February 9-22, 2022

local. independent. fresh.

february 9-22, 2022

the original guide to tahoe & truckee since 1982

Donner Relief Expedition

retraces 1847 route

Homewood

Celebrates 60th anniversary

Tahoe trampled by trash

creative

crochet creations WinterWonderGrass returning

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LIVE MUSIC EVENTS OUTDOORS & RECREATION FOOD & WINE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT SIGHTSEEING VISITOR INFO

Great days don’t end with last runs.

Upcoming Events Chase Sapphire Lounge February 11th–13th Kid-O-Rama February 19th–26th Double The Love, Double The Fun February 22nd Red Bull Raid March 11th Ski for MS Vertical Challenge March 12th US Freestyle Mogul National Championships March 24th–27th Pain McShlonkey Classic and International Snowblade Day March 26th Mothership Classic March 27th WinterWonderGrass Tahoe April 1st–3rd Truckee Tahoe Earth Day Festival April 23rd

Recurring Events Disco Tubing Every Saturday through March 12th Plaza Bar Music Series Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Ikon Pass Thursdays Every Thursday through the end of the season

Learn more at palisadestahoe.com

February 9-22, 2022

P.O. Box 154 | Tahoe Vista, CA 96148 (530) 546-5995 | f (530) 546-8113 TheTahoeWeekly.com @TheTahoeWeekly

16

13

22

Amanda Rowan

fun. unique. everywhere.

League to Save Lake Tahoe

Volume 41 | Issue 3

submissions Submit at TheTahoeWeekly.com | Click on Events Calendar Editorial Inquiries: editor@tahoethisweek.com Entertainment Inquiries: entertainment@tahoethisweek.com Cover Photography: production@tahoethisweek.com

making it happen Publisher/Owner & Editor In Chief

Homewood Mountain Resort

Events & Entertainment

Katherine E. Hill publisher@tahoethisweek.com, ext. 102

Sales & Marketing Manager Anne Artoux anne@tahoethisweek.com, ext. 110

Art Director Abigail Gallup production@tahoethisweek.com

Graphic Designer Lauren Shearer graphics@tahoethisweek.com

Website Manager LT Marketing

Entertainment Editor Sean McAlindin entertainment@tahoethisweek.com

Food & Well Being Editor Priya Hutner priya@tahoethisweek.com

Copy Editor Katrina Veit

TAHOE WEEKLY is published bi-weekly year-round with one edition in April and November by Range of Light Media Group, Inc. Look for new issues on Wednesdays.

TAHOE WEEKLY, est. 1982, ©2007 Printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks. Please recycle your copy.

on the cover A skier enjoys the powder and breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe from Norm’s Nose on Quail Face at Homewood Mountain Resort on the West Shore. The resort celebrates its 60th anniversary this season. Read more in this edition or at TheTahoeWeekly. com | Courtesy Homewood Mountain Resort, skihomewood.com

TA HOE ’S W IN T E R T R AS H WOE S FROM THE PUBLISHER

One of the unexpected side effects of the COVID pandemic has been the onslaught of seemingly never-ending visitors to the Tahoe Sierra. Don’t get me wrong – I am grateful every day for our tourists that visit the region and support our tourism-centric economy that we all rely on including this magazine (diversifying our economy is a topic for another day).

But our small mountain communities have been pushed to the breaking point by being over loved.

We don’t have the infrastructure to handle so many visitors, particularly in the winter where a lack of public lands access for snowplay, public parking, public trash service and public restrooms have wrought an epidemic of garbage.

Broken plastic sleds and tire chains, food wrappers, dog poop bags and all matter of debris litter our community. The smallest snow-covered hill along dangerous highways have attracted thousands of visitors to abandon reason and any sense of their own safety to illegally park on shoulders and in roadways, head up hills often filled with road debris, engine oil, road salt and other toxins for a few hours of snowplay. They leave behind broken sleds, trash and animal waste with no regard to how the litter will infect local waterways including Lake Tahoe and harm wildlife.

As the largest publication in the region that is specifically geared toward our vacation homeowners and visitors, we have tried to use the pages of Tahoe Weekly to help educate our readers about the impacts they have on the area they love so dearly and how they can help. Priya Hutner has led that effort with her ongoing coverage of Tahoe’s trash and over tourism problems (available at TheTahoeWeekly.com). Her latest story in this edition – “Tahoe trampled by trash” – looks at the worsening situation at user-created snowplay areas in the region.

The good news is that the Tahoe Fund continues to make this issue a priority and is kicking off an effort to create a regional sustainable tourism plan this month. We look forward to these efforts and hope that they effect real change.

In the meantime, being informed is an important tool for us all and I urge you to read this story and help anyway you can – by volunteering to pick up trash or just being mindful of your impacts and visiting a designated snowplay area.

25 in this issue FEATURES

Donner Relief Expedition Trampled by Trash Homewood 60 Year Anniversary Brutal Winter of 1952 Part IV

6 13 16 19

GET OUTSIDE

Sightseeing Lake Tahoe Facts Events Ice Skating & Tubing Winter Paths

4 5 8 10 11

THE MAKERS

Jillian Culver The Arts

18 18

FUN & GAMES

Horoscope & Crossword

20

THE LINEUP

Stan Charles Peter Rowan Live

21 22 22

EAT & DRINK

Game Day Snacks Soft Pretzels & Cheesy Beer Dip Baiocchi Wines Tasty Tidbits

24 25 26 26

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To our E-NEWSLETTER at TheTahoeWeekly.com

Did you miss any of our INFORMATIVE LOCAL GUIDES

in print ? , It s never too late TO READ THEM ONLINE!

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LAKE LEVEL Lake Tahoe Natural rim 6,223’

Readings taken on Thursday, February 3, 2022 ELEVATION :

RESERVOIR CAPACITY

6,223.99 |

IN 2021:

CAPACITY ACIT CITY:: 40,870 40 0,870 BOCA 12,362 CAPA

SIGHTSEEING

STAMPEDE 19,9661 PROSSER 11,061

6,225.64

Measured in Acre Feet (AF)

CAPACITY: C 226,500

CAPACITY: 29,840

CAPACITY: C 5 4,690 Snowshoeing in Blackwood Canyon on Tahoe’s West Shore with Laurie Climenhaga. ReadDONNER Ice Skating & Tubing in 9,500 this edition for details on parking at the Sno-Park. | Katherine E. Hill

Tahoe Art League Gallery Explore Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

(530) 542-2908 | cityofslt.us Urban Trailhead at base of Heavenly Gondola with local exhibits and programs. South Tahoe

Fannette Island

EMERALD BAY

(530) 541-3030 | parks.ca.gov Lake Tahoe’s only island is located in Emerald Bay & is home to an old tea house. Boat access only.

