HAPPY NEW YEAR! WHAT’S UP MOTHER NATURE?
Lake Tahoe Entertainer Magazine January 2018 Article
By; Curtis Fong “The Guy From Tahoe”
Happy New Year Lake Tahoe!
Okay Mother Nature… What’s Up? The Holidays have come and gone and the locals have recaptured their slopes, or should I say, the portions of the slopes that are open and we keep doing the snow dance and praying for snow, hoping winter will eventually arrive… When is that Big Winter Storm coming?
There’s no greater feeling of satisfaction than getting that BIG, 2-3 day, “Winter Storm Warning” kind of Storm… One of “Those kind of Storms” that dumps 4 to 6 feet of snow at a time… One of “Those kind of Storms” that Snowplows can’t keep up with, that require chain controls and causing numerous spin-outs snarling all the roadways… One of “Those kind of Storms” that forces us to break out the snow shovels and curse, several times within hours, to have to clear the snow from our front porches and decks… just so we can get in and out of our houses… One of “Those kind of Storms” that we curse the neighborhood snowplows for not clearing our streets and when they do, they leave a 4-foot burm, causing us to shovel that too and wishing we had bought a snow blower… and, at the same time, knowing a snow blower still won’t take care of shoveling the roof… One of “Those kind of Storms” that causes Panic when the grocery store shelves are emptied, because delivery trucks are stuck on the other side of the pass… Or, your favorite store or restaurant is closed, because none of their employees can get to work… Or you can’t get to work… You know what I’m talking about… Oh yes… One of “Those kind of Storms” when in the aftermath, our ears are treated to the Sweet Sounds of Booms! Yes! Chest vibrating Booming Explosions, as resorts attempt to dig out and prepare their mountain to fire up their lifts allowing us to descend bottomless powder… We need one of “Those kind of Storms”…
When is that Big Winter Storm Coming, I ask again… I’m wearing out the bottoms of my ski boots from doing the Snow Dance and my palms are glued together from continuously Praying for Snow!
Got to hand it to the resorts that continued to make snow and thank goodness that we had cold temps to get as much open as possible for the Holiday crowds… Heavenly did a great job to get Stagecoach and the Nevada side open, then connected with the upper California side and fired up Canyon Express and opening Ridge Run…
Northstar also did a great job to open their front side and I met up with my ski buddy, Dan Giesin, to make a few turns… Ran into old friend and former Rossi Rep and Director of Ski School at Heavenly from the 90’s, John Darby and his lady friend, Hilary… Had a fun day skiing and doing Apres Ski with them… Since then, Northstar continued to make snow and over the holidays, opened Martis Camp Lift with access to Lookout Mountain and get the Backside open for the holidays…
Northstar: Hilary, John Darby, Dan Giesin & TGFT
I got out to Kirkwood as well and they were blessed with snow that opened the upper mountain in no time… They received a good amount of snow, up to 3 feet early… The coverage was much better that I originally thought and the snow was very carvable… They also got Timber Creek Lodge Area Lifts and the Backside open for the holidays with a total of 13 lifts turning and 75 runs opened…
Kirkwood Chair #11
My son, Matt flew down from Seattle to spend Christmas with his dad and we enjoyed a great Christmas Day riding at Sierra at Tahoe… Christmas Day was not busy, as I imagined, and took several runs from top to bottom with everyone enjoying the Holiday Vibes. Sierra At Tahoe has limited Snowmaking and they have done an incredible job to farm snow and get lifts & runs open to ski top to bottom…
Sierra at Tahoe: on Grandview Express with Lower Dynamite below
Sierra at Tahoe: Christmas Day with Matt
On a sombering note, one of my best friends and ski buddies, fellow broadcast ski journalist, Jerry Hoffman, passed away and his tribe deposited his ashes in Monterey Bay on December 12… I met Jerry in 1980 when I was the Advertising & Public Relations Manager for Kirkwood. We met on the phone a couple of weeks before the resort was to open and he solicited me to do a live ski report on his radio station in Monterey, California. I obliged, as it was my duty to do so representing Kirkwood… We became fast friends and I invited him come up, gave him rentals & lessons and turned him into a skier… His passion for skiing grew and he became a fellow broadcast journalists as member of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association and we shared great skiing experiences over a 37 year friendship that took us to Ski Resorts not only at Lake Tahoe, but all western states… Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming… BC & Alberta, Canada, New Hampshire & Vermont, Switzerland, Italy & France…
In his memoirs he wrote that that skiing changed his life and thanked me for introducing him to the sport. I requested that I ascertain some of his ashes to spread on the mountain-tops of some of our favorite Lake Tahoe resorts, but his wishes were to have them spread in Monterey Bay… Although, somewhat disappointed that I would not be able to honor his memory and passion for skiing by depositing his ashes at Lake Tahoe, I realize now, that his ashes will flow with the ocean currents and rise to the clouds and be deposited on all mountain tops on this planet earth… RIP Jerry! Your memories of great times on the slopes will be with me in every turn…
Jerry Hoffman, Hula-Gan & TGFT
Happy New Year! We all need to make memories with our friend this winter… We are waiting on Mother Nature to deliver the goods… We need that one BIG Storm to get Everything Open… Do the Snow Dance… Wash the Cars… Start the Roof Job… Keep the Faith… I want my Mommy!
Ski-Yah on the Slopes!