ski forums such as TheSkiDiva.com. This site is super helpful, and the divas are quick to answer inquiries.

Save Some Cash

Keep an eye out for sales (be put on local ski shops’ mailing lists) and consider buying last year’s equipment. Deals can also be found on Craigslist and eBay.

New Year’s Resolution #1: Blog More!

Yes, I realize more than two weeks have lapsed since my last blog post. I’ve been busy moving, holiday shopping and baking, spending time with family, and, well, skiing. The good thing is, the more skiing I do, the more material I collect to write about in this blog. So, I plan to do plenty more research in the coming weeks.

I enjoy writing this blog because it reminds me of my progress on the slopes and the resorts I’ve skied. I hope the contents will be useful to other skiers as well. My boyfriend is great at suggesting topics (I promise, I will write about them soon!), and I welcome yours too.

Great Holiday Gift Ideas for Skiers

Ski
Originally uploaded by _ES

It’s opportune for gift givers that the holidays coincide with the start of ski season at Lake Tahoe. Help your favorite skier or boarder stock up on cool ski gear and gadgets. Below, I’ve listed some of my best bets that they’re sure to love. (In doing so, I think I just created my holiday wish list–Santa, are you reading?)

Cold Feet?

SmartWool socks such as the W’s Skiing Medium come with cushioning and stretch to mid-calf, rising above the boots so they won’t bunch. Plus, like any socks, ski socks tend to lose their mates in the dryer, so your skier will welcome a new pair. $20.95

To make toes even more toasty, layer in some heat from Insolator Winter Insoles sold by Campor.com. $7.99

Bright Idea

Give the present of prevention. Nutragena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock in SPF 85 shields against harmful UV rays, a double-whammy for winter sunseekers since they bounce off the snow. Visit drugstore.com. $10.99

Lip Service

Besides getting chapped, lips get sunburned too. For this, Burt’s Bee’s Lifeguard’s Choice contains titanium dioxide to help refract UV rays. $3.25

The Nose Knows

Runny noses are a common complaint among skiers. Sometimes, it’s possible to swipe tissues while waiting in the lift line, but for any other emergencies it’s convenient to tote Kleenex pocket tissues. $2.69 for a pack of eight

Friends with Benefits

If a lift ticket is out of your price range, then perhaps it’s also beyond your snow buddy’s budget. The Winter Tahoe Card offers handy discounts on everything from lift tickets and ski rentals to dining and lodging, with free waxes and tune-ups to boot. $39.99

Peppermint Pleaser

If they’re too busy making tracks to stop to re-fuel, energy bars do the trick. Luna Bars are my favorite and come in a variety of flavors, but the Chocolate Peppermint Stick are perfect for the holidays with their crispy, chocolately goodness with a hint of candy cane. $19.38 for a box of 15 at Amazon.com

Gift of Sight

As the name implies, the Ski Gee Goggle Wipe is a little rubber squeegee made to slip around a gloved finger and swipe across goggles to wipe away snow on powder days. They come in a variety of fun colors. $1.99

Walk This Way

Walk-EZ Revolutions take the clumsy clunkiness out of walking in ski boots. The rounded bottom provides for a smoother gait, and the rubber sole prevents slipping. Sold out on most websites, they can still be purchased on eBay.

Bus a Move

Fund part or all of a trip on the Bay Area Ski Bus with a gift certificate. Leave the choice up to them on where and when to go, since buses go to nearly all of the Tahoe ski resorts on several weekdays and weekends.

Phresheez Gets on the Map

I was scoping out the booths at the Bay Area Ski & Snowboard Show last month when I discovered a cool new app for Smartphones.

You can chart the details of your runs with Phresheez.

Phresheez tracks skiers and boarders’ runs on the mountain and creates charts, showing such details as speed, slope, altitude, difficulty and distance. It stores this data so users can compare and contrast different days by logging on to phresheez.com.

That’s just one feature. The Friend Finder shows users where their pals are on the mountain at any time and automatically uploads their photos so that each friend can view them. The social networking function allows photos to be stored in a gallery and users to post the photos on Facebook and Twitter, as well as maps and charts.

Phresheez spent last year testing its ideas in the field–at Kirkwood (tough work, I know!). The service is free and now available in most smartphones’ app stores, or it can be uploaded using software from phresheez.com to GPS devices and hand-held trackers.

I spoke with Aric Olnes, chief resort map maker for Phresheez, about how far the San Francisco-based startup has come with its technology and what exciting new features are ahead that he says–pun intended–”will really keep Phresheez on the map.”

Q: Cell reception is spotty at best at some ski resorts. What happens if satellite signal is lost to the cellphone?

A: Your GPS enabled phone will track you without cell coverage and upload the points as soon as you get connectivity. Your tracks are always recorded. The Friend Finder feature works best when there is a phone or Wi-Fi service.