(Closed Feb. 1-June 15 for nesting birds.)

Heavenly

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

(775) 586-7000 | skiheavenly.com Enjoy a 2.4-mile ride on the gondola to the top with panoramic views of Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley. South Tahoe

Hellman-Ehrman Mansion

WEST SHORE

$5 parking | parks.ca.gov (530) 525-7232 Park | (530) 583-9911 Tours Sugar Pine Point State Park is home to the historic Ehrman Mansion (open for tours in the summer), see boathouses with historic boats, and General Phipps Cabin built in the late 1800s. TART

High Camp

OLYMPIC VALLEY

(800) 403-0206 | palisadestahoe.com Aerial tram rides with views of Lake Tahoe, Olympic Heritage Museum, ice skating, events and more. Ticket required. TART

South Lake Tahoe

(530) 544-2313 | talart.org Featuring local artists, workshops. South Tahoe

Tahoe City

NORTH SHORE

visittahoecity.com Tahoe City is popular for shopping and dining with historical sites. At the junction of highways 89 & 28, visitors may see the Tahoe City Dam, Lake Tahoe’s only outlet, and Fanny Bridge.

Peer into Watson Cabin (1909) in the center of town for a glimpse at pioneer life. Free parking at Commons Beach, Grove Street, Jackpine Street, and 64 acres at Highways 89 & 28. TART

Tallac Historic Site

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

Vikingsholm Castle

CAPACITY: 18,300 C 8

EMERALD BAY

CAPACITY: A summer 20,400 4 MARTIS Parking fee 1,052 | Tours in only

225

200,000 AF

175

150,000 AF

MUSEUMS

Donner Memorial Visitor Center

Truckee

Donner Summit Historical Society

Truckee Railroad Museum TRUCKEE

(530) 582-7892 | parks.ca.gov The Donner Memorial State Park features exhibits and artifacts on the Donner Party (1846-47) at the visitor center, and see the towering Pioneer Monument. TART

donnersummithistoricalsociety.org Museum at the corner of Old Highway 40 & Soda Springs Road. Take the 20-mile inter-pretive driving tour along Old 40. TART TAHOE CITY

TRUCKEE

Sat.-Sun. & holidays truckeedonnerrailroadsociety.com Located in a caboose next to the Truckee Depot.

Exhibits include the train’s role in logging, fighting snow on the railway, the role of Chinese emigrants and a children’s area. TART

Western SkiSport Museum SODA SPRINGS

Gatekeeper’s Museum

225

175

(530) 541-3030 | (530) 525-9529 ADA Olympic Museum OLYMPIC VALLEY parks.ca.gov or vikingsholm.com (800)in 403-0206 | palisadestahoe.com | FLOW AT FARAD 295 Measured Cubic Feet Per Second (CFS) TROA.NET Truckee River Tour the grounds of Vikingsholm Castle, see The Olympic Museum at High Camp at Palisades Eagle Falls and Fannette Island (the Lake’s only Tahoe features historic memorabilia and photoisland), home to an old Tea House, and explore graphs. TART snowshoeing trails. TART Find more places to explore at TheTahoeWeekly.com Watson Cabin CLOSED TAHOE CITY Tours in summer only Tahoe Science Center INCLINE VILLAGE (530) 583-1762 | northtahoemuseums.org Tues.-Sat. with reservation Watson Cabin, built by Robert Watson and (775) 881-7566 | tahoesciencecenter.org his son in 1909, is the oldest building in Tahoe City UC Davis science education center about Lake and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tahoe. Exhibits include a virtual research boat, TART biology lab, hands-on activities, 3D movies and docent-led tours. Ages 8+. TART

(530) 541-5227 | tahoeheritage.org Once known as the “Grandest Resort in the World” as the summer retreat for three San Francisco elite families with the Baldwin Estate, Pope Estate & Valhalla. Grounds open year-round.

South Tahoe

truckeehistory.org | truckee.com The historic town of Truckee was settled in 1863, and grew quickly as a stagecoach stop and route for the Central Pacific Railroad.

During these early days, many of Truckee’s historical homes and buildings were built including The Truckee Hotel (1868) and the Capitol

125

100,000 AF

75

CAPACITY: 9,500 C 5

INDEPENDENCE 1,3763

TRUCKEE

(530) 582-0893 | truckeehistory.org One of a few surviving 19th Century jailhouses of its kind in the West used from 1875 until May 1964 (open for tours in summer). TART 200,000 AF

town. TART 4,690 DONNER

Old Jail Museum CLOSED

150,000 AF

(530) 581-2787 | northtahoearts.com Featuring exhibits of work by local artists and works for sale by local artists. TART

C 226,500 STAMPEDE 19,9661 CAPACITY: Building (1868). Stop by the Depot for a walking PROSSER 11,061 CAPACITY: 29,840 tour of historic downtown. Paid parking down-

125

Eagle Rock, one of the lake’s famous natural sites, is a volcanic plug beside Highway 89 on the West Shore. TART

TAHOE CITY

CAPACITY CAPA ACIT CITY:: 40,870 40 0,870

25

WEST SHORE

CAPACITY: A 20,400 4

100,000 AF

North Tahoe Arts Center Eagle Rock

CAPACITY: 18,300 C 8

75

Drive through one of the area’s natural wonders at Cave Rock, the neck of an old volcano.

