King of the Hill
It doesn't get much better than Diamond Peak on an SPF 100 kind of day!
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
Triple Aught Design Aprés Ski
There's nothing like a little downtime by the fire after a hard day on the mountain. Especially after chasing a 3 year-old and 6 year-old all over the slopes. Spotted here is my favorite piece of adventure gear from Triple Aught Design. Not spotted here is the hard-earned pint of Guinness that's sitting on the coffee table.
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
California Trail
I will never, ever get tired of this view. California Trail may not be Heavenly's best run but it's certainly the most picturesque. It's also a very welcome sight if you just made the long, flat traverse from the Nevada side of the mountain.
This photograph was captured with an ancient Sony DSC-S70 that happened to be in my kit that day. I really should reshoot it with a modern camera.
Gondola Ride into the Sunset
The last time we went to Tahoe, we stayed just at the base of the "new" Heavenly village. Watching the gondolas fly by your window is a great way to get stoked to get on the mountain. These guys are headed up to the Tamarack Lodge for some fun at the "Unbuckle Aprés Ski" on-mountain nightclub. These guys won't be the only ones partying tonight!
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
I Was Dreaming of a White Christmas
Yep. It was a dream. It's still in the 70s in North Carolina.
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
Make it Snow
This is how it all begins. You're looking at the first 12 hours of snowmaking on Beech Mountain on November 21, 2015. Not a bad start! I heard the snowguns fire up around 5pm the night before and met some of the Beech Mountain team later that night at dinner. They told me they'd be open for business in one week. They were right! It's not quite the Greatest Snow on Earth but it'll do until the real stuff starts piling up!
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.
Cold Day in Zephyr Cove
Zephyr Cove is a quaint little lakeside retreat on Lake Tahoe. It's one of the last milestones that you tick off on your way from the Reno airport to Stateline, which is the developed portion of Lake Tahoe that is host to Heavenly Valley. It's pretty quiet in the winter time — I think we suited up for a snowmobile tour there once many years ago. I bet it's a great place to relax in the summer but in the winter it always seems like one of the coldest spots on the lake to me.
This photograph was taken many moons ago with a very old Sony Cybershot something or other. Sony sure has come a long way since then!
Powder Day!
Pow! Feast your eyes upon the cushy mountains on the backside of Diamond Peak.
Diamond Peak is the most underrated mountain in North America. There, I said it. It's really more ski mountain than ski resort. Its no-nonsense facilities mean $5 chili for lunch, parking 30 feet away from the lodge and the ability to absolutely pack in the runs. Easy up, easy down. It doesn't hurt that just about every run comes with the same view of the Lake as Heavenly's famous California Trail. The lack of fancy frills (and crowds) is exactly how the locals like it.
Please do me a favor, though, just because I called it the most underrated mountain in North America doesn't mean you should check it out. Stick with Heavenly or — if you're feeling more adventurous — Squaw Valley. The last thing we need is a bunch of people filling up lift lines and driving up the prices of the chili.
This photograph was captured with an ancient Canon PowerShot S200 that I bought in Barcelona after the previous one was stolen in Barri Gòtic... but that's a story for another day.
Heavenly Ride
The future potential of Hyperloop is awesome but the greatest form of transportation currently known to man is the ski gondola. This one picks you up right in the middle of Heavenly Village in Stateline, CA, and takes you 2.4 miles straight up into the mountain.
The last time we were in Lake Tahoe, our condo was located in the Village right next to the gondola station. The only thing better than watching a gondola fly past your condo is watching your condo fly past a gondola.
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
Calm Before the Storm
We headed out to Lake Tahoe mid-January two years ago in the height of the drought. Snow had not fallen in weeks and the reported conditions were looking bleak. It looks like somebody finally remembered to pay the weather bill, though.
As we were rounding the lake, we could see storms off in the distance and just as we rolled into town, the sky opened up with snow. By the time we left later that week, another four feet had piled up.