Winter finally returned to Tahoe! Or at least for a few days. It was a powder day yesterday, and we expected today would be good too and were determined to find some untouched powder!
We arrived early in the morning and went straight to the Summit chair. It’s usually the best strategy on weekends when the crowds of skiers descend to Lake Tahoe. The lift was still closed, and people were lined up for it to open. So we decided to check on the Kangaroo chair first. There was no line there, just a few ski teams preparing to load. Both West Runout and Kangaroo Main runs were closed for the race except for the narrow trail along the racecourse, but the off-piste area was open, so we skied to the left of Main run. The snow was soft with very gentle bumps, and it was a lovely start of the day!
We skied down to the Summit chair to join the main crowd to get a shot at the top. Not too long after, we topped the Summit and ventured over to Wolverine.
The groomed part looked perfect, but this time we traversed to ski the left side of Wolverine. There was a very soft tracked powder, and it skied perfectly! The steeper areas around Waterfall and Three Sisters didn’t have enough fresh snow to be enjoyable, though.
After a few laps from the Summit, we went to the Alpine bowl chair. The Palisades were a mix of hard and soft snow as it gets quite a lot of traffic. The High Yellow was pretty good with just a few crusty spots.
After ABC (Alpine Bowl Chair) we took the Scott chair and traversed down to Lakeview. That traverse didn’t improve much with new snow, so watch out for the rocks that melted out in spots. However, the area between the trees was soft. If you like tree skiing, this is a great place right now! The groomed runs were fantastic, with an excellent grip.
Surprisingly, there were more people than we expected in the lift line – usually this chair is quite empty. But that was probably because The Sherwood lift was on hold.
Tomorrow will still be cold enough to keep the snow in good condition. The crowd will disappear, and it will be a great time to enjoy the groomers. If you like off-piste skiing, we recommend Wolverine bowl and the trees in the Lakeview area.