The area is named for the small caves above Highway 50 that were cut by waves when Lake Tahoe was 200 feet higher during the ice ages.

northtahoebusiness.org Kings Beach is a popular spot for dining and shopping with the North Shore’s largest sandy beach located in the heart of town. Free parking at North Tahoe Beach, Brook Street, Minnow and the Christmas Tree lot on Hwy. 28. TART

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EAST SHORE

INDEPENDENCE 1,3763

LAKE LEVEL Readings taken on Thursday, February 3, 2022 MARTIS 1,052 Lake Tahoe Natural rim 6,223’ ELEVATION : 6,223.99 | IN 2021: 6,225.64 RESERVOIR CAPACITY Truckee River | FLOW AT FARAD 295 Measured in Cubic Feet Per Second (CFS) Measured in TROA.NET Acre Feet (AF) BOCA 12,362

50

Cave Rock

NORTH SHORE

25

ATTRACTIONS

Kings Beach

DONNER SUMMIT

Closed for the season | Free (530) 426-3313, ext. 113 | auburnskiclub.org Showcasing the history of skiing, exhibits include antique ski and snowshoe equipment, and a pair of 8-foot-long skis used by legendary mail carrier John “Snowshoe” Thompson. TART

TRANSIT

(530) 583-1762 | northtahoemuseums.org Featuring historic photos, the Steinbach Indian Basket Museum and local historical memorabilia.

TART

North Tahoe & Truckee (TART) | laketahoetransit.com South Tahoe | tahoetransportation.org

KidZone Children’s Museum

Kings Beach

TRUCKEE

Wed.-Sat. | (530) 587-5437 | kidzonemuseum.org For kids up to age 7 with interactive exhibits, science & art classes, the BabyZone & the Jungle Gym. TART

Lake Tahoe Museum

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

(530) 541-5458 | laketahoemuseum.org Features Washoe artifacts and exhibits on early industry and settlers. South Tahoe

VISITORS’ CENTERS Kings Beach State Rec. Area (Thurs.-Mon., July-Aug.)

Incline Village 969 Tahoe Blvd. (800) 468-2463 Stateline 169 Hwy. 50 (775) 588-4591 Tahoe City 100 N. Lake Blvd. (530) 581-6900 Truckee 10065 Donner Pass Rd. (Depot), (530) 587-8808 U.S. Forest Service | Incline Village 855 Alder Ave. (775) 831-0914 (Wed.-Fri.)

U.S. Forest Service | South Lake Tahoe 35 College Dr. (530) 543-2600

U.S. Forest Service | Tahoe City

Museum of Truckee History

Boots McFarland by Geolyn Carvin | BootsMcFarland.com 4

TRUCKEE

3080 N. Lake Blvd. (530) 583-3593 (Fridays)

Thurs.-Mon. | (530) 582-0893 | truckeehistory.org Housed in the original Depot, built in 1901. Exhi-bits

U.S. Forest Service | Truckee

cover different eras in Truckee history. TART

National Forest access info

10811 Stockrest Springs Rd. (530) 587-3558 fs.fed.us/r5/webmaps/RecreationSiteStatus

February 9-22, 2022

l ake t a h o e fa c t s .

TAHOE DONNER

AUBURN SKI TRAINING CENTER

CLAIR TAPPAAN

Read about how the lake was formed, Lake Tahoe’s discovery, lake clarity and more atTheTahoeWeekly.com. Click on Explore Tahoe

Reno & Sparks

PLUMAS-EUREKA STATE PARK

RENO-TAHOE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Truckee

BOREAL

Donner Summit

Donner Lake

SKY TAVERN

TRUCKEE AIRPORT

MT. ROSE

DONNER MEMORIAL STATE PARK

NEVADA NORDIC

Email anne@tahoethisweek.com for details

ra Rim T

il

DONNER SKI RANCH

Ta

SUGAR BOWL SODA SPRINGS

Tahoe Vista

CROSS COUNTRY SKI AREA

Lake Tahoe is located in the states of California and Nevada, with two-thirds in California.

Crystal Bay DEEPEST POINT

TAHOE XC

TAHOE CITY WINTER SPORTS PARK

SQUAW CREEK

DIAMOND PEAK

Incline Village

Kings Beach

Carnelian Bay

PALISADES TAHOE

North Shore

NORTH TAHOE REGIONAL PARK

Olympic Valley

DOWNHILL SKI AREA

e ho

NORTHSTAR

Truckee River

ROYAL GORGE

Dollar Hill Tahoe City Sunnyside

Spooner Lake

il

Ta h o e R i m

a Tr

LAKE CLARITY: 2020: 63 feet avg. depth (19.2 m) 1968: First recorded at 102.4 feet (31.21 m)

Marlette Lake

GRANKLIBAKKEN

SNO-PARK

Carson City

NEVADA NORDIC

Eagle Rock

Glenbrook

West Shore

CASINOS

Homewood

o Ta h

e Ri

m Tr a i l

Tahoma

SUGAR PINE POINT STATE PARK

Meeks Bay

at TheTahoeWeekly.com

Cave Rock

NATURAL RIM: 6,223’ (1,897 m) Lake Tahoe sits at an average elevation of between 6,223’ and 6,229.1’. (1,897-1,899 m) The top 6.1’ (1.8 m) of water is controlled by the dam in Tahoe City and holds up to 744,600 acre feet of water (91,845 m).

Zephyr Cove

Age of Lake Tahoe: 2 million years Emerald Bay

Fed By: 63 streams and 2 hot springs

Eagle Lake

Only Outlet: Truckee River (Tahoe City)

Cascade Lake

Watershed Area: 312 square miles (808 sq km)

Average Surface Temperature in July: 64.9˚F (18.3˚C)

R i m Tr ail

Highest Peak: Freel Peak at 10,881 feet (3,317 m)

Fallen Leaf Lake

Meyers

SIZE: 22 miles long, 12 miles wide (35 km long, 19 km wide) Lake Tahoe is as long as the English Channel is wide.