Q: Resorts usually add new lifts or runs each year. How updated are your maps?

A: Our maps are incredibly recent. They were drawn this year. We stay on top of any changes the resorts make and include them as soon as possible.

Q: How does Phresheez differ from the competition, such as Garmin and the GPS trackers already available?

A: We track you like those devices, but we create maps, charts and animations that show your entire day with more detail than Garmin and the others do. Remember also that we are a social networking site. We’re all about keeping your days and pictures, and sharing them with your friends. So Garmin et al aren’t really competition.

Q: What new features are you looking to add?

A: We are always striving to add new content. We currently have numerous features but are looking to add more as we get feedback from users.

Q: How many people have downloaded the Phresheez app so far?

A: We are brand new and just starting out. We are looking to increase our user base with demos and presentations.

So download the app, use it for a day and give me and Phresheez your feedback.

Ski season begins at Northstar

I was excited to ski my first day of the season at Northstar on Saturday. For many snowboarders and skiers, it was their first taste of snow this winter. Squaw Valley, Heavenly and Northstar opened with very limited runs on Saturday but with conditions that Northstar reports were the best since the 1994-95 season, so there were no complaints! Everyone on the lifts marveled that they were actually skiing or boarding before Turkey Day.

Northstar was making snow on Saturday to add to its 3 inches of base.

More than eight inches had fallen overnight on Friday, and we were greeted by bluebird and powder conditions when the Bay Area Ski Bus pulled into the empty parking lot at Northstar (I’ve only seen this once before, and that was in midsummer!).

More people arrived–mostly boarders–and headed for the four lifts that were open–the gondola, Vista Express, Arrow Express and Big Easy (which, as the name implies, leads to the bunny hill). I rode the gondola up to Arrow Express over to Vista Express, sticking to the few runs that dropped from the top of those two lifts. There was a terrain park off to the side of one of the runs that was open.

I stayed to the trail, because we were warned to stay out of the trees, as the resort only has 3 inches of base. To add to its base, Northstar was busy making snow with its snow guns shooting out plumes of snow in the morning until temperatures became too warm.

The Bay Area Ski Bus is scheduled to make its next trip on December 5. But if conditions continue to improve, my guess is that they will ride up sooner, so keep checking their website.

Tahoe Ski Resorts Ready to Open

Think it’s too early to ski at Tahoe? Think again.

Squaw Valley opens Saturday, November 21. Photo by Eric Juhn.

Several of the resorts are opening for the winter season this weekend. It’s supposed to dump 7-11 inches of white stuff at lake level with up to 15 inches at higher altitudes on Friday night, so Saturday looks like a powder day, according to Tahoe Weather Discussion.com.

Resorts that will open include:

1. Heavenly, which opens Friday, November 20, operating two lifts (Tamarack Express and Dipper Express) and two trails (Cal Trail and Orion’s). Stats: 18-24 inches at base.
2. Squaw Valley USA, kicking off its 09/10 season with a 60th anniversary celebration on Saturday, November 21 from 2 to 3:45 p.m. on the KT Sundeck. Stats: 6-10 inches at base; lifts in operation, unreported.
3. Northstar-at-Tahoe, opening Saturday, November 21 for its 37th season with the gondola and three lifts running: Arrow, Vista and the Big Easy.

Kirkwood and Sierra-at-Tahoe are waiting to see if this storm brings enough snow to open soon. Next, Sugar Bowl is slated to open on November 25, followed by Alpine Meadows (December 5) and Homewood Mountain Resort (December 18).

Making its inaugural trip of the season on Saturday,the  Bay Area Ski Bus is cruising to Northstar-at-Tahoe. For the ride to and from the Bay Area, breakfast, after-ski refreshments and a lift ticket, it’s only $79 (it’s usually $105 to most resorts).

Please leave comments or follow me on Twitter at @skitripper to let me and others know the latest news on the resorts, conditions, etc. throughout the season. Ski early, ski often…

Warren Miller’s “Dynasty” at a Theater Near You

Few names are as hallowed among skiers and snowboarders as Warren Miller, the godfather of extreme skiing cinematography. Bay Area fans can watch his latest movie, Dynasty, on the big screen in high definition as part of an 82-city tour when it comes to San Francisco and Palo Alto later this week. I saw it at a high school auditorium in San Mateo last Sunday.

At age 81, Miller has retired from his wild ice and snow capades. But the movie’s director, Max Bervy, has interspersed new footage with grainy video shot by Miller during the past 60 years. The old shots lend character to the movie, while the new footage is spectacular with all of its visual effects.

