This past week, we enjoyed another beautiful ski week in Lake Tahoe. We started with a weekend at a friend’s house on the south end of Lake Tahoe and ended up on the northside at Palisades at Tahoe, formerly known as Squaw Valley.
Jeff and I, along with two other friends skied a very fun mountain resort called Kirkwood on Saturday. The resort was selling minimal tickets to give pass holders a less busy day on the mountain. It was awesome. Out of the four of us, I was the least experienced skier. It seems they all started when they were four years old, and I didn’t get started until 41! Our friend led us around the mountain and for some reason I was feeling really comfortable and confident. I even went through some shoots and was going up and down the sides of the mountain. It was so much fun! I was keeping up with the group and it felt so good.
The next day we took a 45-minute drive and headed to Palisades. We passed Emerald Bay on our way and had to stop for pictures. We got to Palisades in the early afternoon so we decided to ski for about an hour. It was a beautiful mountain. From several peaks, you can see Lake Tahoe which is absolutely breathtaking. The mountain is huge and there are many ski runs and chair lifts which makes the mountain less busy. My first experience at Palisades was terrible, to say the least. The snow was slushy and hard to get through. As a newer skier, it made such a difference in my confidence and skiing. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and my legs were burning. I felt so defeated after my great day at Kirkwood.
The rest of the week was a mix of ice, slush, amazing snow, sunshine, and rain, however, my initial reaction changed. Overall, it was an amazing experience and Palisades became one of my favorite mountains. I skied several black diamond runs! I couldn’t believe it. I was going down the steepest peaks I had ever skied and went the fastest I had ever gone. I ended up loving Tahoe and the experience.
It seems that after about 40 days of skiing in my life something started to click. I believe any sport takes practice and maybe my practice is paying off. Something seems to be working. I am gaining confidence in my ability to stop and turn. I am learning that the more I lean forward the easier it is to control my skies. I am learning that the faster I go sometimes the more control I have as well. I also learned that this may be the one sport where you can semi-blame the equipment and the snow conditions. My skies are used skies, and I think if I get better skies and bindings I may even become a better skier!!
If you are planning a ski trip, I highly recommend Palisades at Tahoe. We stayed at the Resort at Squaw Creek. Even if you don’t ski, there was plenty to do. There was an ice skating rink, a spa, a few shops, and restaurants. There was also a free shuttle over to the village where there were more restaurants, bars, and shops. So get out there and go see the majestic mountain views!