BIJOU PARK / LAKE TAHOE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

South Shore Ta h oe

Stateline HEAVENLY

CAMP RICHARDSON

Average Water Temperature: 42.1˚F (5.61˚C) Average Surface Water Temperature: 51.9˚F (11.1˚C)

South Lake Tahoe

Fannette Island

LAKE TAHOE AIRPORT

FREEL PEAK

SHORELINE: 72 miles (116 km) Lake Tahoe has a surface area of 191 square miles (307 km). If Lake Tahoe were emptied, it would submerge California under 15 inches of water (.38 m)

ECHO LAKES

Average Snowfall: 409 inches (10.4 m) Permanent Population: 66,000 Number of Visitors: 15 million annually

Kirkwood

SIERRA-AT-TAHOE

HOPE VALLEY

Hope

Markleeville Valley

KIRKWOOD

lake tahoe facts HOW THE LAKE WAS FORMED About 3 to 5 million years ago, the valley that would become the Tahoe Basin sank between parallel fractures in the Earth’s crust as the mountains on either side continued to rise. A shallow lake began to form in the resulting valley.

Roughly 2 to 3 million years ago, erupting volcanoes blocked the outlet, forcing the lake to rise hundreds of feet above its current elevation, and eventually eroded down to near its current outlet.

Between 1 million and 20,000 years ago, large masses of glacial ice covered the west side of the Tahoe Basin. Current geologic theory suggests an earthen berm (moraine) left by a receding glacier near Olympic Valley acted as a dam, causing the lake level to rise and then draw down rapidly when the dam catastrophically failed. Between 7,000 and

AVERAGE DEPTH: 1,000 feet (304 m) MAXIMUM DEPTH: 1,645 feet (501 m) Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S. (Crater Lake in Oregon, at 1,932 feet, or 589 m, is the deepest), and the 11th deepest in the world.

VOLUME: 39 trillion gallons (147.6 trillion liters) There is enough water in Lake Tahoe to supply everyone in the United States with more than 75 gallons (284 liters) of water per day for 5 years.and the 11th deepest in the world.

East Shore

HOMEWOOD

Learn about the natural history of the Tahoe Sierra

YOUR BUSINESS COULD

SPONSOR THIS PAGE

15,000 years ago, a four-mile segment of the West Shore collapsed into the Lake causing a massive submerged debris avalanche, widening the Lake by three miles and creating McKinney Bay.1 The Tahoe Basin is mostly granite, with little topsoil, and therefore few nutrients have washed into the lake to promote the growth of algae and other organisms that make water murky.

As well, 40 percent of the precipitation falling into the Tahoe Basin lands directly on the lake.

The remaining precipitation drains through the decomposed granite soil found in marshes and meadows, creating a good filtering system for water.

Urbanization of the Tahoe Basin has eliminated 75 percent of its marshes, 50 percent of its meadows and 35 percent of its steam zone habitats.

About 85 percent of all wildlife in the Tahoe Basin use these habitats.

LAKE CLARITY The University of California, Davis, operates the Tahoe Environmental Resarch Center, which monitors, among other things, the clarity of Lake Tahoe. Clarity has been measured since 1968 and was first recorded at 102.4’.

The waters of Lake Tahoe were clear to an average depth of 63’ (19.2m) in 2020. Lake Tahoe is losing clarity because of algae growth fueled by nitrogen and phosphorus.

ABOUT THE LAKE Lake Tahoe is located in the states of California and Nevada, with two-thirds in California. It is fed by 63 streams and two hot springs.

The Truckee River is Tahoe’s only outlet and flows from the dam in Tahoe City east through Reno and eventually drains into Pyramid Lake in the Nevada desert.

Sources: Tahoe Environmental Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, “Tahoe Place Names” and David Antonucci (denoted by 1).

However, water releases are not permitted when the lake surface level falls below the natural rim at 6,223’ (1,897 m). The lowest lake level on record (measured since 1900) was 6,220.26’ (1,896 m) on Nov. 30, 1992.

The Lake of the Sky appears blue in color as other colors in the light spectrum are absorbed and blue light is scattered back.

LAKE TAHOE’S DISCOVERY The first recorded discovery of Lake Tahoe by white explorers was on Feb. 14, 1844, when John Charles Frémont and Charles Preuss spotted the lake from atop Red Lake Peak. The lake went through several names before it was officially named Tahoe in 1945.

Tahoe is a mispronunciation of the first two syllables of the Washoe’s word for the lake – Da ow a ga, which means “edge of the lake.” n

5

TheTahoeWeekly.com

GET outside

the outdoors | recreation | events | mountain life

In the footsteps of history DO N N E R R E L I E F E X P E D IT I O N R ET R AC E S 18 4 7 ROUT E

BY JUDY DEPUY

Donner Relief Expedition Tim Twietmeyer, Jennifer Hemmen, Bob Crowley and Elke Reimer. | Keith Sutter, Sutter Photography

T

oday when people think of the 1846 Donner Party and the Sierra entrapment, they think of the numerous mistakes the members made including starting too late, banning some key members, taking too many wrong turns hoping to shorten the trip and the unbelievable hardship throughout the trek — all of which created a recipe for disaster.

The true story of the Donner Party is about everyday people caught in tragic circumstances. It is about having to make difficult decisions, tenacity, her-

A team of four extreme athletes — Bob Crowley, Tim Twietmeyer, Jennifer Hemmen and Elke Reimer — will follow the path the first rescue party took.

The snow will still be deep and rivers will be running full. They will have to deal with all that the original rescue party did, albeit utilizing modern clothing and gear.

1847 Donner Relief Expedition

Charlie Stanton helped lead the Donner Party and could see they were run-

donner relief expedition Feb. 17 5 p.m. | Donner Party & Caleb “Old” Greenwood re-enactors Free | Donner Ski Ranch, Norden Feb. 18 Noon | Arrival & panel discussion Free | Donner Memorial State Park, Truckee oism, self-sacrifice and the very best in the human spirit. It is also about what people can overcome and what strangers can do for you.

From Feb. 14 to 18, the Donner Relief Expedition will retract the route of the 1847 Donner Relief Parties in remembrance of those that sought to help the trapped Donner Party.

6

ning low on food. It was a long way to California, so Stanton and William McCutchen volunteered to go ahead to Sutter’s Fort for help when the Donner Party became trapped outside Truckee.

McCutchen had reason to go since he had family, wagons and goods. Stanton had nobody.

They made it to Sutter’s Fort where

they were supplied with mules and food.

Also, two Native Americans helped them. McCutchen fell ill and remained in California, but Stanton, with no relatives nor reason to return, continued with life-saving food across the Sierra.

Stanton had given his word to those left at Truckee (Donner) Lake. He said he would return and he did.

