When the snow came, it came as a great downpour. Falling in tight groups like silver dollar pancakes being flipped onto the Sierra Madres, it landed with weighted impact. In the Rockies, where I am used to riding, the flakes drift and nestle. They rest on top of one another trapping air to build a fluffy top layer. Here at Tahoe’s north shore, on top of Pacific Crest’s 2000 acres of privately leased land, the snow was dense, thick and not about to stop. Our guide Ward was pointing out our boundaries, but I could not look him in the face. Instead, my head was fixed upwards into the barrage of heavy clumps that fell ceaselessly. In seconds my goggles filled with landed clusters, my shoulders caught a solid layer of white crystal icing and the creases of my jacket gathered ravines of fresh powder. I cracked a wide smile and snow fell on my teeth. In these conditions, this day would be epic, and if the snow kept coming, like the forecast predicted, we would be thankfully stranded in a storm of “sierra cement.”
The group met at Pacific Crest’s office and got sorted right away. Skis and boards were strapped to the top of the van, introductions were made and without wasting time the staff had us en route to their area. Though confident in my riding and stronger than most in the resort, this was my first backcountry trip and I was nervous. Chutes, drop-offs, tight trees, big airs and mach speeds are not foreign to me, however, by nature the backcountry is wild, remote and unpredictable… would it be extreme and dangerous as well? Looking at our group, I could tell that I was not the only person with some reservation. But, it is immediately evident that Pacific Crest’s staff is not amateur, they are concerned, experienced professional guides trained in avalanche science and well seasoned to leading tours of mixed skill levels. Their intent is not only to provide a dynamite day of adventurous fresh turns, but also to educate and inform skiers of what safe backcountry riding is. Before boarding the cat Ward briefed us on their backcountry protocol in both normal and emergency situations. Then, at the top of our first run, he demonstrated how the provided transponder works and how to use it. To a backcountry veteran, the lesson may have seemed redundant, but to a group of mixed riders the 15 minute practical exercise was definitely reassuring to everyone. Now it was time to ride.
Twelve inches had already fallen the night before, so our morning runs were filled with fresh whoops in what I thought was deep powder. The air was clear and clean and from where we stood, Lake Tahoe glistened in the distance beyond snow covered hills. The sky, a brilliant blue, shone sunlight onto our first run- an untouched glade with nice rolls and fairly widely spaced trees. In good warden virtue, Pacific Crest only uses old logging routes to access their terrain and disturbs no trees in their operation. This makes the ascension a bit slower, but the riding is most natural and low impact. At one point I was following another track through a tree grouping when I looked up to see a four footed figure running towards me using the trail as an avenue. It was about the size of a small dog, perhaps a coyote? But when it made a sharp turn and darted up a tree, I could see that it was a large Lynx (something that was not covered in the safety protocol) and I was reminded of the connection to nature that riding through the woods can be. By eleven, a low pressure front had moved in and the snow began. It fell without stopping for the rest of that day, through the night, through the next day and into the following night finally accumulating some 30 inches of powder.
Rider: Josh Williams, Photographer: Tim EngelThe twelve person cat delivered us to pristine peaks where we launched our runs. Always, at least two guides monitored the group, laying out boundaries and establishing rendezvous points. The terrain is accommodating to all skill levels so, even though there were intermediate skiers with us, we could still push our individual limits. At one point we stood at a magnificent saddle back ridge looking down on an untouched face and basin of deep powder. The wind whipped at our backs, blowing snow off the cornice. My hand shot up immediately, in a moment of uncontrolled selfishness, when our guide Carl asked who wanted to go first. Before he could finish saying “it’s all you…” I was tearing down the wide open face, ejecting rooster tail wakes that rose well above my head while inhaling heaps of powder. This was exactly what I had dreamed about during my snowless summers.
At midday we stopped for an elaborate sandwich bar that one of the guides had prepared under a small shelter of trees while we were riding down. Turkey, roast beef, salami, banana peppers, pickles, olives, tomatoes, sprouts, avocadoes, trail mix, dried fruit, cookies and chocolate bars were all bought fresh that morning and then sliced and stacked just before we arrived. Sodas, bottled water, hot chocolate and tea warmed our bellies and washed down the top heavy sandwiches. The ice chest came out again at the end of the day and we all enjoyed a cold celebratory brew on the way down.
Accommodation in the Lake Tahoe area is not hard to find, though budget accommodation might be difficult. There are plenty of mid to high range hotels, condos and homes to rent. And anywhere from Truckee (which lays claim to one of the highest averages of snow fall in the US) to Stateline (where Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis downed twisted martinis) is within a 25 minute drive to their door. Also, food prices and quality vary in accordance to taste. Rotisserie chicken and a bag of salad from the super market are about a cheap as Taco Bell or slices of pizza. Quality, selection and price rise from there. There are plenty of pubs for après beers and finer establishments for cognac. We stayed a short 20 minute drive away along the North shore in Nevada where, if my gambling history were more merited, I may have tried to pay for the trip with a roll of the dice.
Still snowing at the end of our second and last day of riding, we found ourselves in a conundrum. How could we leave in the morning when the mountains were still being pounded by one of the largest storms this year? The answer was obvious, and reinforced as we sat drinking draft PBRs talking to Carl before returning to our hotel… we couldn’t. Here is a tip (but don’t quote me on it): if you reschedule a flight, you’ll probably be charged a fee ($150US in our case) whereas, if you inform them that you’ll miss your flight… maybe even tell them that chain law is in effect and there is no way that you can make it, then you can chance it and fly stand by (for free) whenever you do arrive to the airport. Also a patrolman at one of the resorts in the area, Carl made our decision easy. He hooked us up with two half price lift ticket coupons for the day and mentioned that he could point us in the right direction on the mountain. The resort had been closed over the weekend due to the massive amounts of snow and it was just reopening at about the same time that our flight took off from Reno. I couldn’t resist snaking the best powder in Tahoe from my friends in the bay area who brag about their mountains in the west.
End of the day.Again, like the morning we arrived, the sun shone through the clouds and opened onto deep layers of fresh temporal flakey bliss. The lake glistened in the immediate distance, reflecting a blue sky. With mischievous grins we carved down steep faces swallowing powder shots, laughing like children. By the time that we made it back to the airport, we had experienced the best of the Sierras. As we were issued our two standby boarding passes for the last flight that day, the airline staff member asked, “So, did you really get snowed in, or were you just stealing my powder?” “Give me that boarding pass and I’ll tell you,” I replied with a smile.
Now, to be journalistically ethical, I should make one suggestion to anyone who is considering a backcountry cat trip. The next one that I book (and there will be more) I will try to make sure that I am riding with people who are all around my skill level. It seems that the best way to make the most of your time and money is to try and book an entire cat for your own group. Gather your friends (if you can find 11 of them) and talk them into uniting for a day of fabulous entertainment while playing with gravity in the depths of untouched snow. If that happens to be in the Tahoe area, then call Pacific Crest because you won’t be disappointed.
Words by Josh Williams.
Sunrise over Lake Tahoe, by Josh Williams
