Hello, My brother and I have been skiing in the Lake Tahoe region as teenagers and it was as hectic as anywhere there is snow. We were not expert skiers, but the “go for it” attitude came into play on anything active. From flat/bumpy/wide/narrow ski trails to wide open mountain sides in 6 feet of deep powder, this area has it all. My brother wanted to ski this place called Eagle’s Nest in Squaw Valley. We had never skied it before, so as teenagers, we decided to give it a go. We met my brother and his friends in Lake Tahoe, as my friends from Long Beach had vacationed in Mammoth Lakes, June Mountain and now we had driven up to Lake Tahoe to try one last shot at this world renowned ski run in Lake Tahoe. Fresh powder on the side of the mountain was challenging, but fun! Getting covered up to our necks in powder, then moving slowly through the sloping downhill run was one for the books. My brother was better at skiing, as he had skied longer than I had. But, this place was like a final exam of all tests and all I can say and remember was “WOW!” Jnaki With those memories in mind, when my brother moved to Davis, CA. for a job, our mom and dad flew into Sacramento and drove up to Lake Tahoe to have a family gathering one Summer. Yes, there is an airport in Lake Tahoe, but our dad was superstitious about large planes versus small planes and dinky airports. He splurged as this was the last large family gathering of both sons’ families. So, we each had a separate room in this wooden condominium on the water’s edge. It definitely was a nice place that we could not afford ourselves. But this one was the first, since our last Buick road trip vacation in 1957 as a family gathering was a pleasurable event for our parents. (but, in our late night discussions with my brother and his wife, we all decided that the trip would give our dad the excuse to go to the nearby casinos to try his skills he so expertly displayed in Las Vegas. Ha! ) The lakeside condo, just a few blocks from the hotels/resorts/casinos. We cooked some meals, but our dad wanted to try the restaurants in the nearby city downtown. Here is one photo we took from the top of Heavenly Valley Ski Resort where we skied as teenagers, early 20 somethings way back then. The resort rental on the beach was on the first, big curve with a few sandy beach front locations and the tall trees stop as shown in the middle of the photo. Note: It was a far cry from our Westside of Long Beach atmosphere, but we knew the area well as teens and 20 something explorers… Squaw Valley Ski resort was across the big lake. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