But it continued to snow. It was decided that some would try to make it over the mountains. The Forlorn Hope team of 15 souls were led by Stanton. He became snow blind and said he would: “just sit here awhile and smoke my pipe … I’ll be along.” He died in the mountains (read Mark McLaughlin’s feature on Stanton at TheTahoeWeekly.com). The Forlorn Hope party had no guide.

It took them 33 days and so much trauma to reach Johnson Ranch, the first white settlement in the area. But the seven survivors let people know of the DonA team of four extreme athletes — Bob Crowley, Tim Twietmeyer, Jennifer Hemmen and Elke Reimer — will follow the path the first rescue party took … They will deal with all that the original rescue party dealt with. ner Party’s predicament. Funds and resources were rallied quickly and a team of seven men chose to brave the Sierra and save those still lost in the mountains.

2022 Donner Relief Expedition

Little was known of the path the first relief party took but the team has researched the probable route for years, spending hundreds of hours in field surveying and thousands of hours in primary and secondary research.

The goal of this modern-day endeavor is to provide an historically accurate map of the relief parties and explore the multidimensional persona of each member including their history, character and motivations — and to honor their achievements and sacrifices.

“The story of the Donner Party is more

Read Mark McLaughlin’s ongoing series on the 175th

anniversary of the Donner Party, including on Charlie Stanton, at TheTahoeWeekly. com. Click on Donner Party under the Explore Tahoe menu.

His next installment in the series will appear in the Feb. 23 Tahoe Weekly.

than the sensational, which has gotten all of the attention. It’s also about heroism and self-sacrifice, not just for family, but also for strangers,” said Bill Oudegeest of Donner Summit Historical Society: The team will leave Johnson Ranch outside Wheatland on Feb. 14. They will be challenged all along the route with rivers, snow and more. They plan to arrive at Donner Memorial State Park on Feb. 18, 175 years to the day of the first relief party’s arrival.

The Trek

Day 1 | After leaving Johnson Ranch at 7 a.m., the team will hike 30 miles and arrive at Emigrant Overland Trail in Grass Valley.

Day 2 | The team has to cross the potentially dangerous rapid water of Steep Hollow. This is where the 1847 relief party had their horses sucked under logs as they crossed the river, dragging the rescuers: some almost drowned.

Day 3 | The team will hike in deep snow on snowshoes for 20 miles in Bear Valley.

Day 4 | On Feb. 17 there will be a family-friendly event at Donner Ski Ranch starting at 5 p.m. The four athletes will act as William Eddy, Reason “Dan” Tucker, John Pierce Rhodes and John Stark. Historical luminaries will be present.

Day 5 | On Feb. 18 spectators can welcome the Forlorn Hope Rescue Party at noon at the Pioneer Monument in Donner Memorial State Park. There will be a panel discussion from 2 to 4 p.m., but space is limited.

Sign up at Donner Relief Expedition’s on the Sierra State Parks Foundation’s website. | sierrastateparks.org, forlornhope.org n

February 9-22, 2022 GET OUTSIDE

Fun-filled

Kid-O-Rama returns

Kid-O-Rama is back with kid-centered activities from Feb. 19 to 26 at Palisades Tahoe featuring Big Truck Day, carnival games, s’mores parties, Crazy Helmet Day, face painting and more.

Cal Fire

Donner Ski

Ranch lodge destroyed

The Kids Craft & Game Room in the Village at Palisades will be open daily.

Activities take place in the Village at Palisades unless otherwise noted. | palisadestahoe.com Courtesy Palisades Tahoe

Feb. 19 12:30-2:30 p.m. | Face Painting Feb. 20 10:30-1 p.m. | Belmont Rail Clinic Feb. 21 All Day | Big Truck Day Feb. 22 2-5 p.m. | Kids Carnival & Music, Alpine Lodge 4-5 p.m. | Kids Cookie & Hot Chocolate Après Party, Alpine Lodge

Feb. 23 TBD | Avalanche Dog Demonstrations, Alpine TBD | Avalanche Dog Demonstrations, Palisades 4-5 p.m. | Kids Cookie & Hot Chocolate Après Party, Alpine Lodge

Feb. 25 2-5 p.m. | Kids Carnival 5-8 p.m. | Disco Tubing, SnoVentures Feb. 26 All Day | Crazy Hat & Helmet Day 1-3 p.m. | Face Painting, Plaza Bar Deck 5-8 p.m. | Disco Tubing, SnoVentures

Feb. 24 1-2 p.m. | Magician, Plaza Bar Deck 2-4 p.m. | Face Painter, Plaza Bar Deck 4-5 p.m. | Kids Cookie & Hot Chocolate Après Party, Plaza Bar Deck & KT Base Bar

The Lytton Lake Lodge on the backside of Donner Ski Ranch was destroyed by fire on Jan. 21. Cal Fire and Truckee Fire District responded to the blaze, but were unable to access the lodge and had to use snowcats and snow machines to reach the lodge, according to Cal Fire NEU (Nevada Yuba Placer unit).

“The fire spread to adjacent trees that were felled to protect the chair lift and other infrastructure. There are no known injuries, and Truckee Fire District is investigating the cause,” Cal Fire NEU posted on Facebook.

TRUCKEE/TAHOE’S MOST AFFORDABLE

FITNESS AND CLIMBING FACILITIES

FACILITIES • Members have access to both locations • Truckee facility features 27,500 square feet of fitness, and rock climbing.

RATES DAY PASS | $ 23 WEEK PASS | $ 45 INDIVIDUAL RATES |

from $49- $78/month FAMILY OF 2 | $140/month

• Incline Village features 12,000 square feet of fitness and rock climbing • Both facilities have group fitness, fiber internet, and state of the art locker rooms!

TRUCKEE | 1179 8 D o n n e r P a s s R d . , Tr u c ke e , C A • INCLINE VILLAGE | 8 8 0 N o r t hwo o d B l vd . , I n c l i n e V i l l a g e , N V highaltitudefit .net | 775 -831- 4212

CONTINUED ON PAGE XX 7

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Mt. Rose

and commended it’s crew on a recent blog update. The resort has said it hopes to reopen some of its terrain later this winter.

shutters Lakeview The Lakeview Lift at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe was closed permanently on Jan. 17 due to maintenance issues that could not be resolved. Mt. Rose already had plans to close the lift and replace it at the end of the 2022 winter season but had to shutter the lift earlier than planned due to the ongoing issues.

