Snow in Truckee!

This morning, the 25 of October, had a certain chill in the air. And if you walked outside in Truckee, you would've seen a sprinkling of white snow on top of everything. This means that the weather is showing more promise, and the mountain ranges are starting to regain their covering of snow from last year. Hopefully, the snowstorms will come in full force soon, and the resorts will be able to open on time, ready for all the excited skiers.

Blog Action Day - Clean Water

Today, the online world is coming together to adress a huge issue of today: Clean water. Many people all over the world don't have access to clean, drinkable water, in fact more people die from lack of clean water than all the violence combined. We need to acknowledge this issue, and do what we can to help our fellow human beings. Go to www.change.org for more information on this global issue.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

Freeskiing in Vail

Promising Weather

The weather has been getting colder and colder, and finally, this week there was some snow on the Carson Range. The resorts are also getting cold weather, so with any luck we will have a good amount of snow by the time they open in November.

Winter Jobs

When you love skiing, there's nothing better than getting paid to do what you love. There is a Job Fair at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort on October 23 from 8 AM to 2 PM at the Mt. Judah Lodge. You can check out the different openings and see what could best suit you. Being an employee at Sugar Bowl has many benefits- so head over there, and get a job that you'll love.

Save on Passes

Now is a good time to buy your passes before the prices go up. Squaw's passes are discounted until October 15, and then prices will go up. Northstar and Mt. Rose are selling at low prices until the 30 of September. Also, save on passes at Sugar Bowl and Boreal until October 31.

Ski Season

So, as you know, ski season is coming up soon. With ski resorts scheduled to start opening in Novemeber, you need to make sure you're prepared. (See earlier posts for information on gear, passes, and events). So get ready to hit the slopes, and find something to keep you sane while you wait for it to snow. :]

YES.

Whoop whoop skiing.

Summer Dining

As summer comes to a close, the sun is setting earlier and the nights are becoming colder. So, don't miss your chance to visit Sugar Bowl ski resort and dine next to picturesque Lake Mary. The dinners will be ending on September 25, so don't miss the opportunity to attend a charming dinner up on Donner Summit

Also, Sugar Bowl is holding Saturday Lake Mary dinners, where it donates a portion of the income to local non-profit organizations. On Saturday the 25, the Sierra Avalanche Center will be the organization of the evening.

Ski Gear

Powder Magazine has released their 2011 Hard Goods Buyer's Guide on their website. (http://blogs.powdermag.com/buyers-guide-2011/). So if you havn't got your gear for this season, go check it out.

Ski Passes

So, we're getting closer to fall, and it's a good time to start looking for a season pass. Many resorts are having sales now on their passes, so don't miss out! Check out the links to the ski resorts (on the right side of this page) and consider your choices so you're prepared when the snow comes!

Squaw Valley

This weekend at Squaw Valley is the your final chance to go mountain biking and the last weekend of operation for the Summer Cable Car and High Camp. Now that the Summer attractions are starting to close, we're getting more and more excited about this upcoming ski season! Prices for a Squaw pass go up starting October 15th, and the ski hill is scheduled to open on November 20th! So start waxing your skis and get ready to hit the slopes.

Squaw also has some pre-season events that you might want to check out. Including the 9th annual Oktober Fest on October 2nd and the International Snow Science Workshop starting October 17th and continuing until October 22nd.

Alpine Ski Team

So winter is drawing nearing, and we're all becoming excited for the upcoming ski season! As you all know, Truckee High School has an alpine ski team during the winter, and a pretty good one at that. Last year, they were NIAA Nevada State Champions in Division AAAA. We hope that this year will be just as successful. So don't forget to sign up, and keep watch for updates on when the season will begin.









Tyler D.

Sun :(

This week's weather is going to be hot and sunny, staying in the low 70's with nights in the high 30's. Not exactly snow weather. But let's hope it starts to get colder as ski season grows nearer.

New Assests

Hi, it's Morgan and Quinn again, and we have some news for you. We have added some links so that you can access ski resorts' homepages and other ski websites, such as snow forecasts and where to get ski rentals. So feel free to explore the new assets of the blog!

New THS Bloggers

Hi, it's Morgan and Quinn here, and we will be the new bloggers for the next several weeks. We can't wait to share all the latest news with you, and get you all excited for the upcoming ski season! For now, we still have relatively hot summer weather, although fall isn't far away. Temperatures are in the 70's today, but by Thursday it might be raining. Temperatures will be back up by Friday for the weekend. Although there's no forecast for snow in the near future, you can certainly still enjoy yourself and look into summer skiing (see earlier posts).

