Heavenly, CA and NV 1/3-1/5/22 (edited it & added more photos)

tseeb

Well-known member
Monday 1/3/2022
Many places around Tahoe received over 200” of snow between 12/13 and 12/29. Heavenly and Kirkwood were closer to 150 and 175, respectively. It was enough for good coverage at Heavenly which skis a lot bigger when you are not limited to man-made groomers, especially on lower mountain. While they open at 8:30 during Christmas holidays, Monday was 8:30 for passholders and 9 for everyone else, and 9 was then opening for the rest of the week. Friend from Minden and I arrived Stagecoach about 7:45 and parked in upper lot and did not get into short liftline until about 8:15. NV was very slow beginner Boulder and mostly intermediate, but high-speed and almost 1500’ vertical Stagecoach chair due to wind ahead of storm that had been predicted a week ago to drop more feet of snow, but most of it had been backed out. CA side was also limited and had more advanced runs open, but since I had not skied since 12/1, I was OK with only riding Stagecoach that I did 12x.

We started with groomer to lookers right where wind made it hard to get past of not-running North Bowl chair and into upper North Bowl. We did one lap on groomed Olympic, then a couple of laps on groomed Stagecoach run where surface was excellent with some blown-in snow. Friend on his first day of the season.
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We also did less recently groomed Emily’s a couple of time which was also good and may have done Comstock run as least once. When lined filled the maze on the run side of the lift, we went past it and loaded from the lodge side that was usually much shorter. We also skied upper North Bowl, then middle of Olympic, then Lower Nevada Trail to Boulder Base, arriving as still-loading large shuttle was about half-full. My friend was done for the day while I took a few more including some of Stagecoach Woods to Boulder Chute, which had some of the best snow of the day. This time I was one of the first to load shuttle which filled. Stagecoach parking fills early, but Boulder parking usually does not fill as lodge is only open for bathroom use and chair from Base is very slow, followed by long slow North Bowl chair. I skied to Boulder base one more time via North Bowl where top was sastrugi and steep part of run was mostly firm besides a couple of places with some blown-in snow.
3112NorthBowlSatrugi.JPG

I quit ~12:30 with 17.7K, returned to cabin for lunch and shoveling the 2 feet of settled snow in driveway and along eaves. I also knocked down the berm along edge of road that was 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall and cleared windowsills of snow.
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Above is what the cabin looked like when I arrived. I parked in and entered from neighbor's cleared driveway.

1/4/2022
Another day when Heavenly’s CA and NV sides were not well connected.

I was in moderate line at Gunbarrel 15-20 min before 9 AM opening and moved up on Powder Bowl and Canyon chairs to where there were less than 10 non-employee chairs ahead of me. I had two Canyon laps before line grew and after 5 laps (best were 2x into Ridge Bowl and traversing to Sky liftline) where there was some steep and smooth snow. I moved down to Powder Bowl. I had 5 laps there where best was long ago removed Waterfall liftline. Powder Bowl line between 12 & 1. (I was going up Groove.)
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It started snowing a little by mid-morning, but overnight temps were not that cold so lower level of Heavenly was soft. I moved to Heavenly’s there by riding Groove and skiing Advanced Roundabout into West Bowl, then did a lap on the Face on my 186x94 skis. I swapped them for shorter radius 178x85 and skied Gunbarrel. To get there, I rode 50 passenger tram that was about 50’ from where I parked. I was wearing N95 mask and operator was wearing a mask. None of the less than 10 others in tram were masked. The main entrance next to top of Tram was nasty and it took me looking more than once to see there was a break in ropeline next to lodge there that was a much better entrance.

I had planned to ride Gunbarrel 5x but my last run on Hogsback was so good I repeated it (and ended up with 6x GB/tram), going down Pistol after Hogsback instead of some of the drops off Roundabout into West Bowl as on previous run.

The best part of my day was after I quit a little after 1 with just under 20K and went to highly rated but closed early Tahoe Bagels. My next door and across street neighbor (who said it was Menehunes) had cleared a path from street to front door. (I’d shoveled 2-5 pm Monday and could see many more days of it.) After quick PBJ lunch I shoveled from 2-3, then we all worked from 3-4 with a lot of help from next door neighbor’s 14.5 hp snowblower operated by across street neighbor. We now have a clean driveway that can fit two cars. What I came home to after skiing.
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And 4 pm.
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1/5/2022
Heavenly was all open except for Galaxy and very busy after the first hour on highest lifts in both CA and NV. Sky opened just after I’d gotten into Canyon maze about 915. Mott opened at least 10 minutes before scheduled 10 AM. Run of the day was Milky Way Bowl where I threw 40’ rooster tails in the untracked windsift. A few pictures from busy Wed at Heavenly. First is Gunbarrel line ahead of me 18 min before 9 AM opening.
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EpicMix says I loaded at 903 and there were 4-5 times as many people behind me by then. I park by Tram, 20-30 steps from where I take off my skis at end of day at bottom of East Bowl/World Cup and skate over to Gunbarrel as I’m not riding full 1st of 2nd Tram even with a mask.

Looking into windsift down Bills in Mott Canyon at 951, 9 min before Mott’s scheduled 10 am opening.
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Looking up Bills at right and The Y at left.
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Monument Peak and upper Milky Way Bowl below it. Diagonal line that is in and out of the sun at center is a great one that requires ~10 min uphill hike at 10K elevation to a saddle from Skyline trail. And you have to ride too busy for me after 10 am this day (and not running Mon/Tues due to wind) Sky Chair.
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