Olympic documentary released Coolfire Studios’ documentary film “Magic in the Mountains” is available for purchase or rental on Vimeo Video On Demand.

“Magic in the Mountains” tells the story of how Squaw Valley, a little-known ski area in California, won the bid for the 1960 Winter Olympics and, with the help of Walt Disney, changed the ways in which the Games were presented. | vimeo.com

Lakeview will be replaced with a new high-speed chairlift expected to open for the 2022-23 season. The replacement is part of the ski area’s effort for improvements Lakeview mountain zone, which will include trail additions, existing trail improvements and new skier traffic patterns. The expansion is estimated to cost upward of $7.5 million dollars.| skirose.com

Donner Rim Trail will be part of the proposed Pines to Mines Trail. | Tim Hauserman

connect Nevada City to Truckee. It would include existing Forest Service network trails and involve some new trail construction. A detailed project proposal, draft proposed action and accompanying maps are available on the Forest Service website.

Public comment is being taken until Feb. 25.

A final proposed action plan and draft environmental assessment will be releasedlate summer or early fall following the review of public comments. | john. brokaw@usda.gov, fs.usda.gov

Pines to Mines trail

Grandview Lift repairs underway

Tahoe National Forest is seeking public input on its proposed Pines to Mines trail project. The proposed Pines to Mines multi-use trail would run 68 miles and

Sierra-at-Tahoe has started repairs on its Grandview Lift, which was damaged during the 2021 Caldor Fire. The resort shared the monumental repair project

Comment on

TART and TART Connect

All Rides on TART are FREE! This winter hit the slopes, head to work, explore the shops, dine out, and leave the car behind!

“The damage caused by the Caldor Fire to Grandview’s haul rope, literally melting it from the inside out, necessitated an entire replacement of the 10,000-foot rope.

Each haul rope is created to the particular specs for each lift and replacing a piece of equipment of this magnitude typically has long shipping times and even longer lead times,” Sierra-at-Tahoe wrote on its blog. “… Projects of this scale are typically tackled in the off-sea-

Sierra-at-Tahoe

son, along with yearly maintenance so by the time winter arrives, the lifts, terminals and chairs have all been repaired, safety-checked, permitted and are ready to spin when the white stuff starts to fly.

But nothing about this project would CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Free Bus and On-Demand Shuttle Service

North Lake Tahoe and Truckee Daily Regional Routes Daily regional routes run year-round between Incline Village, Crystal Bay, Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista, Tahoe City, Olympic Valley, Truckee, and Northstar.

Truckee Dial-a-Ride Daily door-to-door service in Truckee. 7-days a week.

Park and Ride Weekends and Presidents Day.

TahoeTruckeeTransit.com/Winter22

8

February 9-22, 2022 GET OUTSIDE

eve nts

Events are subject to change & cancellation; always check in advance for current schedules.

The Giving Fund Winter Speaker Series

Full Moon Snowshoe Tour

Tuesday 55+ Snowshoe Hikes

Snowshoe Tours

Alder Creek Adventure Center Truckee | Feb. 9

Sugar Pine Point State Park Tahoma | Feb. 12

area venues | Incline Village Feb. 15, Feb. 22

Donner Memorial State Park Truckee | Feb. 19

5:30 p.m. $5-$20 | tahoedonner.com

RUFF Truckee Library | Truckee | Feb. 9, Feb. 16 4-5 p.m. | (530) 582-7846 madelynhelling.evanced.info

6:30-8:30 p.m. $25-$50 | sierrastateparks.org

Shooter Bowl Sunday Women’s (specific) Laser Biathlon Relay Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area Tahoe City | Feb. 13

10 a.m.-2 p.m. $17-$21 | yourtahoeplace.com

Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series

Free Park Day: Olympic Trails Day

Olympic Village Lodge Olympic Valley | Feb. 17

Sugar Pine Point State Park - Campground Side | Tahoma | Feb. 20

7 p.m. Free | alpenglowsports.com

10 a.m. $20 | tahoexc.org

STOKE Mountain Tours Diamond Peak Ski Resort Incline Village | Feb. 9 10:30 a.m. | (775) 832-1177, diamondpeak.com

Share the Love Valentine’s Day Ski Tahoe Cross Country SKi Area Tahoe City | Feb. 14

Preschool Storytime 10:30-11 a.m. | (530) 582-7846 madelynhelling.evanced.info

Valentine’s Day Snowshoe Trek Tahoe Meadows South Trailhead Stateline | Feb. 14

sierrastateparks.networkforgood.com

virtual | Incline Village | Feb. 17 12-1 p.m. | tahoe.ucdavis.edu

$25 | rideboreal.com

Public Tour Truckee Roundhouse Truckee | Feb. 11, Feb. 18 3-3:45 p.m. Free | chamber.truckee.com

Eastern Sierra History Talks Wylder Hotel Hope Valley Markleeville | Feb. 12-13, Feb. 19-20

Double the Love, Double the Fun Palisades Tahoe | Olympic Valley | Feb. 22 11 a.m.-2 p.m. $222 | (800) 403-0206,

Virtual Reality Studio Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 17 4-5:30 p.m. Free | (775) 832-4130 events.washoecountylibrary.us

4-6 p.m. | tahoerimtrail.org

Play Forever Fridays Boreal Mountain | Norden | Feb. 11

7 a.m.-6 p.m. Free | (530) 583-9911

Envision Tahoe

8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. | tahoexc.org

Truckee Library | Truckee | Feb. 10, Feb. 17

| (530) 523-3501, facebook.com

palisadestahoe.com

The Giving Fund Winter Speaker Series Alder Creek Adventure Center Truckee | Feb. 23 5:30 p.m. $5 | tahoedonner.com

Moonlight Snowshoe Hike Baby Story Time Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 15, Feb. 22

Diamond Peak Ski Resort Incline Village | Feb. 18 5:30 p.m. $40-$50 | (775) 832-1177

11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Free | events.washoecountylibrary.us

Teen Tuesdays Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 15, Feb. 22

Kid-O-Rama Palisades Tahoe Olympic Valley | Feb. 19-26 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | (800) 403-0206 palisadestahoe.com

SUBMIT YOUR EVENTS FOR FREE Visit TheTahoeWeekly.com to add your Event for our print & online calendars.

