North Lake Tahoe

We arrived on the northern side of the Lake mid-day on the 27th. First order of business was some skiing at Alpine Meadows. We skinned up and found some nice corn on the upper bowls and had a lot of fun. Afterwards, we drove to Kings Beach, checked into our condo, and I went for another run while Andrea biked along. The north side of the lake is a lot quieter than the south side.

June 28th was another multisport day... skiing at Alpine Meadows again, an awesome mountain bike ride at Tahoe XC, and of course logging some running miles.

It was raining on the morning of the 29th (our only stretch of bad weather of the entire trip!), so we slept in, then went for a run over in Incline Village. I stretched it out to 15 miles to take advantage of the higher altitude. In the afternoon the weather cleared, so we went over to the Mt Rose ski area, skinned to the top, and skied a lap (battling some impressive suncups on the descent).

Alpine Meadows... lifts are closed, which means it was open to us for skinning!












Our place in Kings Beach was right on the water


Not a bad place to spend a few days




More skiing at Alpine meadows


Private corduroy


Bear sighting in Tahoe City


Tahoe XC






Some running shots






Moose Tracks!!!


Above the desert at Mt Rose




Lake Tahoe from the north


Last night in Tahoe

The next morning we headed south to Tioga Pass.

More pictures on Picasa - Alpine Meadows - North Tahoe

All of the 2011 Summer Vacation Links:

South Lake Tahoe

North Lake Tahoe

Tioga Pass

Mammoth Lakes

South Lake Tahoe

After driving from SLC to Carson City on June 24th, we went for a run in the foothills of Nevada's "Capital City," then headed over to South Lake Tahoe, where we spent the next two days.

The first activity in Tahoe (June 25) was a bike ride at Heavenly... we climbed about 2500 feet on a forest road until we hit snowline.

On our second day (June 26) in South Tahoe, we skied Mt Tallac, the most prominent peak seen from the entire area. We ended up climbing a steep couloir on the SE side of the mountain, then skiing the Cathedral Couloir. The first few turns off the top were probably the steepest Andrea has ever skied (although that would change in a few days when we got to Tioga Pass), and she nailed it! We went for another mountain bike ride later in the day. The hot tub at our hotel was crucial for recovery! :-)

On June 27th we made our way up to North Tahoe, but first stopped to go for a run on the Rubicon Trail in the Emerald Bay area. Easily one of the most beautiful trails we have ever been on.

Bonneville Salt flats


Biking at Heavenly






Mt Tallac - the ski objective for the following day


Tahoe sunset




Heading up Tallac's SE side. We skied the couloir in the middle that branches to looker's right




Desolation Wilderness






Dropping off the top of the Cathedral Couloir






The line is directly behind Andrea


Had to cross this rock slide area


Bikini skiing time!


Hiking out


Riding the powerline trail


Emerald Bay

More pictures on Picasa - South Lake Tahoe

All of the 2011 Summer Vacation Links:

South Lake Tahoe

North Lake Tahoe

Tioga Pass

Mammoth Lakes

Time for a vacation

Preparations are under way for our summer vacation. We're headed back to California this Friday, but with no intentions of doing an 11 day hike like last year. Instead of the backpacking gear, we're loading up the jeep with all our ski gear, mountain bikes, and lots more food than we were able to take on the JMT! The plan is to hang out in Tahoe (we've never been there) for the first half of the trip (running, skiing, biking, and even maybe some relaxing!), the head down the Eastside of the Sierra Nevadas (one of the coolest places on earth!) for the second half of the trip.

The total drive will be about 1300 miles. A lot less than the original trip we had in mind, which would have taken us all the way to Mt Rainier in Washington state.

We're spending the first 5-6 days in the Lake Tahoe basin, then heading south to Mono Lake / Tioga Pass, then down to Mammoth Lakes.


There will still be plenty of snow in Tahoe for skiing...

We'll get to hang out at the beach... and the water will be super cold, so that will be good for post-run therapy...

And ride our mountain bikes...

Tioga Pass (the gateway to Yosemite) got plenty of snow this year as well... this photo was taken a few weeks ago as they were plowing the road... I think there will be some left for us!

We'll cap off the trip playing in the mountains in Mammoth Lakes, CA... we only briefly came through here last summer on our way to start the JMT, and have been itching to go back ever since...


Blood Mountain and the ultra-classic "Bloody Couloir" (the one split by the 2 giant rock outcrops) is one of the lines we are hoping to climb and ski while in Mammoth

Rumor has it that there is a one mile road race in Mammoth on July 4th... hmmmmmmmm... my friend Luke told me after the Utah Valley Marathon to "learn from Ryan Hall and don't jump in any one mile races right after the marathon"... but rumor also has it that my racing flats are already packed :-)

... oh, and the long term forecast isn't looking too shabby, either...