OFFICIAL TAHOE 18/19 STOKE, CONDITIONS, WEATHER THREAD

**skier666** · 04-12-2019, 12:10 PM

I wish I had more free time to tour like the rest of you kooks, but I'll take what I can get. Here's my Squaw stoke from last Saturday morning:

**mcski** · 04-12-2019, 12:31 PM

Ahhhhh, back to b&w? I was hoping after last week's color installment it might be your first step to using actual music

**skier666** · 04-12-2019, 12:40 PM

Flat light is tough to edit and get textures so b&w it is...sunshine makes everything better.

**mcski** · 04-12-2019, 12:48 PM

I have more issues w sunlight because I can't figure out how to keep everything from getting washed out. Way too much light getting in the lens. I should read the directions some day

**TahoeJ** · 04-12-2019, 01:44 PM

Good news for those of you who were worried about the Squaw/Alpine gondola opening up the Buttress: https://www.sierrawatch.org/forest-s...dola-decision/

**Tamburello Rouge** · 04-12-2019, 03:10 PM

Interesting alignment. Looks like there will be a new chair on the backside of KT-22. Also looks like there will be a couple drop off points along the way.

**AKbruin** · 04-12-2019, 03:15 PM

Any advice on the optimum descent time for south-facing corn right now? Thanks in advance.

I'll likely be at Squaw or Alpine some this weekend with the kids and our newly minted Ikon passes, which I'll mostly likely regret purchasing as soon as an Audi Q8 needlessly cuts in front of me to steal a parking spot. Say hey.

**TahoeJ** · 04-12-2019, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by Tamburello Rouge

Interesting alignment. Looks like there will be a new chair on the backside of KT-22. Also looks like there will be a couple drop off points along the way.

I didn't even notice that. KT South. How could they not call it White Wolf after all of these years? Presumably that terrain would still be private, although the mid station stop at the bottom could be confusing.

I know a lot of folks are against it, but I have to admit I'd probably use that gondola a fair amount.

**ToastedPopsicle** · 04-12-2019, 04:06 PM

How in the world are they going to afford lifties to staff this gondola if they can't even run broken arrow or olympic lady most of the time? Will they just never run those again? Money hold on KT midweek? I'm assuming a gondola takes more staff too cause they'll need people to load skis at every station.

**old goat** · 04-12-2019, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by TahoeJ

Good news for those of you who were worried about the Squaw/Alpine gondola opening up the Buttress: https://www.sierrawatch.org/forest-s...dola-decision/

30+ towers. Fuck. I am guessing multiple towers between the KT alternates and the saddle. I've heard rumors of at least one in the middle of West Face. Sacrilege IMO.--Where ever they put them will be in the middle of prime advanced-expert terrain.
Squaw can bullshit all they want about the gondola allowing people to ski both areas in a day but the real reason is so that the gapers staying in the village can get to the intermediate terrain at AM and all the locals that are forced to park at AM because there's no day parking at SV can get to SV.
The only thing good I see coming from this would be if they allowed the public onto the Caldwell property--prime steep spring skiing, but I don't think that's in the plan. AFAIK the KT south lift is Caldwell's permitted private, limited use lift.
All of this is speculation on my part.

**meter-man** · 04-12-2019, 05:07 PM

White Wolf calls those towers/not-a-lift KT South: http://whitewolftahoe.com/peak-performance

Sierra Watch is SO happy about this result. Huh? It's like 400 yards over from the originally proposed line. I do'nt get it

oldgoat, based on the map, the alignment for Alternative 4 appears to run east (not west) of the Nose ridge. Looks like it'll cross KT just above the Fingers, go up Nose ridge, plant a tower on Coleman's, and then unload at that flat area between the top of 75 and the patrol shack.

On the plus side, maybe this means KT lines won't be as crushingly brutal on those lower mountain-only days. Yes, of course, it'll get tracked quicker, but I'd rather ski tracked on KT than stand in a liftline!

666, nice stoak. AKB on a chairlift?!? wtf??!! sweet pics gimpy, turx, powdork - thx

**Shred Baron** · 04-12-2019, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by Tamburello Rouge

Interesting alignment. Looks like there will be a new chair on the backside of KT-22. Also looks like there will be a couple drop off points along the way.

The midstations may not be load/unload. I think they are planning the Squaw side to be independent of the rest so they can try to run it on storm days. Also yeah with that alignment there is no way there won’t be towers somewhere along the west side of KT.

I recently heard a rumor Troy makes good money doing advertising photo shoots (like car companies) and having tracks on it ruins that for him. (That’s totally barstool talk with a mildly reliable source).

