Mar 15 & 16: Wind-Buffed, Chalky, Sunny, Fast, & Fun

This report was written by Miles Clark.

The past two days at Palisades Tahoe have been lovely. The weather quietened and warmed up after Thursday’s big Northeast wind event, which saw winds as high as 150mph on the ridges. Sunshine and temperatures in the 30s marked the day.

On Friday, I popped out in the morning and had some stellar, chalky, wind-blown laps on KT-22 and Headwall. The run of the morning was “The Portal” to “Dead Tree” to the groomer down to the headwall. It was fast, chalky, flat (not moguled), and fun.

The Fingers.

After lunch, the Headwall face was skiing well, and we milked a few laps there. Then it was back to KT for “Tom’s Tumble,” “Chute 75,” and a run off the back of The Nose that I think is called “Big Balls,” which was the run of the day. It was long, flat, steep, and very responsive. We took that one home with smiles in our pockets. We ended up in Wildflour with our crew, and I had a hot chocolate chip cookie that was pure bliss…

Headwall.

I got back to Palisades Tahoe at about 1pm on Saturday and started chasing the crew around. The wind had stopped in the morning, and temperatures were in the 50s at the base. It’s not quite full-on spring skiing, but it’s pretty close.

Corkscrew on Granite Chief.

We started on Granite with a couple of laps, and the groomers were amazing. We then came back down and found the groomer on the far skier’s right of the Resort Chair area holding completely untouched corduroy. We cranked a couple of silky smooth laps there before returning to KT-22. We went back to that steep, smooth run off the back of The Nose and called it a day.

KT-22

I met up with a very old friend at Le Chamois and chatted with her and her friends while the party at Chami simply went off. Don’t get me wrong, Chami has always been the best party spot at Palisades–especially on a sunny spring day–but lately, it’s been on another level. It feels more like a concert than a bar. People and dogs were everywhere, dancing on tables, drinking straight out of their beer pitchers, music blasting, and everyone having an absolute blast. We even got some Girl Scout cookies!

Girl Scout Cookies!

Tahoe is the place to be right now

Thanks, California!

There ain’t no party like a Chamois party!

Chami party.

Corkscrew on Granite Chief.

The Crew!

Lake Tahoe view.

Main Chute on Palisades.

Skiing Dead Tree.

Palisades tree.

Resort Chair

Siberia.

The Attic.

Tram Rock

The Fingers.