SFist Weekend Getaway: Tahoe North Shore
The great thing about Lake Tahoe is that it's really two destinations in one -- summer or winter, there's lots of really great stuff to do. Last weekend we were up for the winter sports thanks to Costco offering four lift tickets to Diamond Peak for only $113. Along with our equpment rental, a day on the slopes only cost us $55, which is a pretty sweet deal for California. Of course act now -- while where we grew up the only thing that shut down spring skiing was all the snow melting, in California they shut down the lifts even with over a hundred inches of base because people stop showing up to ski, so the close of the season is fast approaching.
We stayed at a friend's beautiful home in Incline Village, which is just over the border in Nevada. Unfortunately, the county is too populous to have legal prostitution, but if you're in to sin, there are certainly plenty of small casinos just as you turn off 267 onto 28 going east. Our friend lost about sixty bucks in an hour at the Cal Neva. Not knowing when to hold them or when to fold them, we went to bed early so we could be the first folks on the slopes.
First off, on the way up, we recommend that you stop in at Ikeda's, which is the last Auburn exit on 80 going East. Besides having a top notch burger stand, it also has a great grocery. But the real reason to stop is pie. The Marionberry pie is to die for, and we have a feeling if you stop on the way up, you'll probably stop on the way back, too -- the pie is that good. Either way, load up on provisions here, at the Auburn Albertson's or at the Incline Village Raley's for the best quality and prices.
Diamond Peak is great because it's only ten minutes outside of Incline Village. While it's not a particularly large ski run, they make up for it with lots really well-groomed runs, nearly 1,800 vertical feet of elevation peaking at 8,540 above sea level. As we pointed out, the crowds are officially 'late season' -- we never had to wait to get on a lift, and had the advanced runs all to ourselves. Nothing at the resort is particularly technical, but then besides the old Olympic downhill course at Squaw, we haven't found any double-black diamond runs worthy of our skills. Granted, we see "Caution" as an invitation, not a warning.
What Diamond Peak does have is some absolutely stunning views of the topaz jewel that is Lake Tahoe. Taking the Crystal Express to the peak just to take in the view overlooking the Sierras and the lake is definitely worth the price of admission. Still, don't try to convince your beginner friends to come to the top with you if they aren't ready -- the long run back to the lodge is the most technical of their intermediate class runs, and is a bit busy to boot. We regret missing the Solitude Canyon run because it looks to be the most backcountry-like runs on the mountain. For shredders there is a terrain park, although SFist has to admit that it was at said terrain park where we managed our only biff. Who knew how difficult it was to grind a rail on skis?
While we were skiing, our more cautious friends were off snowshoeing at Spooner Lake, which offers lots of great trails for snowshoers and cross-country skiiers. The weather was pretty much perfect -- lots of sun, with a high temperature around sixty degrees. If you've never gone skiing in jeans and a t-shirt, you just have to try it. Though please, if you, like us, are melanin-deficient, apply sunscreen liberally and wear eye protection. The last thing you need is a wicked sunburn combined with snow blindness.
By the end of the day we were ready for a cocktail and some vittles. A quick trip to Raley's netted us a couple of salmon filets, three flats of chicken hindquarters, mushrooms, peppers and eggplants to grill up. Couple of hours later and we were sitting down and trading stories over a birthday feast for friend of SFist Hank Thomas. We'd like to say that we did all sorts of other cool stuff on Sunday, except after a full day of skiing, cooking and drinking, we pretty much had enough energy to move from couch to couch taking naps, eating leftovers and reading an old issue of the New Yorker -- which was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.