TAHOE 22/23 -THE YEAR OF THE (t)RAM

[powdork]

I had to work today so I took whiskey for a quick lap in the morning to avoid killing a customer later in the day. Turns out when the lots don't fill up and the skiing is awesome, noone shows up. So I got the EO and made it to Homewood at 2:30. I could tell it was busy earlier and the close parking spots were refilling as soon as someone left. The word was out. Tomorrow will not suck.

[SnowMachine]

Yesterday was all time!!

We had the entire mountain (that shall remain un-named) to ourselves at 3pm.

This AM will be epic. I'm getting a late start after dropping the kids at school, but I'm going to get some laps before lunch, for sure.

[SnowMachine]

I had to work today so I took whiskey for a quick lap in the morning to avoid killing a customer later in the day. Turns out when the lots don't fill up and the skiing is awesome, noone shows up. So I got the EO and made it to Homewood at 2:30. I could tell it was busy earlier and the close parking spots were refilling as soon as someone left. The word was out. Tomorrow will not suck.

Your dog is awesome, dude!! I keep wondering if my big doggy could survive a BC day. I may take him out for a mellow day this week.

[powdork]

They do better once there is a more supportable base

[GoSlowGoFar]

It’s reports like this that make me surprised that we don’t have more burials out here. Crossing through avalanche terrain on a day rated “high” - check, ski cutting a slope when you see someone’s below you - check, contemplating skiing slopes that are 100% what the report described to avoid on a day like yesterday - check.

https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.or...ire-plug-ridge

[GoSlowGoFar]

Took my new Heritage Lab C132s for some hippy pow turns yesterday, did not disappoint. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a lightweight r/r ski for days like yesterday.

[lepistoir]

During the Olympics they made 89 into 4 lane road. 3 in 1 out in the morning and in the evening 3 out 1 in.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Truc...ibextid=W9rl1R

[climberevan]

Skiing was fun today, despite my low energy level that only got me a bit over 4k. The sun definitely wrecked anything it touched, but N facing should still be good tomorrow.

[powdork]

During the Olympics they made 89 into 4 lane road. 3 in 1 out in the morning and in the evening 3 out 1 in.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Truc...ibextid=W9rl1R

what did they do about the mousehole? (the group is private)

[powdork]

as expected, today was quite nice. but it was best to avoid the spice


from the top of the ridge in the pic above (above the midslope slide)

[GoSlowGoFar]

Skiing was fun today, despite my low energy level that only got me a bit over 4k.

Gotta love the humble brag…

Regarding the mousehole, that seems to be the crux of the whole situation. They added the bike/ped path after the fact so expanding it to some degree is obviously feasible.

Edit: Nice PD, good info.

[jackstraw]

Good day at squallyworld for me. Visibility first thing off gc was socked in and we fresh traversed to a tree line and it was all avi debris. Classic. Great day and they opened Palisades which was nice to get the opportunity.

[HJ5]

Skiing was fun today, despite my low energy level that only got me a bit over 4k. The sun definitely wrecked anything it touched, but N facing should still be good tomorrow.

That's for sure. Breakable sun crust was already forming on anything with even a hint of southerly aspect. Rain crust below 6800 or so firmed up too so that made for some interesting skiing. Today was one of those days where it was sufficiently variable that I just wasn't quite comfortable enough to open it up. But we're still skiing down to 5k, so I really can't complain that much.

[HJ5]

It’s reports like this that make me surprised that we don’t have more burials out here. Crossing through avalanche terrain on a day rated “high” - check, ski cutting a slope when you see someone’s below you - check, contemplating skiing slopes that are 100% what the report described to avoid on a day like yesterday - check.

https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.or...ire-plug-ridge

Like actually, WTF. And in that zone there are perfectly fine low-angle north facing trees just on the west side of where the report was from. Not to mention that the run-out on the aspect they skied would be nasty, I don't see how anyone could be dropping into that on a day like yesterday.

[old goat]

Gotta love the humble brag…

Regarding the mousehole, that seems to be the crux of the whole situation. They added the bike/ped path after the fact so expanding it to some degree is obviously feasible.

Edit: Nice PD, good info.

The mousehole situation is that the railroad calls the shots. They can veto anything the town, coutny, state wants to do. Boring a tunnel under the tracks for the ped tunnel didn't disrupt train travel. Widening the mousehole would disrupt train operations. Maybe there's a way to add a separate tunnel/lane west of the mousehole. I can't picture the area well enough.

South Face of Sherwood was untouched blower for 5 good runs before it got too tracked out.

