Category: Cross Country Skiing

Jan

29

Head for the Hills this Winter in California

Posted by Darya Mead

When I’m sitting in traffic, driving the carpool or taking out the mulch I dig deep and try recall the joyous and cleansing feeling I had spending five days in the snowy wilderness of the High Sierra. Between Christmas and New Year’s, my family joined another for a winter adventure that I replay often in my head; it really was just what the doctor ordered.

This is the first year in a long while the snow has been this deep and this good. The drought in California has taken a toll, and although hardly the most important problem caused by low, or no precipitation, the lack of snow has been hard for winter sports enthusiasts.

Thanks to Global Warming and/or El Nino, this year is different! The weather report seemed perfect. Clear skies for travel days, fresh snow upon arrival and one day of flurries. We packed our backpacks, pre-cooked our beef stew, waxed our cross country skis and prayed our old car could manage the mountainous trip.

It was cold, maybe 10-15 degrees when we arrived. The kids donned snowshoes, my husband I the skis and we tried to balance the weight in our packs. Our friend pulled the sled with much of the food. In the summer you can drive in to the house but in the winter the journey is part of the adventure. It’s only about a mile but you feel you’ve really earned it! Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Budget Travel, California, Cross Country Skiing, Eco Friendly Travel, Family Travel, Hike/Backpack, Lake Tahoe, Northern California, Snowboarding, Sports, Uncategorized

Jan

9

Sugar Pine to Sochi

Posted by Darya Mead

With the Sochi Winter Olympics just weeks away, interest is heating up for some of the lesser known winter sports. On a recent trip to Lake Tahoe, California for some winter fun, I was thrilled to find a cross country skiing venue with an Olympic pedigree.

Despite the disturbing lack of snow this year, Sugar Pine Point State Park, on Tahoe’s West Shore and home to the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympic Nordic Ski courses, was a great option to find pristine trails. More than 50 years ago, when the Olympics were less of a circus, the land that is now Sugar Pine Point State Park welcomed athletes from around the world, promoting international goodwill and the majesty of the sport.

Athletes raced over 35.4 miles of trail through the General and McKinney Creek areas.  The stadium was a temporary facility and was removed soon after the closing ceremony, restoring the land to its natural state. But the Olympic sign still stands at the entrance to what is now a picnic area and campground.
Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, California, California, Cross Country Skiing, Lake Tahoe, Northern California, Olympics, Skiing, State Parks, Winter Fun

Jan

9

Swiss Snow!

Posted by Larry Habegger

As we rolled through the holidays into 2013, I’ve been having daydreams of the Swiss Alps. A few years ago I took my family there in the summer and found the most extraordinary playground on the slopes of the Matterhorn. We spent a blissful day picnicking, hiking, and watching the kids enjoy the slides, swings, ropes, and other playground paraphernalia, all beneath a backdrop of that amazing mountain.

More recently I hiked with friends in the Jungfrau region, basing ourselves in Mürren on the flank of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, what has to be one of the most scenic settings on earth. At other times I’ve explored Geneva, Lausanne, Luzern, St. Moritz, Gindelwald, Appenzell, Chur, and other places, but I’ve never been there in winter. Continue reading »

1 Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Cross Country Skiing, Europe, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports, Switzerland, Switzerland, Travel

Dec

22

Upstate New York Winter Wonderland?

Posted by Darya Mead

As I once again dig through bins of snow gear to prepare for a trek to the Sierras, I think about growing up on the East Coast. My mom hails from Upstate New York. That fact, combined with the brutal winters and my family’s enthusiasm for all things ski, skate and sled related, has shaped my winter wanderlust.

We are headed to a house, inaccessible by road in winter. Set on 100 acres of land, the generosity of the owners allows us to live out my alpine fantasies.  We snowshoe or ski one mile into the house, carrying backpacks and pulling a sled full of all our gear, food and an occasional small child. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Books, California, California, Cross Country Skiing, Eco Friendly Travel, Family Travel, Feature, Hike/Backpack, Lake Tahoe, Northern California, Olympics, Winter Fun

Jul

18

Snowmelt Beauty and Hazards

Posted by Darya Mead

We drove through Yosemite a few weekends ago. It was packed with summer travelers and waterfall gawkers. The major falls are glorious, and fuller than they have been in years. New, smaller falls have even appeared much to the delight of park goers.

As we drove through the park, out past Mono Lake, we were stunned by the high water levels and snowy peaks in early July. We laughed, thinking that we could even cross-country ski in some spots above 7000 feet.

Record snowfalls this winter and heavy unseasonable rain in summer have made conditions epic for nature lovers but also hazardous.

Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Budget Travel, California, Canoe/Kayak, Cross Country Skiing, Cruises, Eco Friendly Travel, Family Travel, Food, Hike/Backpack, Lake Tahoe, Mountain Biking, Northern California, Travel Safety, Yosemite, wildlife

Feb

26

Canada’s Other Olympic Winter Wonderland

Posted by Darya Mead

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are coming to a close and I must say I have an Olympic sized hangover. I have stayed up way too late, too many nights, watching even preliminary runs and way too much commentary.

