Lake Tahoe 2015/16 - Year of Godzilla Baby Jesus

[Ottime]

^^^Did you ski V tree or the main bowl? Is the top entrance filled in? by the Saturday I'd expect a corn reset. Sunday looks like it might have a hard time softening up.

[Mr. Toad]

Yea, great coverage all the way around with pockets of powder and wind buff. I really thought west shore would have been a mucky mess given the temps but... DAMN!!

[Gerome]

I had a little fun skiing with my drone yesterday:

[TahoeJ]

Snow turned quickly at Alpine today but it was really nice from 11 - 1 off piste. High yellow was awesome later on and had surprisingly few tracks going back to the last storm so there were some actual powder turns. Heavier in Beaver and beyond but still worth a few hikes.

[TahoeBC]

I had plans to go beyond West shore today, but dam if I did not leave my pack and skins at home, ended up doing 3 laps in West shore today with one boot pack to the top, still good winter turns to be had in there today. Only saw one other person today out there.

[old goat]

I had a little fun skiing with my drone yesterday:

That is very cool. Could this be the beginning of the end of POV? Or at least the end of the beginning? One can only hope. (Apologies to Mr. Churchill.)

[Scooter65]

That is very cool. Could this be the beginning of the end of POV? Or at least the end of the beginning? One can only hope. (Apologies to Mr. Churchill.)

Yeah, Im curious as to the weather limitations, thinking wind over the ridge etc.,.. and, will it just follow you as you cruise along? lookout techtalk...

[Ottime]

I had plans to go beyond West shore today, but dam if I did not leave my pack and skins at home, ended up doing 3 laps in West shore today with one boot pack to the top, still good winter turns to be had in there today. Only saw one other person today out there.

I've never seen a boot pack out there. Bet it sticks out. And those runs hold good snow as long as the wind has played nice.

[TahoeBC]

I've never seen a boot pack out there. Bet it sticks out. And those runs hold good snow as long as the wind has played nice.

I saw several folks booting up there the day before, cant be to unusual!

[Ottime]

So this edit not only has the camera pointed at the sky, but the mount camera work is super shaky too. Turns out the helmet mount I have does not quite lock into position. Nor lock the camera on really, as I had it come off twice on landings that I stuck. Sure, they were kind of flat and jolting, but clearly something is wrong. Also, you get to watch my son ski for the first minute. Tuesday was a blast, and the most fun I've had skiing this season. One of these days I'll get my angle right, ski hard, and make a clean edit. For now...

[gimpy]

Porcupine still holding pow on the shady sides. Corn already developed on the solar sides

[Gerome]

So this edit not only has the camera pointed at the sky, but the mount camera work is super shaky too. Turns out the helmet mount I have does not quite lock into position. Nor lock the camera on really, as I had it come off twice on landings that I stuck. Sure, they were kind of flat and jolting, but clearly something is wrong. Also, you get to watch my son ski for the first minute. One of these days I'll get my angle right, ski hard, and make a clean edit.

Ottime. Do you have a gopro? If so, you need the little rubber piece that locks the clip into place. It dampens the vibration and locks the camera on. I missed mine for a day this year and spend a half-hour looking for it in the snow.

As far as the drone goes. Tuesday was the first day I was able to fly it in the winter. Every other time I've been up its been rainy, snowy or too windy. Tuesday, I could see the glass on Donner Lake. There was little to no wind on the ridgeline. The biggest problems with the toy are the self induced wind chill cooling the battery off, causing a full battery to act like it has no power left, which means there's a real chance it was going to get confused and fly away, the limited descent speed when it's in gps mode, and finding places that are open enough in Tahoe to not worry about running into trees.

[meter-man]

That is very cool. Could this be the beginning of the end of POV? Or at least the end of the beginning? One can only hope. (Apologies to Mr. Churchill.)

Check out Xavier de la Rue's HEXO - a self-guided, tracking drone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WER1-5EQqtg

[AKbruin]

So about Freel . . . .

I realize it's not the greatest descent in Tahoe, but I'd like to ski it at some because (a) it's the tallest peak in the basin and (b) it's there. What's the best time to do it? Do you approach it from SLT or Luther Pass? (I did Job's Sister from Luther Pass a few years ago and Freel didn't seem that far out of the way.)

[Superstar Punani]

I had a little fun skiing with my drone yesterday:

Sweet action! I'm gonna get a drone now just so my drone and your drone can have a drone-off!

[BGnight]

Could this be the beginning of the end of POV? Or at least the end of the beginning? One can only hope.

Drone footage is played out.

Why film in widescreen though? I'd think you're far enough away you should use a normal focal length so everything doesn't look like it's 25 degrees. Wide angle is made for POV.

[BGnight]

Speaking of POV, I really want to see this footage:


^^^3 snowboarders absolutely went off on Roundtop either Tuesday or Wednesday. We couldn't believe the tracks they laid down given the snow was far from hero snow yesterday (it was definitely good). We were guessing there was a wind event the night after they were there because they'd have to be superhuman to lay down the tracks we saw as firm/chalky as the snow was. And they dropped all their lines without hiking them. Definitely some high caliber riders.

[Gerome]

Drone footage is played out.

Why film in widescreen though? I'd think you're far enough away you should use a normal focal length so everything doesn't look like it's 25 degrees. Wide angle is made for POV.

Drone footage is played out, but nobody's complaining about epic heli footage from tgr! And wide angle was the default video setting after I updated the camera last week, one of a number of settings to geek out on while my bitters concern was how to strap the controller on my pack so that I wouldn't touch any controls while skiing down the slope.

Superstar Punani, I'm calling you out on a drone ski off! You have to take a shot of southern comfort for every run you take. The first one to crash loses!

[skier666]

Are those the mini lines lookers left of Roundtop? If so, I've always wanted to do that straightline just to say I did but they are pretty short pitches.

[2FUNKY]

Speaking of POV, I really want to see this footage:


^^^3 snowboarders absolutely went off on Roundtop either Tuesday or Wednesday. We couldn't believe the tracks they laid down given the snow was far from hero snow yesterday (it was definitely good). We were guessing there was a wind event the night after they were there because they'd have to be superhuman to lay down the tracks we saw as firm/chalky as the snow was. And they dropped all their lines without hiking them. Definitely some high caliber riders.

Nice lines. Looks like one guy esploded.

[emcee]

pretty good looking tomahawk signature right there

[TahoeBC]

Warming up for Saturday

[MakersTeleMark]

FTMFW.

[TahoeJ]

^^ That is rad.

[shakyknees]

So about Freel . . . .

I realize it's not the greatest descent in Tahoe, but I'd like to ski it at some because (a) it's the tallest peak in the basin and (b) it's there. What's the best time to do it? Do you approach it from SLT or Luther Pass? (I did Job's Sister from Luther Pass a few years ago and Freel didn't seem that far out of the way.)

The time my buddy submitted Freel we started from South Lake, and we overnighted above High Meadows - that would be a long day trip but feasible. Luther Pass-Horse Meadows is probably the shortest approach, but another route starts in South Lake and goes through Fountain Place.