mountain: squaw valley, lake tahoe
normal time it takes to get there from sf: 3.5 hours
time it us took to get there: 8 hours
normal time it takes to get there from sf: 3.5 hours
time it us took to get there: 8 hours
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| snow-mageddon has arrived |
rain in san francisco means snow in lake tahoe. after a few dry and sunny weekends in sf, around president’s day, it finally started to pour. eleven feet of snow later, it was time to pack up and head back to the mountain.
the weather became increasingly worse as it got closer to departure time. maps showed the main roads to tahoe as being shut down due to the severe conditions. did that stop us? nope. a friend had driven up the weekend before in his new 4runner and somehow got into three separate accidents along the way and, to top it off, concussed himself walking down a snowy hill. did that deter us? nope. we even got this ominous email from {gasp} stanford university {gasp} warning us of the conditions:
“On Feb 25, 2011, at 8:56, "xxxxxx, xxxxxxxxxxxx"
<xxxxxxxx@GSB.Stanford.Edu> wrote:
> Roads are terrible. Visibility is terrible (at some points you can't
> see 20 feet in front of you) and it is still snowing hard. When
> Charlotte and I went through there were no exits plowed from just past
> colfax to sugar bowl. There was a tree sitting across the road that
> people waited 30 minutes and then dragged open one lane themselves.
> There is no way I would ski today because of visibility and how hard
> it is snowing and the wind. I don't think tomorrow is going to be much
> better for skiing. I would recommend not trying to drive up unless it
> lightens up.”
did that stop us? no. also, would you trust someone who implied that skiing wouldn't be good after a big storm? muy suspicious, if you ask me. we put our faith in the snow gods and drove towards lake tahoe.
*having been in scottsdale when the first big flakes started to fall, elliot was – in.one.word – DYING to ‘shred’ some fresh west coast powder. nothing was going to stand between the man and the mountain. i, on the other hand, was just trying to continue LIVING, which would have been very difficult if i had fallen off the edge of siberia (click here for full story) or been involved in a pile-up on the way.
it was all smooth sailing for the first 3 hours… and then we got close to colfax… where we hit bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper traffic. per the trusty gps, we were 63 miles away from our destination.
*having been in scottsdale when the first big flakes started to fall, elliot was – in.one.word – DYING to ‘shred’ some fresh west coast powder. nothing was going to stand between the man and the mountain. i, on the other hand, was just trying to continue LIVING, which would have been very difficult if i had fallen off the edge of siberia (click here for full story) or been involved in a pile-up on the way.
it was all smooth sailing for the first 3 hours… and then we got close to colfax… where we hit bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper to bumper traffic. per the trusty gps, we were 63 miles away from our destination.
to quote tim mcgraw, the whole thing was little “six lanes, tail lights, red ants marching into the night,” but even little more like “two lanes, tail lights, red ants putting chains on in the night.” cars were pulling over left and right to put on their snow chains. people were on the side of the road walking their dogs. every once in a while, there would be a sad car with a sign that read something like: help! need gas. ß but really, what idiot doesn’t fill up a full tank before heading into snow-mageddon?
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| ants marching towards lake tahoe |
to quote tim mcgraw, the whole thing was little “six lanes, tail lights, red ants marching into the night,” but even little more like “two lanes, tail lights, red ants putting chains on in the night.” cars were pulling over left and right to put on their snow chains. people were on the side of the road walking their dogs. every once in a while, there would be a sad car with a sign that read something like: help! need gas. ß but really, what idiot doesn’t fill up a full tank before heading into snow-mageddon?
luckily, it is 2011 and we have ipods. accompanied by a mix of top 40 hits, we slowly moved forward with the bass bumping. hour by slow hour. mile after slow mile. song after awesome song. fist-pumping – for 4 hours – all the way through the chain patrol, around the lake, up john cain drive, to our destination.
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| view from the front seat, where dancing was happening |
in the end, the drive was worth it, because the next day, i got a lesson, a goggle tan, a chapped chin and skied in powder for the very first time.
boom boom boom, now
boom boom boom, now
boom boom pow{der}
boom boom pow{der}
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