Many people live for life on the beach, the city, the farm, but up here in Alpine country we live for the snow. The seasons are changing up here and attitudes are shifting from the beach to Heavenly Mountain. There are a lot of groans and complaints, mainly form the women who don’t want to forfeit their sunny days in the sand, but, truth be told, the majority of the folks up here are praying for an early snowfall. The past couple of seasons we haven’t received very much snow until the middle of December. As weather trends have shown us in the past, a few late seasons eventually build up for a great early one, and that is exactly what we are wishing for.
There really is nothing like hitting South Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Mountain right after a serious dump of the white stuff. Last year, I was lucky enough to have the day off from work and be able to experience this phenomenon first hand and break in my new ski rentals. It was a Sunday night and it had not stopped snowing for three days, so I knew Monday morning was going to be the pristine day on the hill. We received close to four feet in three days and Monday it was supposed to clear up. The weather man was actually correct and Monday the skies cleared, the ski resort had 40″ of fresh snow, and I was waiting for the first chair up the mountain. The lines were beginning to fill up, all of the local powder hounds and super lucky tourists were anxiously awaiting the ski lift to begin carrying folks to the top, and I had just finished my coffee, perfect timing. The ski lift began running, everyone’s brand new ski and snowboard rentals all freshly waxed, and smiles all around, we all started one of the best days of the season. It was one of those days when your ski rentals couldn’t go fast or high enough to keep up with the adrenaline your body was producing. By the end of the day, which was around 1pm for me, your body was aching, thighs burning, and soles of your feet stinging from pure jubilation of the perfect ski day. I and many others like me, I believe, live for these days and if everyone in the world could experience just one day like this one, I think we would be living in a much more peaceful world.
Everyday I walk by the huge dig that is to become the celebration plaza for the Olympics in Whistler. Over a year ago we protested the tearing down of the beautiful forest for the purpose of this site. Today we still look at the giant dirt pile and listen to the squeaky bulldozers pushing it around from spot to spot. So the question is, “Will it ever be done?”
Quite simply the answer is Yes – It’s the Olympics after all! It has to be done! So by next January or even this November when the snow is flying, people are booking their Whistler ski hire, and the mountain opens, we will see a beautiful Celebration Plaza in place of the dirt and the sqeaks.
About this time every year, Folks living in the High Country, and other resort towns across our nation, feel the pinch in their wallet and begin to hope for an early winter season. Most jobs in and around our area are seasonal and are dependent entirely on the weather. For many, these transitions can be really tough and a difficult to endure. But, if you can be positive, and active, this can be the best time of the year. From Colorado to Washington to California, individuals are out of work, and it’s not because of the economy, it’s due to that seasonal shift here in Alpine country. Most people up here are enjoying their time off, getting outside, and just doing those things that make them happy. It’s a great time to take your dog for hike, go on that camping trip you have been putting off for weeks, or even that trip to the beach you have been promising yourself. This is also the perfect time to visit your family, and reconnect with those who fall between the cracks when your too busy to give them attention. As for myself, I am going to begin my big garage clean-up project. I have so many great ski rentals and snowboard rentals that need tuning. I have my giant chunk of universal wax and my work bench all set up for work. Heavenly Ski Resort watch out, my skis are going to be so fast by the time the hill opens that the Olympians are going to be taking notes on my turns. Until then, I will be spending my time productively in and around town just to make sure that I take advantage of my time off of work during “Mud Season.”
Whoever thought just taking your dog for a walk was an easy, safe job has never taken mine out. Just yesterday, I was riding my bike with a friend and I had my dog on the leash. She is not a small girl, but she’s also only about seventy pounds. We have taken multiple bike rides together and when we’re on the pavement I like to have her on the leash, just in case. Well, we had rode only about a mile from my house and were just about to reach the entrance to our trail when the squirrels got the best of me. I was taking a leisurely left turn when Zoie, my Husky, made eye contact with the squirrels in the distance. Unaware of her quick reaction, my bike tire began to wobble, my right hand wrapped in her leash, all I could do was grab my front brake with my left and my body met the last bit of asphalt before the trail. In that last moment when I finally had accepted what was about to happen, I tucked, braced for the impact, and the entire left side of my body got bitten by the unforgiving pavement. After I regained my composure, I brushed myself off and immediately I was reminded of the snow rash I received at Heavenly Ski Resort this year. I had just gotten some brand new ski rentals in the Spring. I was carving down the side of the mountain and it was a beautiful day. It was super warm out, so I was just wearing a t-shirt like a dummy. All of the sudden, I caught an edge at high speed and I went body surfing down the hill. Never mind my great ski rentals that went flying down the mountainside, my body suffered some serious snow rash. So when skiing and biking, wear the appropriate attire so this won’t happen to you.
Whistler, BC renowned for it’s vast ski runs and mountains is also home to some of the most beautiful and challenging Golf courses. The Fairmont Chateau golf course offers the most amazing scenery. Golf carts are required since the course has significant elevations gains throughout. The Nicklaus North course sits on beautiful Green Lake and offers some amazing holes. The course site also provides a drive by of some very prestigious and beautifully designed homes. The Whister Golf Course was designed by Arnold Palmer and plays like a professionally designed course. Amazing fairways stretch out to spectacular views of both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.
You can enjoy a great walk or snowshoe on these courses in the winter or head to the Whistler ski shop and head up the mountain where you can see all 3 courses from the top.
