on a side note: who knew that skiing in a mesh tank top would give you the worst sunburn of your life?
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
July 7, 2011
america!
nothing screams 'america!' more than skiing, sunning, and watching a fireworks show. that is precisely how i celebrated the 4th of july.
on a side note: who knew that skiing in a mesh tank top would give you the worst sunburn of your life?
on a side note: who knew that skiing in a mesh tank top would give you the worst sunburn of your life?
June 30, 2011
summer skiing
after getting 800+ inches of snow this past season, squaw is going to be open for skiing over the 4th of july weekend. according to the press release, this will be "the ulimate independence day weekend," with "five lifts... pool parties, live music..."
excited about the skiing, but more exciting about getting burned at the pool, yours truly performed some due diligence on the world wide web. turns out, the pool at high camp (elevation 8200 feet) transforms from this,
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to this...
![]()
excited about the skiing, but more exciting about getting burned at the pool, yours truly performed some due diligence on the world wide web. turns out, the pool at high camp (elevation 8200 feet) transforms from this,
to this...
... a dj pool party where only pale people are allowed. i am happy to know that i will fit right in.
but really, how come there isn't one tan person in that photo?
photos from onthesnow.com
June 15, 2011
season ii
since this blog is also about my (sometimes failed) attempts to ski, i would like to delightfully inform you that i just got my pass for the 2011 - 2012 ski season at squaw valley (apparently the 'guarunteed low rate' ends today). now i just need to gear up for my second season of fun in the... snow.
you - yes, you - should join me! get your passes here.
May 4, 2011
an ode to squaw
as i sit here on 'hump day'* thinking about weekend plans, it has come to my attention that ski season has officially come to a close. with that, i leave you with a mediocre poem and some photos of beautiful squaw valley.
california winter first led me to you
lady squaw, you had too few blues
many lessons, i did in fact take
to tackle greens or blacks, a pact i did make
on siberia, you made me cry
a truth, which i can not deny!
down shirley lake, i surely tumbled
from the chamois, we have all stumbled
it was the first of many, as seasons go
 |
| a glimpse of the lake |
 |
| a look at the mountain |
 |
| another peek at the lake |
 |
| view from the base of the kt-22 lift where i was waiting for everyone else to finish |
 |
| last weekend... in april. heavy snow; low visability |
 |
| me and my purple pants |
* 'hump day' as in wednesday... you perverts.
April 25, 2011
i am kt
each time the snow gods make it dump on squaw valley, you can find a small sedan parked in the 1st parking spot with this license plate:
named 'best chair lift in north america,' by skiing magazine**, kt-22*** is not only one of squaw's most famous lifts, but also offers some of the most difficult terrain the resort has to offer. hence, all the warning signs:
since this has been my very first season on skis, there was no way that i was getting in that line. the 'advanced only' sign was a good enough warning for me. after 8th grade, it's no longer cool to have people sign your cast, or, have a cast, for that matter. having gotten that memo, i was happy to stay classified as an 'intermmediate' or a 'beginner.' that was until i got dropped off at ski school again this past saturday morning and met monica - mother to anika, who was on the olympic team with picabo street.
and then, like the owner of the license plate, i became KT too.
but you can call me katie.
or christina.****
--
* sorry for the lack of authenticity! 'KT' wasn't there this weekend.
 |
| recreated license plate* |
named 'best chair lift in north america,' by skiing magazine**, kt-22*** is not only one of squaw's most famous lifts, but also offers some of the most difficult terrain the resort has to offer. hence, all the warning signs:
 |
| just some caution signs welcoming skiers to the danger zone |
since this has been my very first season on skis, there was no way that i was getting in that line. the 'advanced only' sign was a good enough warning for me. after 8th grade, it's no longer cool to have people sign your cast, or, have a cast, for that matter. having gotten that memo, i was happy to stay classified as an 'intermmediate' or a 'beginner.' that was until i got dropped off at ski school again this past saturday morning and met monica - mother to anika, who was on the olympic team with picabo street.
and then, like the owner of the license plate, i became KT too.
but you can call me katie.
or christina.****
--
* sorry for the lack of authenticity! 'KT' wasn't there this weekend.
** ok, fine. skiing magazine gave the lift this rating in 2004. but, still!
*** the story of KT-22 is the story of sandy poulsen. in 1948, she was the first person to 'ski' down the north face of this particularly steep peak at squaw. although an expert skier at the time, she wasn't able to link her turns due to the difficulty of the terrain. so, what did she do? Kick Turns. from the bottom of the mountain, her husband counted a total of 22 Kick Turns that it took for her to come down the slope. and thus, KT-22 was born.
