With excellent, fresh snow in Lake Tahoe (and 48" of new snow at Kirkwood), I was eager to make my own fresh tracks at Kirkwood - one of my favorite Lake Tahoe ski resorts.
Since the drive to Kirkwood is long and tedious, I decided to use the Bay Area Ski Bus, a shuttle service that provides transportation to one of many Lake Tahoe Ski resorts. I don't especially relish driving for 4+ hours to Lake Tahoe, and 4+ additional hours back, so I was eager to try this out.
The Bay Area Ski Bus price varies, depending on current offers. Typically, the Ski Bus charges $179 per adult for a single-day trip to Kirkwood, but I did manage to pay $173 for the bus ride and lift ticket (using the $6 coupon at Snowpals). Kirkwood charges $99 online and $114 for one adult lift ticket at the resort. Sometimes, Groupon has deals for $55 for the ski bus, but I could not find deals like that.
As a San Jose resident, my closest ski bus pickup location was the Milpitas Park and Ride at 4:00 a.m. The ski bus was loaded and primarily full when I arrived at Milpitas Park & Ride at 3:52 a.m. Before heading to Kirkwood, the bus made a couple of stops to pick up additional passengers in Foster City and Pleasanton (and to pick up fresh bagels). The drive to Kirkwood was reasonably uneventful (taking about 5.5 hours). I did manage to sleep a little (or at least doze off using my nightshades). I had my old iPod Nano playing music to block the sound of the road. At sunrise, I started listening to the Godfather audiobook around 8:00 a.m. The bus passengers were offered fresh bagels and some pastries for breakfast. I ate a raisin bagel with cream cheese. It wasn't my favorite breakfast.
On approaching Kirkwood, the bus pulled over to put on chains. Snow and ice were on the road, and it was deemed unsafe to proceed otherwise.
We arrived in Kirkwood around 9:30 a.m. (a bit later than I would have liked) but the bus driver picked up all the lift tickets for us, so we did not have to wait in the long ticket line. I had my Ride 162 snowboard and K2 Clicker boots stowed in my Dakine Tour snowboard bag to prevent the board from getting scratched (while on the bus).
Kirkwood looked very busy, with almost no free car parking. I was relieved that I drove there alone, but I was somewhat apprehensive about the large crowds. My worries were unfounded - the main chairlift I used - Cornice Express - was never busy. The weather was fantastic: sunny, 32 degrees Fahrenheit with no wind - almost a picture-perfect day.
I took a fast quad chair - Cornice Express - to the top around 10:00 a.m. To begin my day. My first run was down the black diamond Zachary trail. The snow felt soft but with a bit of snap and crackle - not relatively fresh powder or quite packed powder. The trail was already broken up by Friday's skiing, and there were plenty of moguls. I was hoping for freshly fallen powder but only found unmolested powder in the trees, where I often ventured.
Here is a GoPro4 Silver video of my snowboarding session:
I mostly snowboarded black and double black diamond trails such as Zachary, Lookout Janek, and Olympic. The fresh snow was pleasant to ride through (but Friday would have been much better). The backside was closed in the morning, so I mostly stayed on black diamond runs.
I also tried the famous double black diamond run - The Wall. It was much icier than expected, so I did not enjoy it.
For some odd reason, I got famished at Kirkwood, so after a few runs, I rode back to the resort and purchased some soup at Monte Wolfe. Since I was there early, it was not yet very crowded. After finishing the soup, I also bought a hot dog and fries, which helped to relieve my hunger. The food was tolerable (but it's not remotely in the same league as Whistler's Roundhouse Lodge ).
My AT&T iPhone had no coverage at Kirkwood, but I did manage to get WiFi working at Monte Wolfe. When coming to Kirkwood with friends, having a walkie-talkie is necessary.
I continued snowboarding until 3:30 p.m., after which I got a couple of snacks at Monte Wolfe and returned to the Ski Bus. Some snacks, wine, and beer were ready for us to much on. The ride back to Milpitas was pleasant, and we watched two movies: War Dogs and The Core. War Dogs was enjoyable, but The Core was terrible.