How would you like to go skiing or snowboarding in North Texas in the middle of the summer? Snow/Sport Entertainment Ltd. has preliminarily started a new project called Texas Alps in Grapevine. Texas Alps is described as a 590-foot indoor ski slope, part of a 250,000 square foot facility proposed near the Grapevine Mills shopping mall north of DFW Airport. In addition to the ski slope, Texas Alps would also have an indoor ice climbing wall and luge track. The $70 million project will take about two years to complete and is said to be the first phase of World Villages of Grapevine, billed as a “one-of-a-kind entertainment venue.” This isn’t the first “ski slope project” planned in the Texas. Several years ago, officals announced the BearFire resort, near Fort Worth. The project was slated for completion in 2009 although no recent developments have been announced.
Currently, three such operations are under construction in Las Vegas, New Jersey and in North Carolina. In addition, there are several indoor ski facilities in a number of foreign countries, including France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. Perhaps we are behind the times in creating indoor wintersports facilitiers.
As indoor ski slopes become a more accepted phenomena, I wonder how this will affect the ski resort industry. People, inparticular, Texans, may be less likely to visit their favorite resorts because of these man-made facilities. Another view is that these facilities will help novice skiers advance their abilities before the hit the “real” slopes. Thus, increasing safety and bringing a larger pool of winter sports enthusiasts to our North American resorts. I believe that making the sport of skiing more accessible for the “average joe” will have a positive implication on the ski industry as a whole. From increased tourist dollars to more ski rentals on the hill, the more popular skiing and snowboarding become, the better.
Labor Day for most high country locals signifies the end of summer and the end of a constant cash flow. It seems like each year the summers speed up and the money slows down, so it is very important for us to take advantage of every moment we have to cash in. This summer began fairly slowly and before you could blink it was September. The one thing I do love is the fact that the winter season is just around the corner and soon the mountains, like Heavenly Ski Resort, will be opening for business. Our lives seem to revolve around this shuffling of seasons and how we balance it allows us to keep living in this pristine wilderness. As soon as the first snows fall, I will be getting my brand new ski rentals tuned and waxed to carve on the mountains. I know that I’m not the only one who feels this way. For a lot of us, being able to look forward all week to releasing some energy and go skiing helps refocus and center us for whatever responsibilities we have to face. There really is no feeling I would rather have than leaning back and making fresh powder turns on my snowboard rentals. So as the summer comes to a quick close, we have so much to look forward to, all we have to do is wait for the snow to arrive.
It’s obvious that humans have a great desire to fly. And not just strapped into a giant airliner which feels more like a tuna can. They want to feel the wind in their hair the tears in their eyes and maybe even scream a little. Just look at some of the most popular summer activities in Whistler – Ziplining, bungee jumping, para-gliding, sky diving, rap jumping, gliding, downhill biking. These are all great examples of getting closer to that bird like swooping feeling.
In the winter a lot of these same activities are available, but there’s nothing closer to flying than going mach speeds down the mountain on your Whistler ski rentals
Heavenly Ski Resort could be one the most versatile and exciting mountain retreats in the Sierra. Winter, Summer, Spring, and Fall, Heavenly constantly provides thrills for folks of all ages. Summers in Lake Tahoe, surprisingly, are almost as busy if not as clustered with people as the Winter season. In 2008, Heavenly Ski Resort constructed “The Heavenly Flyer,” a ZipRider experience, which is an elevated zip line cable that takes you on an exhilarating descent from the top of Tamarack Express back to Adventure Peak, a vertical drop of 525 feet. At 3300 feet in length, the Heavenly flyer is the longest ZipRider in the lower 48 states. Besides the rock wall and numerous accessible hiking trails at the summit of the gondola, Heavenly staff have made their mountain a matrimonial hotspot. At the top of the Gun-Barrel Express, lies a gorgeous view and a great platform in which multiple couples state their vows and dedicate their lives to each other, with the back-drop of Lake Tahoe blessing the experience. Memories that will create and define their relationship, and I couldn’t think of a better spot. Soon after, the leaves and pine needles begin to fall and the real reason most people visit and live in this special area, come back to light. Then, the snow begins drifting across the roads and before you know it we are immersed in fields of white fluff. And at last, our amazing Ski Resorts open for business and tourists have their Heavenly Ski Rentals strapped on for some effortless powder turns. Its no wonder why so many people keep returning and many more find themselves carving out a spot to call home in this rare alpine Shang-ri-la.
In South Lake Tahoe, these days, it seems like everyone has a dog. Big, small, short, and tall, our curious canines come in all shapes and sizes. This is one of the many aspects that makes Tahoe such a special place to live. Just yesterday, I took my dogs to “Secret Beach” on the South Shore. We played in the water and laid on the beach until the staple pastel Tahoe sunset ushered us home. Where else can you walk out your door, walk your dogs through a pristine marsh, into an amazing pine forest, and wind up at an immaculate beach? Every time, Tahoe is the first place that comes to mind. I can’t wait until the snow begins to fall and my dogs get to prance through untouched powder fields. That could be one of the happiest moments in my dogs’ lives. I think this year I will get some brand new ski rentals, hook my Huskie up to a climbing harness, and fly across the snow. Sometimes I wish we could fly down the beautiful ski runs at Heavenly Ski Resort and turn heads. She is amazing in the back country too. Whenever I get a chance we head to the West End of South Lake, to Christmas Valley, for some easily accessible “Off Piste,” skiing. After a hefty hike to the top of “Water-House,” a local spot, she leads the way back to the car. Once tucked away in the back of my truck, she immediately crashes, and I have to wake her up just to get into the house. Its funny how our dogs really brighten our days and help us get out and enjoy life. Thanks little buddies.