**** if you are conventional.
April 11, 2011
squawing with the big kids
for the last few months, everytime we go to squaw, i have been getting dropped off at the base of the mounatin promptly at 10am to be babysat by ski school instructors. meanwhile, everyone else i know 'shreds the gnar' and acts extreme.
something big happened the last time we went skiing. remember that time when i accidentally started crying on the mountain? 6 lessons and approximately 1 million ski school line skips later, i finally conquered what was once my biggest fear - siberia.
now, i might be finally ready to do something with 'gnar'* with the big kids.
and you, mac. we will still shred gold coast together.
something big happened the last time we went skiing. remember that time when i accidentally started crying on the mountain? 6 lessons and approximately 1 million ski school line skips later, i finally conquered what was once my biggest fear - siberia.
now, i might be finally ready to do something with 'gnar'* with the big kids.
and you, mac. we will still shred gold coast together.
 |
| kilo and his lil cousin talbot skiing up a storm |
* i still don't get what 'gnar' is.
April 6, 2011
es-pee-oh-are-tee!
question: what says s-p-o-r-t and screams
answer: the trunk of this car
after playing some golf on friday, we packed the car and hit the road. 3.5 hours later, we were in lake tahoe ready to do some spring skiing. only in california...
for those that are on the fence, just move here already - yes, i am referring to you (cough. liz. emily. neel. cass. cough.)
golf!
skiing!
outdoors!
california!
answer: the trunk of this car
 |
| inside our trunk this weekend - sun AND snow |
after playing some golf on friday, we packed the car and hit the road. 3.5 hours later, we were in lake tahoe ready to do some spring skiing. only in california...
for those that are on the fence, just move here already - yes, i am referring to you (cough. liz. emily. neel. cass. cough.)
March 31, 2011
blob-less
you already know what the lines at squaw are like on a weekend powder day. in case you were wondering what the lines look like on a school day, please see below:
 |
| taken by kilo - who is playing hookie from work on a "55 degree blue bird day" |
March 29, 2011
a prelude to spring skiing
closed roads (I-80) + closed upper mountain (gold coast) + beginner skier (me) = we did not end up making it to squaw last weekend
and here's what we missed:
all this snow might mean bad news bears to me now, but, i might have the last laugh since squaw will now be open until the last weekend in... MAY.
and here's what we missed:
 |
| buried lift chairs @ headwall |
March 25, 2011
lame, but very colorful!
when you're trying to go skiing over the weekend and the forecast tells that you in order to get from san francisco to lake tahoe, you will need to conquer the following obstacles:
- "hazardous weather outlook"
- "flood warning"
- "flood advisory"
- "winter storm warning"
what do you do?
--
oh, and then this weather alert email just came through:
[IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA & THE SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED FROM COLFAX (PLACER CO) TO THE NEVADA STATE LINE - DUE TO ZERO
VISIBILITY
no visibility, no... problem?
 |
| current weather map, courtesy of the national weather service forecast center |
- "hazardous weather outlook"
- "flood warning"
- "flood advisory"
- "winter storm warning"
what do you do?
--
oh, and then this weather alert email just came through:
[IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA & THE SIERRA NEVADA]
IS CLOSED FROM COLFAX (PLACER CO) TO THE NEVADA STATE LINE - DUE TO ZERO
VISIBILITY
no visibility, no... problem?
March 7, 2011
the blob
 |
| - elliot - |
i introduce you to elliot,
ski expert,
golf expert,
and guest blogger extraordinaire.
-christina
--
fact: when it snows in tahoe, it “dumps"
fact: when it dumps in tahoe, all of
not to piggyback on christina’s last entry, but excited for west coast powder doesn’t quite do it justice. my “work day” on friday was devoted to the caltran website, tahoeloco weather page and google maps as I monitored highway cams, followed weather patterns and plotted alternate routes around road closures and avalanches. I come from a place where crust is king and I was NOT going to miss 11ft worth of accumulation.
the one thing you can’t account for on your journey to the promise land is the lift line, or as we now like to call it, the lift blob. having dropped Christina off at her level 4 lesson, kilo, franimal and i set-out on what we thought was going to be an epic day. here’s how it played out along with a “how to” on navigating the lift blob for anyone planning on making the trek to Squallywood.