[TahoeJ]

The mousehole situation is that the railroad calls the shots. They can veto anything the town, coutny, state wants to do. Boring a tunnel under the tracks for the ped tunnel didn't disrupt train travel. Widening the mousehole would disrupt train operations. Maybe there's a way to add a separate tunnel/lane west of the mousehole. I can't picture the area well enough.

Not exactly. The state / county can absolutely claim eminent domain for infrastructure (and safety) purposes if so desired. And when properly motivated you'd be surprised what can be accomplished in a short amount of time. For example, about 10 or so years ago a section of the Macarthur maze in the east bay was severely damaged due to a truck spill and fire. The state incentivized the contractors with huge project bonuses for getting it done as quickly as possible (the contract literally included X million more for every day it was completed ahead of the original target date) and the turnaround was pretty incredible.

I still can't believe the stupidity of doing all of that work several years back on the mousehole without addressing the bottleneck situation. The writing was already on the wall that 89 was going to become overwhelmed.

On a positive note, man, what a great season this is turning out to be. Just superhero conditions out there these past few days.

[oldnew_guy]

Not exactly. The state / county can absolutely claim eminent domain for infrastructure (and safety) purposes if so desired. And when properly motivated you'd be surprised what can be accomplished in a short amount of time. For example, about 10 or so years ago a section of the Macarthur maze in the east bay was severely damaged due to a truck spill and fire. The state incentivized the contractors with huge project bonuses for getting it done as quickly as possible (the contract literally included X million more for every day it was completed ahead of the original target date) and the turnaround was pretty incredible.

I still can't believe the stupidity of doing all of that work several years back on the mousehole without addressing the bottleneck situation. The writing was already on the wall that 89 was going to become overwhelmed.

On a positive note, man, what a great season this is turning out to be. Just superhero conditions out there these past few days.

Having worked with railroads I would be amazed if it is this simple, because if it was, every municipality I have worked with would have absolutely done eminent domain instead of deal with the railroads absurd timelines to complete a project.

Maybe it’s different in CA?

[~mikey b]

it’s not that simple or it would have been done long ago

J isn’t as much of an expert as he thinks he is

[truckeelocal]

I still can't believe the stupidity of doing all of that work several years back on the mousehole without addressing the bottleneck situation. The writing was already on the wall that 89 was going to become overwhelmed.

The Town managed to get the McIver 'Crossing' done. And the Mousehole pedestrian tunnel is very recent, like within the last 5 years. So dealing with the railroads isn't unsurmountable. But then once the tunnel situation has been dealt with what's the next bottleneck ? The single lane getting onto I80 West ? Dealing with multiple roundabouts where lane markings are ignored ? Safeway parking lot/cashier lines ?

[TahoeJ]

it’s not that simple or it would have been done long ago

J isn’t as much of an expert as he thinks he is

I never said it was simple, just possible. And no, I'm not an expert but my ex-wife is and we've specifically discussed the logistics of the mousehole on 89 (if Truckee / Placer were to hire a consultant for this project she'd be on the list of candidates due to her background on traffic logistics and having worked with railroad companies on projects in the past). I know you like to dive straight into prick mode but is that good enough for you?

[El Chupacabra]

I never said it was simple, just possible. And no, I'm not an expert but my ex-wife is and we've specifically discussed the logistics of the mousehole on 89 (if Truckee were to hire a consultant for this project she'd be on the list of candidates due to her background on traffic logistics and having worked with railroad companies in the past). I know you like to dive straight into prick mode but is that good enough for you?

An eminent domain fight with a railroad would take many years and cost a fortune. So while possible, it's not an attractive solution in general.

[~mikey b]

aww

sorry I hurt your feelings J

[TahoeJ]

An eminent domain fight with a railroad would take many years and cost a fortune. So while possible, it's not an attractive solution in general.

Absolutely. The threat of it would provide motivation to come to some kind of compromise, however. Of course, I'm not going to hold my breath for this to ever actually happen. It would probably require an Olympic bid.

[GoSlowGoFar]

I wonder if any planners/engineers peruse this forum and get both a good chuckle and a sense for the public sentiment regarding some of these issues. I’m a county planner (different county) for the next 3 days at least as I’m make a move to Utah soon, and it’s always encouraging seeing dialogue about these sorts of issues. I’d run across them in random places like subreddit pages and instagram posts and it does help me take a step back and get out of my planning groupthink bubble.

[powdork]

The answer seems simple. Build a half mile of new track with a new bridge/tunnel just north of the existing track and tie it in when it's all done. Turn the old railroad into a park with lots of parking in the southwest quadrant for park n ride (bonus north facing slopes above). And of course another roundabout for river road.