Glacier skiing weather forecast

The weather for Glacier skiing in the US and Canada is looking pretty hot. At Windells (Mt. Hood) there is a slight chance of rain today, then sunny the rest of the week, and it's supposed to stay warmer than 70 every day besides today.

Whistler is slightly cooler, since it's closer to the north pole. It's forecast is light rain today, sunday, and tuesday, with it not getting above 70, except today.

For detailed info on Windells weather, click here. For more info on Whistler Blackcombs forecast, click here.

Another great loss in the skiing industry

It is with a heavy heart that I write about this incident. Many people have already read about it in the Sierra Sun, and others have read about it on the internet. Last week the skiing comunity lost a great up and coming big mountain skier. Arne Backstrom past away last Thursday after a skiing fall in the mountains of South America. Arne was on a month long ski trip to film for a movie. On June 3rd the group of people headed to the summit of Pisco Mountain in Peru. When heading down, he hiked over to an area known as the South Face. He was heading down when one of his skis popped off and he started gaining speed. He went out of sight of the people he was with. They later found his body at the base of the Face. Arne was the brother of professional female skier Ingrid. He was also Brother of Professional snowboarder Ralph. The skiing industry has lost a great skier, and a great person. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Summer

Summer is finally here! it's been a long cold winter, but it's finally over. This week isn't supposed to drop past 60 degrees, so this weather is finally here to stay. Skiing is still an option for anyone who wants to work for it, however. You can go hike ski resorts (Alpine, Squaw, Northstar, etc.) and go skiing, but it's alot more work than riding up a chairlift. Also, if anyone working there is on the mountain, you have potential to get kicked off, and if you get hurt there is no ski patrol to come and get you. If you go hike a mountain to go skiing, it would be essentially like backcountry skiing; but not as dangerous.

Ski Logik

There have been a huge amount of new ski companies that have emerged in recent years. Some are good skis and some are fairly crappy, but most all of them just kinda blend in with all the other skis on the mountain, except one, Ski Logik. This ski company is one that you many not have heard of yet; however, you most definaly will very soon. The skis are like nothing you have ever seen before. They look as though they should be decorating your living room, yet they are on your feet. The skis have a beautiful wood inlay in place of a graffic on the top sheet. Every ski is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. The skis also have an abolone shell inlay in the tip of the ski for an added touch of beauty. The ski is made mostly of wood, with a wooden core, wooden sidewalls, and a wooden top sheet. These wooden sidewalls are made of a quite impressive wood, called Black Locust, which is both water and rot resistent. When you think of an all wood ski, you might think it would be heavy, yet you would be very wrong, these are some of the lightest skis I have every picked up, especially for a big ski. To check out the complete construction of the skis go to the web site. The link is at the bottom of the page. While these skis look amazing, and are supremely beautiful pieces of artwork, there is always the question of how they ski. Having been skiing on them since this march and have over 50 days on them, I can tell you that they are absolutly amazing in every snow condition. They ski the powder with ease and will shred anything else with supreme power. They handle great and are very controllable. The ski also has the perfect flex pattern; stiffer under the foot, but softer in the tip and tail. This allows for the ski to be playful while being stable at high speeds and on landings. These skis are some of the most amazing things to come out of the ski industry. I have no doubt that ski logik will be a quite popular name very soon. To check out the skis and order yourself a pair go to the website here!

Ski gear 2011

Every year ski gear gets a little better, a little different. Park skis have been getting used as all mountain skis, and true park skis get softer. Powder skis mean reverse camber, and alsmost everything you find has somewhat of a twin tip in the back. For pictures on many new / updated models, click here. The best thing about new models is the graphic, it could be the same exact ski as last year but look better to you.

Summer down south

Summer is a hard time for a skier. There is no snow and this is hard to deal with for most. While a short break from the snow is welcomed at the end of the year, it is hard to not ski at all during the summer. A wonderful option to fix this problem is heading down to the southern hemisphere for the summer. The sontinent of South America offers great skiing. Check out South American Snow Sessions here!

Summer attractions opening

It's definitely getting to be summer, not just because of the warm weather and sun, but the resorts are opening their summer activities up. At Northstar, some of the mountain biking is opening up this friday, June 7th. They have a pool, a lap pool, 2 hot tubs, and 2 saunas available. If tennis is your thing, they have many tennis courts. Where the ice skating rink is in the winter, they have a roller skating rink going in the summer, which you might catch some live music at if your lucky. They have a village with places to eat, shop, and keep the kids happy. More info on Northstars summer events here.

At Squaw Valley you can go ride the cable car up to mid-mountain, go to the pool / spa, play tennis, use their climbing wall, the "sky jump", or their ropes course, all already open. They also have a shopping center with restaraunts and shops going all summer long. More detailed info on summer events at Squaw here.