Click on Events; then the blue Add Event button.

4 p.m. Free | (775) 832-4130

2 p.m. | wylderhotels.com

Five FREE Shows NEW THIS YEAR: Watch In-Person OR Livestream from Home!

ALL Giveaways Tickets Will be Purchased Online!

Visit Our Website for Covid-19 Safety Protocols at Venue

consulting & software development

9

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Ice Skating & Tubing

LEARN TO SKI + RIDE AT

THE BEST PLACE TO BEGIN

Find more Family Friendly activities at TheTahoeWeekly.com HANSEN’S RESORT (530) 544-3361 | hansensresort.com 400-foot-long groomed tube run on Ski Run Blvd. First-come, first-served.

ICE SKATING EDGEWOOD TAHOE (888) 769-1924 | edgewoodtahoe.com Open air rink. Rentals available.

HEAVENLY skiheavenly.com Tubing at top of gondola with four lanes.

HEAVENLY VILLAGE (530) 542-4230 | theshopsatheavenly.com Open air rink. South Tahoe

KAHLE PARK (775) 586-7271 | douglascountynv.gov Off Highway 207. Bring equipment. South Tahoe

NORTHSTAR (530) 562-1010 | northstarcalifornia.com Open air rink. Free access. TART

SAWMILL POND On Lake Tahoe Blvd. Bring equipment. South Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (530) 542-6262 | cityofslt.com Indoor facility open year-round. South Tahoe

SIERRA-AT-TAHOE (530) 659-7453 | sierraattahoe.com Blizzard Mountain offers two lift-accessible snow tubing lanes, snow play and sledding area.

TAHOE CITY WINTER SPORTS PARK (530) 583-1516 | wintersportspark.com Ice skating & rentals. Clubhouse. TART TRUCKEE (530) 582-7720 | tdrpd.com At Truckee River Regional Park. Skate rentals, broomball leagues, ice dancing & hockey lessons. Skate rentals & season passes available. TART

SLEDDING & TUBING OPEN AS CONDITIONS PERMIT

EAST SHORE SPOONER LAKE (775) 831-0494 State park open for snow play. Bring equipment. Park ing fee.

HOPE VALLEY AREA CARSON PASS (209) 295-4251 Highway 88 near Carson Pass. Bring equipment.*

TAHOE DONNER DOWNHILL SKI RESORT Safe, Low-Angle Learning Terrain 40% Novice 60% Intermediate

Affordable and Convenient Private and Group Lessons Book Online

Some of the Region’s Best Instructors

Public Lift Tickets Start at $78 for Adults and $48 for Children Ages 7-12 Book Online

GET SKIING AND RIDING TODAY! TAHOEDONNER.COM/DOWNHILL

HOPE VALLEY (775) 882-2766 Highway 88 at Blue Lakes Road. Bring equipment.* MEISS MEADOW (209) 295-4251 Highway 88 near Carson Pass. Bring equipment.*

NORTH SHORE INCLINE VILLAGE Snow Play Area on Fairway Blvd., next to the Chateau, on the driving range. Bring equipment.

TAHOE SNOWMOBILE TUBING (530) 542-3294 | tahoesnowmobiles.com Two locations at Tahoe Paradise & Stateline, Nev. Reserve online.

TAYLOR CREEK (530) 543-2600 Highway 89, north of Camp Richardson Road. Bring equipment.* South Tahoe TUBETAHOE (530) 600-2304 | tubetahoe.com 500 feet of machine-groomed tubing lanes in Meyers.

Equipment provided. South Tahoe

TRUCKEE & BEYOND BOREAL MOUNTAIN rideboreal.com Tubing open to everyone 42” and taller; smaller children are limited to snow play area only. Personal sleds not permitted.

Night sessions available. Reserve online.

DONNER SKI RANCH donnerskiranch.com Tubing hills with moving carpet.

DONNER SUMMIT (530) 587-3558 South side of I-80, Castle Peak exit. Bring equipment.* KINGVALE RESORT (530) 427-5090 | kingvaleresort.com Snow park open Friday-Monday. Bring sleds. Plastic sleds available to buy. Tubes not allowed. Parking & snow park fee, cash only.

NORTHSTAR CALIFORNIA northstarcalifornia.com TART

NORTH TAHOE REGIONAL PARK (530) 546-0605 | northtahoeparks.com End of National Avenue off Hwy 28. Rentals not available this season. TART

SODA SPRINGS skisodasprings.com Mountain Adventure offers kids tubing carousel, all-age tubing, Snow Jeep rides, Start Park, snow play area and mini snowmobiles. Reserve online.

TAHOE CITY WINTER SPORTS PARK (530) 583-1516 | wintersportspark.com Sledding & cross-country trails. Rentals available. Clubhouse.

Reserve online. TART

TAHOE DONNER (530) 587-9437 | tahoedonner.com At Trout Creek Recreation Center. No personal sleds. Reserve online.

YUBA PASS (530) 994-3401 Highway 49 at Yuba Pass. Bring equipment.*

OLYMPIC VALLEY PALISADES TAHOE (530) 452-4511 | palisadestahoe.com Tubing area. TART

WEST SHORE

SQUAW VALLEY PARK placer.ca.gov Free snowplay area. Free parking to access cleared walking paths in Olympic Valley to Tahoe City. Bring equipment. TART

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE ADVENTURE MOUNTAIN (530) 659-7217 | adventuremountaintahoe.com On top of Echo Summit with machine-groomed sledding, tubing & snowplay. First-come, first-served.

ECHO LAKE (530) 644-2324 Highway 50 at Echo Lake Road. Bring equipment.*

BLACKWOOD CANYON (530) 543-2600 Snowplay area off Hwy. 89, 3 miles south of Tahoe City. Bring equipment.* GRANLIBAKKEN (530) 581-7533 | granlibakken.com Machine-groomed snow play area; no tubes or toboggans allowed. All ages. Reserve online.