The 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics was also a Canadian affair. It was the last Olympics where Cold War rivalries played out on the world sporting stage. It was the year of the Jamaican Bobsled team and Eddie the Eagle, the courageous Scottish everyman who soared in the ski jump, or at least gave it his best.

For Olympic nerds, like me, it was the year of the Battle of the Brians in figure skating where the American Brian Boitano won the gold. I remember most of all the amazing scenery, Lake Louise and the stunning aerial photography of the Canadian Rockies. A two-hour drive from Calgary, Banff is to Calgary what Whistler is to Vancouver. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Cross Country Skiing, Family Travel, Feature, Luxury Travel, Olympics, Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports, shopping, wildlife

Dec

23

Bedding Down in Sweden’s Ice Hotel

Posted by Darya Mead

Global Warming was the topic in Copenhagen last week, but in Sweden, the buzz is all about construction of the 20th annual ice hotel. The little Lapland village of Jukkasjärvi, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, is the site of this ephemeral art project and ultimate boutique hotel experience. You can let out your inner Santa as you sleep and dine on ice in this annual giant igloo extravaganza.

The building process spans November and December. Artists from all over the world come to help build the frozen palace, and each week a new “wing” of the hotel is open to guests.  This year, headline artists came from Chile, Bulgaria and Japan. The 2009/2010 Ice Hotel will have 62 rooms. A live webcam lets you keep up with this extreme architectural endeavor.

This year’s creation features an Absolut Vodka ice bar, an ice cinema, an ice chapel, ice family rooms and ice suites. Four thousand tons of ice is used each year. Room rates start at about $300. Guests sleep on reindeer skins and the accommodations are surprisingly cozy, according to a colleague who made the trip a few years ago.

It is of course the darkest time of the year, but if you visit this part of Sweden now you may get a chance to see the famed Northern Lights or maybe the occasional flying reindeer. You can check out our Triporati Sweden Ice Hotel video and see for yourself…this is certainly the ultimate place to chill.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Cross Country Skiing, Feature, Winter Fun

Apr

20

Skiing and Sushi

Posted by Darya Mead

You know you live in California when you can take your cross-country ski gear out for a whirl and then stop for a picnic of sushi. We were up in the mountains last week for Spring Break visiting my sister–in-law who lives in South Lake Tahoe. The weather was perfect; about 35 degrees and alternately sunny and snowy. Folks were cycling around Lake Tahoe in their shorts and we headed up to 8000 feet near Kirkwood to ski in full winter regalia; long underwear, ski pants, hats, gloves and tons of sun block. It was such a pleasant spring getaway. When I lived in France, the French always used to say how important it was to experience ‘Le Sport d’Hiver’ (winter sports) each year. Necessary, they used to say, for the constitution. Chapped, rosy cheeked and with huge appetites, my boys and I enjoyed a couple of yummy meals after a long day of skiing.  Goodfellas pizza and Taqueria Jalisco were our favorite picks, recommended by my brother-in-law who was a chef in Hawaii before moving to the mountains. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under California, Cross Country Skiing, Family Travel, Hike/Backpack, Lake Tahoe, Northern California, Skiing

Feb

8

Skiing with Kids

Posted by Darya Mead

As rain pours down, I know the dry creeks and reservoirs, thirsty plants and animals are all happy, as are the avid skiers in Northern California. The slopes may be less crowded this year, but for many, even if the economy is taking a beating, the call of the snow is just too powerful.

I have skied downhill many times and do love the thrill, but have come to appreciate cross country skiing greatly, particularly since having kids. When they were young I pulled both my boys in sleds, wrapping them in blankets, like little Russian Princes, with snacks and toys in the sled. They both took naps while I, in a complete sweat, trudged through the glorious snow; I absolutely loved that feeling.

Now they are a bit older and are interested in skiing on their own. Recently, I read an online missive in one of my mom’s groups. The message linked to an article by Gigi Stahl about skiing with your preschooler or kindergartener and I thought it was quite helpful and funny. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, California, Cross Country Skiing, Family Travel, Lake Tahoe, Northern California, Skiing, Snowboarding, Winter Fun

Dec

1

Mount Bachelor Is the Place to Be

Posted by Larry Habegger

I live in San Francisco, so when I think about skiing my thoughts never stray far beyond Lake Tahoe. After all, I can get there in three hours (if I time my departure to avoid heavy traffic), resorts such as Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Heavenly Valley, Northstar, and others offer slopes and facilities as appealing as just about anywhere (Squaw Valley, certainly, is recognized around the world as a great ski resort), and I have friends there to visit.

If it’s Nordic skiing I want rather than alpine, the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area near Tahoe City on the north shore has 40 miles of groomed trails, fabulous views of the lake, trailside warming huts, and everything you’d expect in facilities. Many of the downhill resorts also have cross-country options, so why would I go anywhere else? Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under California, Cross Country Skiing, Feature, Lake Tahoe, Northern California, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Skiing, Snowboarding, Travel

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