Summer Skiing in Portillo, Chile

Portillo, Chile is one of the most famous South American ski resorts. Many skiers go there to train, or to just ski. I have been there and it is very awesome if you have the money. The way it is set up is very cool, you pay by the week and meals and rooms are all inclusive. There are three options for rooms, the lodge, the octagon building and the hostel. I hope to go again this summer.

Ramp Camps

So in my last post I discussed the options of heading out to an olympic training facility to get in a little bit of training. There are many of these facilities avalible throughout the world. Three of them are right here in North America. There is one at the Olympic site up at Lake Placid, one at the Olypic site in Park City Utah, and one in Onterio, Canada. These are all great training destinations, and promise to be a great help in your skiing future. Even if you are not a good skier, that is okay; there is no experience needed. At the Utah Olypic Park they offer not only water ramping, but trampoline coaching as well. These are not your normal backyard tramplines, these are Olympic trampolines. They will allow you to bounce higher with far less effort. The Utah Olympic Park is a wonderful place to get comfprtable in the air without the danger of getting seriously injured. This facility is one of only a few that airates the water before you land, in order to soften the impact. Many of the world top athelets in the mogul, aireal, and freeride diciplines use this facility to train along side you. This is a great facility to check out. It is highly recommended.Chek out this video, it show the facility in Quebec (the tan one) and the facility in Park City, Utah (the green one). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuLNIB5n3a0

Out of country / More on summer skiing

If you are looking for a winter getaway instead of the normal beach vacation during summer, I have some good news. Ski resorts in the southern hemisphere are in their winter season right now, meaning ski resorts in Chile, Argentina (more info on Argentina ski resorts here), New Zealand, and Australia, are open season for anyone willing to travel.

As stated before, there is always glacier skiing at Windells and Whistler, but Italy also has its own glacier skiing, Cervinia Zermatt, which is less known.

If you want to help a starting sport, you can go grass skiing. Yes, grass skiing. It is considered the equivalent to winters snow skiing, and something nearly no one has heard about. You also use different skis, some have wheels and others slide, and the skis are usually less expensive, usually $300-600.

You can also go indoor skiing, which means either a snow dome, a slope indoors filled with artificial snow, or carpet skiing, which is basically carpet on a slope with some foam underneath, they put features in such as rails, boxes and mini pipes.

Next years pass pricing

The prices for passes depending on the resort and your age, you can save a lot of money if you choose wisely.

For Alpine Meadows: (Before October 31st)
Adult (19-61): $799
Senior (62-69): $469
Teen (13-18): $349
Child (5-12): $199
Super Senior (70+): $169
More pass info here.

Northstar:
Double Whammy Unlimited
Adult (23 - 69): $749
Young Adult (13 - 22): $429
Child (5 - 12): $109
Super Senior (70+): $109
Adaptive Adult (19+): $99
Adaptive Youth (5 - 18): $75

Double Whammy Limited (10 blackout days)
Adult (23 - 69): $489
Young Adult (13 - 22): $289

Local student pass (must have that years school ID): $75
More info on pricing here.

Squaw Valley:
Squaw Valley online store is here, no pricing info on season passes have been released yet.

Boreal:
Any info on season passes is here, no pricing info has been released yet.

Mt. Rose/Slide Mountain:
Unlimited pass
Adult (18-64): $377
Senior (65+): $255
Teen (13-17): $255
Child (6-12): $133
More pricing info here.

Heavenly:
Limited pass (valid 7 days a week, no unlimited pass available)
Adult (19-64): $339
Teen (13-18): $269
Child (5-12): $159
Senior (65+): $269
More pricing info here.

The Summer Ski Season

With the resorts closed in the Tahoe area, people are wondering what they are going to do about skiing now. Well if you have quite a bit of money there are some great options out there. These include heading to the southern hemisphere to get in some more winter skiing. This is wonderful, however, it is extremely expensive. Another option is glacial skiing at Mt. Hood and Whistler. However, these are also very pricy. Depending on where you go at Mt. Hood you could be paying over $1,500 per week (Windells). There are also other places that you can go to work on your skiing that isn't even on snow. One of these places is The Utah Olympic Park in Park City. There are many local ski teams that head out there to train over the summer. It is a good place to safely practice tricks without the looming threat of getting severely injured. For a video and More information on summer camps offered by local ski teams click HERE.

Summer skiing

Just because summer is right around the corner, doesn't mean that your ski season is over. You can still travel to some different mountains, the most popular being Windells (in Oregon) or Whistler Blackcomb (in British Colombia). For Whistler the summer "Glacier ski" ticket prices are:
1 day: Adult (19-64)=$55
Youth (13-18)/Senior(64+)=$48
Child (7-12)=$28.50
2 of 3 days: Adult=$104
Youth=$90
Child=$54
4 of 5 days: Adult= $191
Youth= $165
Child= $96
More info on Whistler Blackcomb pricing here.