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

**shakyknees** · 04-12-2019, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by AKbruin

Any advice on the optimum descent time for south-facing corn right now? Thanks in advance.

I got a late start and ended up skiing some nice south facing corn at 8000' around 1 pm. I'd probably try to be skiing by 11:00 or so tomorrow. North aspects and anything in shade were still quite frozen.

Click image for larger version.

Name: DSC01544.jpg
Views: 103
Size: 1.02 MB
ID: 278256

.

**AKbruin** · 04-12-2019, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by meter-man

666, nice stoak. AKB on a chairlift?!? wtf??!! sweet pics gimpy, turx, powdork - thx

I like chairlifts. It's crowds I'm not crazy about.

Originally Posted by shakyknees

I got a late start and ended up skiing some nice south facing corn at 8000' around 1 pm. I'd probably try to be skiing by 11:00 or so tomorrow. North aspects and anything in shade were still quite frozen.

Thanks!

**mcski** · 04-12-2019, 05:38 PM

Ya I guess I'd prefer that of the 4 options, but I'm still firmly in the no gondy camp. I guess it's a win for Sierra Watch, but Im unclear the level of happiness this warrants

**NorCalNomad** · 04-12-2019, 11:07 PM

Crescent Moon Couloir is sketch AF right now. So much crust hidden in there.

**powdork** · 04-13-2019, 12:47 AM

Originally Posted by AKbruin

Any advice on the optimum descent time for south-facing corn right now? Thanks in advance.

I'll likely be at Squaw or Alpine some this weekend with the kids and our newly minted Ikon passes, which I'll mostly likely regret purchasing as soon as an Audi Q8 needlessly cuts in front of me to steal a parking spot. Say hey.

the window didn't seem to close today but less freeze tonight and warmer tomorrow plus inversions i'm not even sure it will freeze tonight at some elevations

**skier666** · 04-13-2019, 10:57 AM

OMG THE GONDOLAZ ARE COMING!

The least exciting major project in Tahoe of my lifetime...

**Eastern Sierra Skier** · 04-13-2019, 11:45 AM

Free beer at Rose for pass holders. This is not a joke. Skiing is not bad either.

**TahoeJ** · 04-13-2019, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by skier666

OMG THE GONDOLAZ ARE COMING!

The least exciting major project in Tahoe of my lifetime...

I’m going to be uncool and say I’m all for it. For example, the weekend before last there’s no way I was going to take the shuttle back over from Alpine and meet up with you (wondergrass madness), but I definitely would have hopped in the gondy and enjoyed a KT lap on my way.

**Ottime** · 04-13-2019, 01:03 PM

^^^that is kind of my thought. No eggs in this basket, but in spring, I could see starting at AM and finishing on KT.

Just read KW re opens for Easter weekend, with no Chair 10? Seriously, wtf Vail. Come afternoon on spring, 10 is where you want to be. Even my 7 year old knows this. Fuck Vail. But they will keep TC going. Chair 7 will be almost as bad as Tamarack and Dipper late in the day.

**gnarbro365** · 04-13-2019, 04:25 PM

Click image for larger version.

Name: IMG_6361.jpg
Views: 108
Size: 1.36 MB
ID: 278397

**TahoeBC** · 04-13-2019, 04:50 PM

Up high today we encountered a couple inches of new snow with up to a foot of wind blown that was slabby, we retreated to lower elevation/lower angle and found the butter

shakyknees with a look of approval

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**hercule33** · 04-13-2019, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by TahoeBC

Up high today we encountered a couple inches of new snow with up to a foot of wind blown that was slabby, we retreated to lower elevation/lower angle and found the butter

shakyknees with a look of approval

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Are those the 11s in the background?

**old goat** · 04-13-2019, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by meter-man

oldgoat, based on the map, the alignment for Alternative 4 appears to run east (not west) of the Nose ridge. Looks like it'll cross KT just above the Fingers, go up Nose ridge, plant a tower on Coleman's, and then unload at that flat area between the top of 75 and the patrol shack.

Right you are--you looked at the map more carefully than I did. While I don't often ski the Nose--for some reason it never appealed to me--putting towers on it strikes me as only slightly less sacrilegious than putting them on West Face. Of course I don't know where the towers will actually be so maybe I'm bs-ing about nothing.

As far as eliminating crowding on storm days there are a lot of ways to do that--upgrading Oly Lady (hell, just running Oly Lady), high speeds on RD and SC--the RD has been in the "planning" phase for a while, running a lift to the ridge above Horse Trails to a point just before Light Towers (oh wait, they had a lift there and took it out). All of these are things that would cost less than the gondola and would improve the skiing experience immensely. The gondola is not about the skiing experience, it's about using our money to help Alterra make more money.