It was a good trip as far as family trips go. We took off on late Friday and made it there in the night. It wasn’t snowing, so we didn’t have to worry about cables. We visited my wife’s sister who had this awesome timeshare they were going to let us stay in.
The moon was full, the winds were high, and the forecast was for snow. We stayed up chatting with the in-laws way too late. They had caught some huge trout and we grilled it on the BBQ for dinner.
The next day was just beautiful snow. It was the first time the kids saw snow like that and it dropped at least 12 inches over that day and night. We didn’t have cables for the minivan, so we were stuck. Also, it was getting late and I didn’t want to risk waiting for a shuttle to get to the closest ski resort, Northstar.
That night, I walked to a gas station and picked up some cables for the van. It was an easy walk and refreshing. We were going to be ready for the next day.
Sunday happens and we are ready. We get up in the morning, and with much shouting and frustration we make it to the resort. The lines were long and we rush through the rental line and the ticket purchasing. As we get to the gondola, there is only 10 more minutes until the classes start for my two girls. Did I mention that they didn’t get to eat lunch? This is just crazy.
Well, they both get into their classes. The youngest one bails after 30 mins, but the oldest one makes it through the class for 2.5 hours. She can now, kinda, snowboard. 🙂 In the meantime, my wife gives me permission to get a few runs in. The lift lines are long, but I do some blue runs just to tune up. Guess what? I did pretty damn good for being out of shape. I could still link my turns and cruise at a good clip.
At the end of the day, everybody else is freezing and dying to get home. We trudge through the smoke and crowds to return our equipment. Then we trudge through the huge parking lot to the van. Very little patience is left in the group.
The next challenge is to get to a friends so my oldest daughter can go spend the night. It should go well but…. the traffic is like 15 miles an hour all the way down the mountain. It takes us 2 hours just to get from Northstar to Grass Valley !! 🙁
After we finally meet the friend and get home, it is past midnight! What a day!
Final thoughts:
Tahoe is great, and the kids got some good new experiences.
I’m never going to Tahoe without a 4×4 and proper tires. Cables/chains just suck.
After doing the runs, I probably don’t need a new board and bindings just yet.
If possible, I will only go to Tahoe during the weekdays. Weekends, especially holiday weekends, are still crazy packed even if you leave a day early!