At Windells you pay for weeks, or sessions. Prices are:
Jun 06, 2010 to Jun 13, 2010: $1,675
Jun 16, 2010 to Jun 23, 2010: $1,899
Jun 26, 2010 to Jul 03, 2010: $1,899
Jul 16, 2010 to Jul 23, 2010: $1,899
Jul 26, 2010 to Aug 02, 2010: $1,699
Aug 05, 2010 to Aug 11, 2010: $1,599

More info on Windells pricing here.

Warmer weather

The forecast for the next week is warming up, getting up into the 75 range next week. Finally a week with no snow/cold temps! Upper mountain backcountry skiing is still available, but not for to much longer. For more info on the forecast, visit http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Truckee&state=CA&site=REV&textField1=39.3281&textField2=-120.182&e=0

Seasons Almost Over!

The 2010 In area ski season has come to a close, however high elevation backcountry skiing still has a little bit to offer. There is some great skiing on donner summit past castle peak, and it is relatively close.

Still time for some skiing.

With the end of Memorial day weekend, the last few ski resorts in the Tahoe area have closed their lifts for the season. Donner Ski Ranch stayed open throughout the season and closed on monday. Squaw valley also reopened this weekend to allow for some skiing. While it was nice to be skiing and able to ride a lift, the recently fallen snow quickly started melting, resulting in several inches of heavy slush. This snow was exceptionally difficult to ski in, and many people ended up getting injured. The injuries were definatly a bummer; however, for those that could aviod getting hurt, it was a great day. With the skiing subpar, many found themselves back at High Camp enojoying the hot tub, pool, and barque. The resorts in the Tahoe area have closed for the winter, yet there is still skiing to be had without the need to hike. Mammoth mountain is still open. They will remain open till the 4th of July. Mammoth is a great option, however, it is fairly expencive and you will need to find a ride down there, so there are still some draw backs. If Mammoth is not for you, then you can always go back to the old way of hiking for you lines. Whatever your preference may be, there are still options out there for you to choose from.

Beginning of spring?

The ski season is finally over, after one long winter. It's still warming up, the cold temps are keeping the snow pack at around 167% which is the best we've had in years. Every ski resort is closed for the season - until further notice at least. Each resort will have summer attractions, such as swimming/tennis/saunas/ice skating if you go to Squaw Valley. At Northstar you can go swimming at their pools, they have a swimming pool, lap pool, 2 hot tubs, 2 saunas, or go downhill biking during weekdays. At Squaw you can go swimming also, but they have a slide, and a ice rink running all summer. At Alpine meadows you can go enjoy some music over summer.

Skiing and summer

The 2009-2010 ski season is starting to wind down. Most of the ski resorts have closed, and the snow is slowly melting. There is still wonderful backcountry avalible; however, this will not last forever. Memorial Weekend will be the last weekend for ski resorts in the Tahoe region. Squaw Valley will be opening back up this weekend for one last hoorah, and will be closing on Monday. Donner Ski Ranch will also be closing on Monday. So, what do we do after the ski resorts have closed and the backcountry has melted? There are a few options; one of which is the olympic training facility in Park City, Utah. Mt. Hood Orgon is also a great option, and for those with the money, the southern hemisphere is just starting thier winter. This blog will be discussing the current skiing in the backcountry around the Tahoe Truckee area, until it is gone, after which, we will be covering in more detail the summer chioces for skiers.

Memorial skiing at Squaw

This weekend May 29th-May 31st Squaw will be opening back up to the public, for upper mountain skiing. The prices will be:

FREE High Camp Swimming Lagoon & Spa):All Day Lift Tickets: $44Kids 12 & Under: $10
2010/2011 Bronze Passholders: $25
2010/2011 Silver, Gold and Platinum Passholders: FREE

and the operating and lift info is:

9am - 4pm, Scheduled lifts are the Cable Car, Links and Shirley Lake.

More information at the site, http://www.squaw.com/memorial-weekend-skiing-riding-and-high-camp-activities-squaw-valley-usa

Backcountry Skiing in the Truckee Area

Truckee has a huge amount of backcountry skiing to offer, if you have snowmobiles there are even more possibilities for skiing. In this blog I will discuss some places to go backcountry skiing.

Welcome

Welcome to the Truckee High Skiers blog, here we will be talking to the local skiers and updating the page with current info.

It's march 27th and the town of Truckee just got about 2 inches last night and it's still spitting snow. Squaw Valley is going to open back up this weekend for skiing, mostly just the upper mountain, but skiing in Truckee in very late May, nearly June, is crazy.