I returned home at around 9:30 p.m., a bit tired and sore. It was a fun day of snowboarding.
Since the drive to Kirkwood is long and tedious, I decided to use the Bay Area Ski Bus, a shuttle service that provides transportation to one of many Lake Tahoe Ski resorts. I don't especially relish driving for 4+ hours to Lake Tahoe, and 4+ additional hours back, so I was eager to try this out.
The Bay Area Ski Bus price varies, depending on current offers. Typically, the Ski Bus charges $179 per adult for a single-day trip to Kirkwood, but I did manage to pay $173 for the bus ride and lift ticket (using the $6 coupon at Snowpals). Kirkwood charges $99 online and $114 for one adult lift ticket at the resort. Sometimes, Groupon has deals for $55 for the ski bus, but I could not find deals like that.
As a San Jose resident, my closest ski bus pickup location was the Milpitas Park and Ride at 4:00 a.m. The ski bus was loaded and primarily full when I arrived at Milpitas Park & Ride at 3:52 a.m. Before heading to Kirkwood, the bus made a couple of stops to pick up additional passengers in Foster City and Pleasanton (and to pick up fresh bagels). The drive to Kirkwood was reasonably uneventful (taking about 5.5 hours). I did manage to sleep a little (or at least doze off using my nightshades). I had my old iPod Nano playing music to block the sound of the road. At sunrise, I started listening to the Godfather audiobook around 8:00 a.m. The bus passengers were offered fresh bagels and some pastries for breakfast. I ate a raisin bagel with cream cheese. It wasn't my favorite breakfast.
On approaching Kirkwood, the bus pulled over to put on chains. Snow and ice were on the road, and it was deemed unsafe to proceed otherwise.
We arrived in Kirkwood around 9:30 a.m. (a bit later than I would have liked) but the bus driver picked up all the lift tickets for us, so we did not have to wait in the long ticket line. I had my Ride 162 snowboard and K2 Clicker boots stowed in my Dakine Tour snowboard bag to prevent the board from getting scratched (while on the bus).
Kirkwood looked very busy, with almost no free car parking. I was relieved that I drove there alone, but I was somewhat apprehensive about the large crowds. My worries were unfounded - the main chairlift I used - Cornice Express - was never busy. The weather was fantastic: sunny, 32 degrees Fahrenheit with no wind - almost a picture-perfect day.
I took a fast quad chair - Cornice Express - to the top around 10:00 a.m. To begin my day. My first run was down the black diamond Zachary trail. The snow felt soft but with a bit of snap and crackle - not relatively fresh powder or quite packed powder. The trail was already broken up by Friday's skiing, and there were plenty of moguls. I was hoping for freshly fallen powder but only found unmolested powder in the trees, where I often ventured.
Here is a GoPro4 Silver video of my snowboarding session:
I mostly snowboarded black and double black diamond trails such as Zachary, Lookout Janek, and Olympic. The fresh snow was pleasant to ride through (but Friday would have been much better). The backside was closed in the morning, so I mostly stayed on black diamond runs.
I also tried the famous double black diamond run - The Wall. It was much icier than expected, so I did not enjoy it.
For some odd reason, I got famished at Kirkwood, so after a few runs, I rode back to the resort and purchased some soup at Monte Wolfe. Since I was there early, it was not yet very crowded. After finishing the soup, I also bought a hot dog and fries, which helped to relieve my hunger. The food was tolerable (but it's not remotely in the same league as Whistler's Roundhouse Lodge ).
My AT&T iPhone had no coverage at Kirkwood, but I did manage to get WiFi working at Monte Wolfe. When coming to Kirkwood with friends, having a walkie-talkie is necessary.
I continued snowboarding until 3:30 p.m., after which I got a couple of snacks at Monte Wolfe and returned to the Ski Bus. Some snacks, wine, and beer were ready for us to much on. The ride back to Milpitas was pleasant, and we watched two movies: War Dogs and The Core. War Dogs was enjoyable, but The Core was terrible.
I returned home at around 9:30 p.m., a bit tired and sore. It was a fun day of snowboarding.
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