Ski Trippin

We went skiing last weekend, sort of on a whim. At least, whim-worthy in terms of fiscal responsibility. Greg called us a few weeks ago and just kept planning things while we waffled about it. Before we knew it, we were driving to Tahoe. Greg has that sort of power. It's kindof a wreckless persistence imbued with you'll-regret-it-if-you-miss-out-edness. Anyway, it worked. We skied. We liked it. All hail Greg.

First, let me tell you about snow chains...or more pertinently, how LL and I came to own our very first set of snow chains...

There are a couple different ways to get from the Bay Area to Tahoe, but all of them involve going through the Sierra Nevada mountains (that's the way mountains are, see). We decided to drive along Hwy 50 since it's the most direct route. We left on Friday afternoon so that we could maximize our time on the road with the million other bad skiers heading to the resorts for the weekend. Problem is, not only can none us ski, we also have no idea how to drive in snow (I think most people on the Peninsula just stay home if it isn't sunny and 70 degrees...no sense risking a drive on a cloudy day).

As we enjoyed the bumper-to-bumper traffic winding up into the Sierra Nevadas, we started seeing signs that said, "All vehicles that don't have snow tires with 4WD must carry snow chains." We didn't have snow tires/chains/anything, but we'd made this drive before IN JANUARY and didn't need chains...surely we wouldn't need them now in mid-March, right? There wasn't even any snow on the ground yet (about this time I remarked to LL that I hoped there would be some new snow on the slopes...stupid, stupid thing to say). But as we went along, it did get snowy and the road turned white and there were more flashy signs. But we were also aware of our odometer, which said we only had like 10 more miles till Tahoe. So we drove past the "You can buy chains here on the side of the highway and we'll even put them on for you in the snow for way too much money" place and onward to Echo Summit.

It would not have been too bad, except that our Xterra is rear-wheel drive. We knew we were in trouble when, about 1000 ft. past the chain sellers, some guys in a red pickup truck were slowly drifting by in the wrong lane, no traction from their back wheels whatsoever. So...long story short, we did make it over just fine. But I was really frightened to death the whole time. Not about dying or anything...traffic was only moving about 10 MPH, so worst case we'd get stuck on the side of the road and have to wait for some tow truck driver to pull us out while a police officer wrote us a huge ticket for being idiots. But I was still really worried about that.

The lesson is, carry chains! Really, really, really. They aren't kidding. We bought some the next morning before skiing or anything. As Murphy's law dictates, we didn't need them for the rest of the trip, but it was still a great purchase. A wonderful, beautiful penance of a purchase. And one of these days, I'll learn how to actually put them on the car.

We eventually got to the condo, desperately in need of a drink (ironically, we had a bucket of beer in the back of the Xterra ON ICE. Seriously, we brought our own ice to the blizzard. Idiots). But the condo, it turns out, was awesome. Greg knows how to spend your money. Three floors, amazing view of Lake Tahoe from up in the mountains, private hot tub, heated bathroom floors (quite possibly LL's favorite feature). It was sweet.

Five of us stayed there. Greg, Lyren, Albert, LL and me (LL was really a trooper about being the only girl). You could have made a sitcom out of it...probably most closely resembling Big Bang Theory.

This is LL the morning after our harrowing arrival with her new friend. This dog just came galumphing up out of the snow to tell us good morning on our way to the car. You could tell he was a snow rescue dog because he went straight to LL and sat on her feet, which were cold. He takes his job quite seriously. Believe it or not (actually, I'm sure you belive it), LL was pretty sad to leave him behind and go skiing. As we climbed into the car, he bounded back to his snow pile and burrowed in it. Weird snow dog.


Here's Greg right out front of the Heavenly Gondola (Heavenly is the name of the ski resort we skied at...the Gondola takes you from South Lake Tahoe up to the slopes). It was snowing pretty well. A good sign! In this photo, Greg looks 7 feet tall. Greg is not 7 feet tall.

This is LL and I (actually right in front of Greg). LL is positively the cutest snow bunny in history. Love the red hat!

Here's an action shot of LL. My photography skills failed to capture any sign of movement. But there was movement. Really.

What's really funny, is that LL was moving faster in the previous picture than in this one. It's all in the pose. I'm still loving the red hat.

Here's me. Skiing pictures are difficult. Oh well. At least the slopes weren't crowded. I think it's generally best if I ski without anyone directly downhill of me.

In case you don't know, Tahoe is on the Nevada border. This means there are casinos in the half of the city that is on the Nevada side. LL won $5 on her first bet at a dollar slot machine and promptly stopped. We used our winnings to pay a bridge toll on the way home. THAT's how frugal we are!!

This has to go down as one of the oddest poses I've captured on...pixels. Clockwise from the dork at 6 pm, we have Greg, LL, Lyren and Albert. We're all in an elevator leaving the Casino. LL is smiling because she just won $5. I don't know what Greg's doing, but Albert really likes it.

Most of our crew doesn't gamble much, so we left the casino to find some place more like a bar. We found such a place!

Greg and Lyren played Centipede while the rest of us enjoyed sitting. Few things feel as good after a day of skiing as a good sit.

Oh yeah...this fish was also at the bar. I found him quite mesmerizing. Question though: does this mean he is looking back at me, or, since this fish is more prey than predator with his eyes on the sides of his body, is this fish looking everywhere but at me. Stop ignoring me, fish! Look at me!


This picture was taken at the top of one of the lifts. You can see Lake Tahoe behind us. I'm embarrassed to say how long it took for us to maneuver into this pose.

This is us after our last day of skiing (we skied Sat, Sun, Mon) about to drive back home. Check out how dirty the car is! We've been pretty proud of it (so proud that we haven't bothered to clean it).