GOING SKIING? IT'S ALMOST A SURE THING.Byline: Tom Stinestra San Francisco Chronicle The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young.[2] The paper grew along with San Francisco to become the largest circulation newspaper on the West Coast of the Ski trips planned for the Christmas holidays are just two notches below a sure thing, with 15 of 17 ski areas opening for the season at Tahoe, the Sierra and Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern . Those two remaining notches are at Dodge Ridge east of Sonora and at Mt. Rose on the Nevada side of Tahoe, which need another good snowfall to open, though Mt. Rose may open anyway with a limited amount of terrain available. Meanwhile, Ski Homewood on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, always a late opener, announced it will open on Wednesday. All other ski areas in the region are already open. In addition, when the siege of December storms finally cleared out last weekend, skiers discovered that the snow surface was in superb shape, a real surprise for mid-December, all the way from the central Sierra on north to Shasta. ``I just got back from Alpine Meadows The term Alpine Meadows may refer to:
At Shasta, field scout John Korb also called the condition of the runs ``absolutely great'' and said the crowds there were also well dispersed at the ski park today. Meanwhile, at Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park (yōsĕm`ĭtē), 761,266 acres (308,205 hectares), E central Calif.; est. 1890 as a result of the efforts of conservationist John Muir. Located in the Sierra Nevada, it is a glacier-scoured area of great beauty; Mt. , there are so many nonbelievers that the snow can be this good, this early in the season, that the ski park has announced a new special: Lift tickets for $1 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week only. The centerpiece of skiing in the West is at Tahoe, and all but the steepest runs are now open at all the ski areas there. The ski park in the best shape is Sugar Bowl at north Tahoe, with 3 to 6 feet of snow, 11 of 11 lifts operating and 79 runs available. For mid-December, these are great numbers. But when it comes to snow, many other areas are also in very good shape. Note that while some ski areas may occasionally pad snow totals, the numbers don't lie when it comes to reporting how many runs and lifts are available. The two Tahoe giants, Heavenly at South Tahoe and Squaw Valley Squaw Valley, valley, NE Calif., in the Sierra Nevada Mts., NW of Lake Tahoe. A well-known ski and winter recreational resort, it was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Ski lifts and trails are on Squaw Peak (8,960 ft/2,731 m high). at North Tahoe, are reporting similar pictures. Heavenly reported 16 of 24 lifts running and snow depths of 3 to 6 feet, while Squaw has 15 of 29 lifts now operating, with snow depths ranging from 5 inches at the lower lodge to nearly 7 feet on top. Elsewhere at Tahoe, in a selected listing, Northstar at Tahoe Northstar-at-Tahoe is a year-round resort situated near the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, approximately 200 miles from the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2,480 acre resort features 2,280 vertical feet of downhill terrain accessed by 16 lifts (including 8 express lifts), a snowmaking has eight of nine lifts operating and 57 runs available (6 feet of snow on top), Alpine Meadows has 10 of 12 lifts running (8 feet of snow), and Boreal bo·re·al adj. 1. Of or relating to the north; northern. 2. Of or concerning the north wind. 3. Boreal has seven of nine lifts running (5 feet of snow). In the Sierra, the Dodge Ridge is the missing link, with Bear Valley on Highway 4 (seven of 11 lifts open) and Badger Pass (five of five lifts open) both open. The last big storm ended up being a temporary disaster for Dodge, with the snow level rising to just above the ski park, so they got rain there, not snow. In addition, because Dodge does not have a nearby water supply, it has no snowmaking snow·mak·ing n. Production of artificial snow in the form of granular ice particles for use on ski slopes. machines, a real bummer bum·mer n. 1. Slang An adverse reaction to a hallucinogenic drug. 2. Slang One that depresses, frustrates, or disappoints: Getting stranded at the airport was a real bummer. given the recent ideal snowmaking conditions in the past four frigid mountain nights. Up north, Shasta Ski Park is attracting many newcomers out to see the new lift added this year. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion