Northstar-at-Tahoe
Friday 24 January 1992

Weather

Very mild, with temperatures above 50 degrees at the base.

Conditions

Snow in reasonable condition, especially on the main runs with snow making. Some other runs showing signs of wear. The snow around the mid-mountain lodge got very slushy.

Overall

A wonderful three days.

Chris and Jenny flew out to San Francisco to meet me on Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday evening we drove up to Tahoe City and the Peppertree Inn.

Chris and Jenny found their feet very quickly and by the afternoon had dragged me off to the "backside", where previously I had been put off by the "experts only" tag.

Heading down the West Ridge, they suddenly turned off down Iron Horse with a call "come on dad, it's fine". The top was fine but it soon got comparatively steep. 2000 feet down and I realised that this kind of slope would be OK.

We graduated onto Burn-Out which is longer, straighter and steeper, especially at the top. Every run, of course dad lagged behind and the patient experts waited at the bottom.

The backside at Northstar does not really justify its "Experts only" tag, but that does serve to keep the majority of people away, so there was rarely a wait for the lift. However, the only lift was a slow triple chair that took more than 20 minutes, so there was plenty of opportunity to rest between runs.

Easy Runs

Village Run - Run from mid-mountain to village. Well groomed.
Woodcutter - Good
The Gulch - Good

Intermediate Runs

Lumberjack - Groomed, fresh snow
Main Street - Groomed, fresh snow
West Ridge - Groomed, fresh snow
Loggers Loop - Groomed, fresh snow
The Woods - Groomed, but no fresh snow. Run in poor condition
Cat's Face (*) - Short steep section with some rocks showing
Woodchuck (*) - (Only the bottom part). Groomed for racing, with fresh snow
Klondike - Reasonably easy mogul slope. Getting worn.
Hoot Owl - Run under Lookout lift. Worn
Pioneer -Very worn, brown snow. Only left side of run skiable.
Cascades - Groomed, fresh snow, lasted the day very well

Advanced Runs

Straits (*) - Run under Forest Chair. Not particularly difficult. Reasonable amount of snow and wide.
East Ridge - Geeting a little rocky, plenty of snow on the steep section
Tonini's (*) - Steep, some grass showing through but no real problem
Spring Board (*) - Steep, hardpack at the top, but ample cover elsewhere
Flying Squirrel (*) - Steep, no bumps, very worn
Iron Horse (*) - Long steep run on backside. Bottom part closed. Some bare patches at the top but reasonable condition
Burn Out (*) - Long steep run on backside. Some very bare patches at the top, slushy lower down.

Last updated: 19th February 2000