 |
| KT-22 on the left, black blob around tree = "line" |
1. don’t take shortcuts
we had a decision to make, the lines at KT-22 and Red Dog were daunting and the Funitel wasn’t scheduled to open for another hour. exhibition was screaming our name with nary a line, we went for it. suckers. we were back at the bottom within 5 min and the lines at the aforementioned lifts had only grown. F
2. don’t actually go to the end of the line
if you want to sleep at night, by all means, go to the end of the line. if you don’t want to wait in line for an hour, casually cut through the line as if you are only passing by and then jump right in once you’re at least an arms length away from the people you just walked by. you’ll filter towards the front while the peeps in the back stand motionless muttering under their breath (remember; words can never hurt you). we waited in line for an hour, after a couple skis to the back of the head and narrowly avoiding a toppling girl who started a domino-like chain, we made it onto the funitel.
3. keep moving up the mountain
due to avalanche control, squaw opens in stages, bottom half, top-half, headwall then granite chief and lastly silverado. headwall wasn’t spinning yet, groomers off siberia / gold coast simply weren’t what we drove 8 hours for and granite chief wasn’t open so we gambled and headed towards silverado. CLOSED. at this point we may as well just shoot ourselves in the foot b/c we have one option now, broken arrow, underneath the funitel all the way back to the b o t t o m.
4. avoid europeans and south americans
in the blob, people will undoubtedly cut you, it’s going to happen. the only thing worse than watching someone get the jump on you with their 1980s rossignols wedged in front of yours is having them yell “hola avila, ven aqui” right in your ear at the top of their lungs. “cierra la boca!!!!”
5. 9 times out of 10 go for the edges
really squaw? you’re only letting 3 people at a time up the 4 person lift on the busiest day of the year? REALLY? sorry, bottom-line, you’re better off on the edges b/c it’s a lot easier to move the 5 oz PVC piping a little to the right creating the effect you’re in line than it is the 300lb boarder who somehow has a jacket stuffed with PBR tallboys
by the time we got down broken arrow, up squaw one and made our way 300yds to siberia it was 12:15, time for one last run before meeting up with Christina. for those keeping score at home;
hours of skiing: 3+
runs: 2.5
despite that atrocious ratio above the lap down broken arrow made everything worth it. all it takes is a few turns of thigh high fluff (and with snow piled so high that the funitel was dragging on the ground, fluff we got) and you’ve forgetten how you wanted to wrap your pole aroundavila
until you realize that your gf got 5x as many runs as you b/c ski school skips the lines. F
we had a decision to make, the lines at KT-22 and Red Dog were daunting and the Funitel wasn’t scheduled to open for another hour. exhibition was screaming our name with nary a line, we went for it. suckers. we were back at the bottom within 5 min and the lines at the aforementioned lifts had only grown. F
2. don’t actually go to the end of the line
if you want to sleep at night, by all means, go to the end of the line. if you don’t want to wait in line for an hour, casually cut through the line as if you are only passing by and then jump right in once you’re at least an arms length away from the people you just walked by. you’ll filter towards the front while the peeps in the back stand motionless muttering under their breath (remember; words can never hurt you). we waited in line for an hour, after a couple skis to the back of the head and narrowly avoiding a toppling girl who started a domino-like chain, we made it onto the funitel.
3. keep moving up the mountain
due to avalanche control, squaw opens in stages, bottom half, top-half, headwall then granite chief and lastly silverado. headwall wasn’t spinning yet, groomers off siberia / gold coast simply weren’t what we drove 8 hours for and granite chief wasn’t open so we gambled and headed towards silverado. CLOSED. at this point we may as well just shoot ourselves in the foot b/c we have one option now, broken arrow, underneath the funitel all the way back to the b o t t o m.
4. avoid europeans and south americans
in the blob, people will undoubtedly cut you, it’s going to happen. the only thing worse than watching someone get the jump on you with their 1980s rossignols wedged in front of yours is having them yell “hola avila, ven aqui” right in your ear at the top of their lungs. “cierra la boca!!!!”
5. 9 times out of 10 go for the edges
really squaw? you’re only letting 3 people at a time up the 4 person lift on the busiest day of the year? REALLY? sorry, bottom-line, you’re better off on the edges b/c it’s a lot easier to move the 5 oz PVC piping a little to the right creating the effect you’re in line than it is the 300lb boarder who somehow has a jacket stuffed with PBR tallboys
by the time we got down broken arrow, up squaw one and made our way 300yds to siberia it was 12:15, time for one last run before meeting up with Christina. for those keeping score at home;
hours of skiing: 3+
runs: 2.5
despite that atrocious ratio above the lap down broken arrow made everything worth it. all it takes is a few turns of thigh high fluff (and with snow piled so high that the funitel was dragging on the ground, fluff we got) and you’ve forgetten how you wanted to wrap your pole around
until you realize that your gf got 5x as many runs as you b/c ski school skips the lines. F
 |
| funitel = gondola, line at 9:15am |
*a big thank you to christina for making these pictures extra funny and cool.
*a big thank you to christina for making these pictures extra funny and cool.
March 2, 2011
boom boom pow
--
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:
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.
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.
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
--
 |
| 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?
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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}
January 27, 2011
learning to squaw
growing up in oklahoma - "where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain" - i left skiing to the skiiers, and focused my attention on activities that required no mountains. 7 years in new york city only enhanced my incline-incompetency. my skiing inadequacies went largely unnoticed - until i moved to san francisco.
this city is one with a unique vocabulary: sandwich, translate, burrito. walking, translate, jogging. driving, translate, biking. cotton, translate, spandex. summer, translate, never. and since summer never happens, people make the most of the wintertime. on weekends, squaw becomes the new hamptons/long island/jersey shore/dewey beach; and le chamois, the new talkhouse.
eager to get a piece of the action, the boyfriend and i joined a ski house close to the lake, in tahoe city. what could be better than weekends away, new friends, old friends, house parties... and skiing? skiing, not so much. having an i-have-skied-for-as-long-as-i-have-walked boyfriend doesn't help boost my confidence, either. but, with the help of lessons, i was/am determined to get better (note: physically impossible to get worse). 3 lessons later - my pizza wedge morphed magically into parallel form (with only hints of triangle).
then, things took a turn for the worse. the boyfriend met me after my last ski class and determined that i had graduated from belmont, links and east broadway (all greens) and that i was now ready for s i b e r i a. i resisted, saying that me and my rental skis were not ready to go down a run that paid homage to one of the coldest, darkest, scariest locales of exile. the boyfriend was encouraging and insisted that there was an "easy way down," and that "siberia would boost [my] confidence." with my trust in his hand, i hesitantly got in the lift line. how bad could it be?
bad. i got off the at top and headed towards said "easy way down." all i saw was a narrow path, with what seemed like infinity foot drop-offs on either side. my army green helmet was not enough for this battle. the wind picked up and the ice started blowing. so, there i was, stranded, with the squaw valley under-8 ski team whooshing by me, one after another, bullet-style. "petrified" and "embarrassed" did no justice in describing how i felt. there i was:
with the wind howling,
with the ice blowing,
so, i did the only logical thing that would help me down the hill.
i started to cry.
under my goggles, of course.
 |
| top of siberia lift, squaw valley |
this city is one with a unique vocabulary: sandwich, translate, burrito. walking, translate, jogging. driving, translate, biking. cotton, translate, spandex. summer, translate, never. and since summer never happens, people make the most of the wintertime. on weekends, squaw becomes the new hamptons/long island/jersey shore/dewey beach; and le chamois, the new talkhouse.
eager to get a piece of the action, the boyfriend and i joined a ski house close to the lake, in tahoe city. what could be better than weekends away, new friends, old friends, house parties... and skiing? skiing, not so much. having an i-have-skied-for-as-long-as-i-have-walked boyfriend doesn't help boost my confidence, either. but, with the help of lessons, i was/am determined to get better (note: physically impossible to get worse). 3 lessons later - my pizza wedge morphed magically into parallel form (with only hints of triangle).
then, things took a turn for the worse. the boyfriend met me after my last ski class and determined that i had graduated from belmont, links and east broadway (all greens) and that i was now ready for s i b e r i a. i resisted, saying that me and my rental skis were not ready to go down a run that paid homage to one of the coldest, darkest, scariest locales of exile. the boyfriend was encouraging and insisted that there was an "easy way down," and that "siberia would boost [my] confidence." with my trust in his hand, i hesitantly got in the lift line. how bad could it be?
bad. i got off the at top and headed towards said "easy way down." all i saw was a narrow path, with what seemed like infinity foot drop-offs on either side. my army green helmet was not enough for this battle. the wind picked up and the ice started blowing. so, there i was, stranded, with the squaw valley under-8 ski team whooshing by me, one after another, bullet-style. "petrified" and "embarrassed" did no justice in describing how i felt. there i was:
with the wind howling,
with the ice blowing,
so, i did the only logical thing that would help me down the hill.
i started to cry.
under my goggles, of course.
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