Narrated by Olympic skier Jonny Moseley, Dynasty starts at Lake Tahoe–where the skiing is “crazy, good or crazy-good” as Moseley says–and then heads to British Columbia, Washington, Colorado, Norway, Alaska, Michigan (yes, Michigan!), Idaho and China for shots of extreme skiing on rugged terrain.

The 98-minute film also features a 9-year-old snowboarding phenom named Snow White (after another famous snowboarder with the last name “White”), adaptive athletes recklessly racing down the mountain in sit skis in skiercross at the X Games and Chinese villagers plunging down a hill on long skis roughly hewn from trees.

Showings will be at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. and the Spangenberg Theatre, 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto on Friday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. In addition to the movie, there will be prize giveaways. Call (800) 523-7117 or visit Any Mountain to purchase tickets ($18 each, which includes a free lift ticket to Heavenly and $25 off a purchase of $100 or more at Any Mountain).

Can’t Wait for Ski Season

I could tell it was time to start blogging again now that many of my conversations lately have turned to skiing. I go to sleep with visions of my skis carving perfect S-curves in the snow. My bike, which saw a lot of action over the summer–several organized rides, culminating in my first century in July–is getting much more downtime as I transition from one sport to the other.

The best clue is that this weekend is double-booked with snow-related events–the Ski Dazzle Bay Area Ski Show and Snowboard Expo at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center on Friday-Sunday, Nov. 13-15 and SnowFest at the Santa Clara Convention Center on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 14-15.

Admission tickets can be traded for free lift tickets once inside. If you’re like me, you’re probably telling yourself you don’t need any new gear, but both shows are promising sales of 70 percent off on skis, snowboard boots and other apparel. Perhaps a fistful of lift tickets or a closetful of ski gear will be tangible proof that the ski season really is near.

Homey Homewood vs. Northstar Niceties

Homewood Mountain Resort is most famous among skiers and boarders for what it lacks. Northstar at Tahoe, on the other hand, is known for its extras. I experienced both resorts last weekend, and skiing both back to back brought about some interesting juxtapositions:

The View of Lake Tahoe from Homewood Mountain Resort

1. At Homewood, I was pleasantly surprised to pull into the North Lot and park directly in front of the Madden Lift. Compare and Contrast: The next day at Northstar at Tahoe, I parked in lot D and had to be shuttled in a bus through winding rows of cars to the lodge. To my dismay, I forgot my goggles in the car, which spurred the bus driver to quip, “Aah, my first ‘forgettee’ of the day,” and required a 20-minute excursion to retrieve them.

2. The lodge at Homewood is an inconspicuous red building shaped like a barn with no restaurants, no shops–just the necessities. Compare and Contrast: Northstar village has 21 shops and 12 food purveyors and is so large that the resort offers wagons to help you haul your gear.

3. Steps from Homewood is the Old Tahoe Cafe, which serves an excellent breakfast to help you fuel up for the day. I ordered the French toast with eggs, and it was delicious! The chef was our waiter, and there were historic photos hanging on the wall. Compare and Contrast: I ate a yummy breakfast burrito at Earthly Delights at Northstar. The bakery was very nice, but it lacked some of the personality of the Old Tahoe Cafe.

4. The prices at Homewood are also quite reasonable. Lift tickets for peak ski times are $53, and my ski rentals cost only $34. Compare and Contrast: Northstar charges $79 for lift tickets (I scored a $25 ticket through the Tahoe Women’s Council) and $45 for ski rentals. Admittedly, the skis at Northstar were waxed and newer, but not $11 newer.

5. Homewood has a total of six lifts (two of which are surface lifts) that are slow and a bit rickety. Proof: the Madden Triple Chair broke down around noon, and I had to take a shuttle from the North Lot to the South Lot to board a lift to get back up the hill. Compare and Contrast: Northstar has 18 lifts, including six high-speed quads and a gondola. Some are well-padded, and I would have to declare “cushy.”

6. But the extra time on the lifts at Homewood can be well spent enjoying the spectacular views of Lake Tahoe over your shoulder. The constant views of the Big Blue are Homewood’s claim to fame. Compare and Contrast: Lake Tahoe is barely visible from Northstar, primarily peeking through on Upper Grouse Alley. However, at Northstar, you can look down onto the scenic meadows of Martis Valley.

7. Despite its low elevation (peak elevation: 7,880) and the end of the season drawing near, the snow was in surprisingly good condition at Homewood. Compare and Contrast: The trails were well-groomed at Northstar (peak elevation: 8,610). They were hard in a few places, but usually a light dusting of snow rested on top. Sunday was really warm, and by the day’s end, much of the snow had turned to slush. We called it quits before 3:30 p.m.

8. You have one more week to ski Homewood. Its season is scheduled to end this weekend (April 11 and 12). Compare and Contrast: Northstar should stay open until April 18 and 19. The Bay Area Ski Bus is going to Northstar on April 16 and 19.