Snowboarding at Lake Tahoe

Saturday, December 18, 2021

On Saturday, December 18, 2021, we woke at 05:30 to prepare for the long drive to North Lake Tahoe. One of our friends offered us a room at a house on Donner Lake (near Truckee), and we planned to use it as a base to snowboard at Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) and at Alpine Meadows. I pre-purchased Ikon passes for Alex and me (that I did not use last year but intended to use this year).

Although our Audi Q5 was already loaded with snowboarding gear, we also needed to move some refrigerated food items into a small cooler. After loading the SUV, we drove to Lake Tahoe at about 06:30. The drive was uneventful, with occasional traffic on 680 and 80. Still, we encountered heavy traffic reaching 89, a few miles away from Palisades Tahoe. 

On arriving at Palisades Tahoe at about 10:40, we had difficulty parking (the parking lot was overflowing), but we eventually found an open parking spot and parked. 

Since Inna was not planning to ski, she walked to the nearby Coffeebar at the Village of Palisades Tahoe, where she ordered a coffee drink and breakfast. I spent the time unloading the Audi and getting dressed for snowboarding while Alex went to find a restroom. 

Eventually, I joined Inna at the Coffeebar (munching on her Avocado Toast) while Alex was getting dressed. At about 11:30, we boarded the first gondola at 11:30 Coast Funitel. From there, we snowboarded down to Big Blue Express, which turned out to be a very slow-moving chairlift. We tried to avoid it next time and snowboarded over to use the Siberia Express.

The snow was no longer fresh and was beaten up somewhat, but there were still patches of new powder, which was enjoyable.

Here is a high-def GoPro Hero10 video I recorded on Palisades:

Getting a bit hungry, we snowboarded down to the base and met up with Inna for lunch at the Coffeebar. I ordered the following lunch items:

• Inna: Tomato Soup, Breakfast Panini
• Boris: Breakfast Burrito (Chorizo), Apple Cider Steamer
• Alex: Breakfast Burrito (Chorizo), Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies

We liked our lunch, but it was of average quality. Nothing was exciting about any of the food items.

After lunch, Alex and I boarded the Gold Coast Funitel Gondola for more snowboarding. We snowboarded until 16:00 (closing time), unsure when the 16:00 host had arrived at the Donner Lakehouse.

On the way to our Audi, we were treated to a spectacular view of the moon above the mountains.

We rested at Coffeebar for half an hour before resuming the 30-minute drive to 14660 Denton Ave on Donner Lake. It was getting dark, and the roads around Donner Lake were not well-lit or cleaned. When we finally found the house, the driveway was steep, requiring careful driving up the incline.

Once at the house, we unloaded our van and enjoyed the time with our friends, who cooked a delicious meal of beef, sausages, potatoes, and corn on the cob. We also had a fantastic time playing various board games. We also had a lot of fun playing with "Chewy" - the small 4-month-old puppy.

We talked for a long time, going to bed at around 23:00.

 Sunday, December 19, 2021

Alex and I woke at 07:30 while Inna slept at 23:00. I took a shower and shaved, getting dressed in my snowboarding clothes. Lucy made a delicious breakfast with eggs, sausage, and potatoes, and Alex and I crammed them. I also made some hot black tea, which was nice and refreshing.

At around 09:00, we drove to Alpine Meadows while our friends went to Palisades Tahoe. We encountered significant traffic at 09:00, which delayed us by 20 minutes. We arrived at Alpine Meadows around 09:40, parking at the White Wolf parking lot. It looked like another very crowded day.

Alex and I put on our snowboarding boots and hopped on the shuttle, waiting for us at White Wolf parking for a 5-minute ride to Alpine Meadows entrance.

Hopping off, we strapped on our snowboards and started to snowboard. Our first chairlift was Summit. It was very crowded, and we waited patiently in a long line to board.

Here is a high-def GoPro Hero10 video I recorded on Alpine Meadows:

Once on top, we left for the Wolverine Bowl, where we descended steep snowbanks. The snow was not bad (but it was not fresh powder). We had a fun time falling to the bottom.

After a few more runs, we descended to the lodge cafe and ordered a few items. Initially, I thought of just calling hot chocolate, but we turned out to be a bit hungry, so we ordered the following:

• Alex: Chicken Noodle Soup, Pepperoni pizza, Hot Chocolate
  
• Boris: Chicken Noodle Soup, Kitkat, Hot Chocolate

I liked the hot chocolate and the chicken noodle soup, as they warmed me up. Alex also warmed up a bit. After lunch, we continued to snowboard until 16:00.

After returning to our Audi Q5, I called Inna, and she told me that she was ordering some Thai Food from Siam Cuisine in Trucke at 16:00 and our friends at Donner Lake. When I arrived at the restaurant, the food was not ready, so I waited with Alex in the car for 20 minutes.

We ordered the following dinner items:

• Thai Egg Rolls
• Cream Cheese Crab Rangoon
• Papaya Salad
• Tom Kha (chicken)
• Duck Noodle Soup
• Thai Fried Rice
• Pad Thai Special (chicken, shrimp)
• Pad See Ew (beef)
  

We arrived at the Donner Lakehouse around 17:45, and everyone sat down to eat dinner. I enjoyed the Duck Noodle Soup and Pad Thai.

After dinner, we played many board games for a long time. It was a delightful evening!

In the late evening, I boiled some hot water, and we made tea for everyone. Inna and I brought a bunch of sweets and enjoyed the Kievsky Torte.

We stayed up talking for a long time, going to bed at half past midnight.

Monday, December 20, 2021

I didn't sleep well and had to get up every hour to go to the bathroom. Perhaps I drank too much tea.

I woke up at 07:30, but almost everyone else still slept. Eventually, Alex was up, and Lucy and Pasha made us a delicious breakfast. Lucy made eggs and potatoes, while Pasha made shakshouka (a Maghrebi dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper). 

There was no new snow, so I was not excited about snowboarding again on the hard-packed snow.

 

After breakfast, Alex, Andrei, and I drove to Alpine Meadows. We arrived at close to 10:00, parking in another parking lot. Since Andrei was skiing, he needed some extra time to put on his boots and get ready. While he was getting up at 10:00, Alex and I started snowboarding at the Treeline Cirque chairlift, starting with easy runs to warm up. We snowboarded a few runs and returned to the lodge for hot chocolate. We messaged Andrei, but he just met with Pasha and didn't want to stop skiing yet.

 

While stopping for hot chocolate, we also picked up pizza. Alex ate a pepperoni pizza, while I enjoyed the vegetarian pizza. 

I tried to catch Andrei for the rest of the day, but he kept moving to different chairlifts. Eventually, I found him and Pasha drinking beer at Chalet Cafe (near Scott Chairlift). Since Andrei was not ready to stop skiing, Alex and I decided to end our snowboarding at 14:00, and we parted. Alex and I returned to the Audi Q5 and hopped for a short ride back to Donner Lake. 

While I rested, Alex played board games with the other boys.

 

At around 17:02, we ate a few of the dinner leftovers and then packed our Audi Q5 for the return drive home. The drive back was uneventful and took us about 3.5 hours. We had a fantastic snowboarding weekend!