HOMEWOOD ADVENTURE CENTER (530) 525-2992 | skihomewood.com At Homewood Mountain Resort with Magic Carpet. Reserve online.

ALL ACTIVITIES ARE WEATHER DEPENDENT. *Sno-park permits required. Go to ohv.parks.ca.gov/snoparks or find locations at (916) 324-1222.

BUS & SHUTTLE SCHEDULES North Tahoe & Truckee: laketahoetransit.com (TART) | South Tahoe: tahoetransportation.org

10

February 9-22, 2022 GET OUTSIDE

Winter Paved Walking Paths

DOGS OK

BOOT-PACKED PATH

PAVED MULTIUSE TRAILS CHECK CONDITIONS AT TAHOEBIKE . ORG • Keep dogs leashed • Pedestrians must yield to bikes • Don’t stop on the trail; move to the side • E-bikes allowed on most paths; check in advance • Cyclists call out when passing pedestrians • Limited service in winter. Pack out all trash, including dog waste bags.

BIKES OK

OLYMPIC VALLEY OLYMPIC VALLEY

Easy | 4 miles RT | tcpud.org A 2-mile trail runs beside Squaw Valley Road to the ski area from the Squaw Valley condos to Victoria Road, with views of the meadow and surrounding peaks.

Public parking at Squaw Valley Park or Village at Squaw.

Electric assist OK. TART

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE AL TAHOE BOULEVARD

EAST SHORE EAST SHORE TRAIL

Easy-moderate | 6 miles RT | tahoefund.org Runs along Lake Tahoe and connects to Hwy. 28 from south end of Incline Village, Nev., to Sand Harbor State Park. Parking near Ponderosa Ranch Road. Electric assist OK. Paid parking. TART

NORTH SHORE INCLINE VILLAGE

Easy | 7.4 miles RT | washoecounty.us Walking path runs along Hwy. 28 through Incline Village.

Access to shopping and parks. Paved between both intersections of Southwood Blvd. Boot packed between east intersection of Southwood Blvd. and Country Club Drive. TART

Easy | 3.2 miles RT Connections Lake Tahoe Boulevard (Highway 50) and Pioneer Trail with access to Lake Tahoe Community College.

CAMP RICHARDSON BIKE PATH

Easy | 6 miles RT The trail parallels State Route 89 (Emerald Bay Road) for more than 3 miles, offering access to a number of local historic and recreational amenities. Limited parking.

SAWMILL TO MEYERS

Easy | 7 miles RT Section cleared along Sawmill Road starting at Lake Tahoe Boulevard then connects to run along Highway 89 to Meyers ending at Luther Pass Road.

Located in the Boatworks Mall, Tahoe City · SteveSchmiersJewelry.com · 530.583.5709

SIERRA BOULEVARD

LAKESHORE BOULEVARD

Easy | 5 miles RT | washoecounty.us Runs along Lake Tahoe Boulevard and connects to Hwy. 28 at each end of Incline Village. Park at Preston Field on Hwy. 28. Electric assist OK. TART

NATIONAL AVENUE

Easy | 1.8 miles RT Starts on shore of Lake Tahoe at Tahoe Vista Recreation Area and continues up National Avenue past Grey Lane.

Parking at Tahoe Vista Recreation Area. TART

PINE DROP TRAIL

Easy | 3 miles RT | northtahoeparks.com Located at North Tahoe Regional Park the trail connects to to Pinedrop Lane off Highway 267. Parking fee.

TAHOE CITY TO CARNELIAN BAY

Easy-moderate | 8+ miles RT | tcpud.org First 2.5 miles mostly level with a half-mile climb up Dollar Hill. Cross Highway 28 to access 2.2-mile section to Fulton Crescent above Carnelian Bay. Public parking at 64 Acres, Commons Beach, Jackpine and Grove Street.

Electric assist OK. Section from Dollar Hill to Fulton Crescent boot-packed only. TART

TRUCKEE RIVER CANYON

Easy | 9+ miles RT | tcpud.org 4.5 miles from the Tahoe City wye to Alpine Meadows Road, with trails continuing to Olympic Valley. The trail is scenic, separate from the highway, and is mostly flat terrain with a few short, gentle grades with trout fishing, river rafting and picnicking along the way. Connects with Squaw Valley Road or continue to Truckee. Public parking at 64 Acres and Squaw Valley Park at Squaw Valley Road. Electric assist OK. TART

WEST SHORE TAHOE CITY TO MEEKS BAY

PLOWED PATH

Easy | 1.2 miles RT Connects from Lake Tahoe Boulevard to Barbara Ave.

SKI RUN BOULEVARD

Easy | 1.2 miles RT Connects from Lake Tahoe Boulevard to Pioneer Trail.

SOUTH SHORE BIKE PATH

Easy | 7 miles RT | cityofslt.us Follow the bike trail along South Shore, with sections along Lakeview Commons, Reagan Beach and playgrounds. Public parking at Parks and Recreation lot on Rufus Allen Boulevard.

TRUCKEE DONNER PASS ROAD

Easy | 5.4 miles RT Runs through the heart of the town of Truckee from the west end to historic downtown Truckee.

DONNER PASS ROAD TO MOUSEHOLE

Easy | 1.8 miles RT Runs along Highway 89 connecting Donner Pass Road to the Mousehole.

JOEGER DRIVE

Easy | 1.2 miles RT Connects from Soaring Way and runs along Joeger Drive to River View Sports Park.

STEVENS LANE TO ALDER DRIVE

Easy | 2 miles RT Runs from Stevens Lane along Donner Pass Road, turns down Rue Ivy to connect to Alder Drive. Park at U.S. Forest Service office on Stevens Lane.

TROUT CREEK TRAIL

Moderate | 25+ miles RT | tcpud.org Mostly separate from the highway, the trail includes a few miles of highway shoulder and residential streets.

Terrain is varied with a few steep sections. Access to picnicking, beaches and playgrounds. Public parking at 64 Acres. Electric assist OK. TART

“Great staff, great ski school, great food, and amazing views of the lake.”

- Colleen V. (5-star review on Google)

If you’re going to Ski Tahoe You should really See Tahoe

Moderate | 3 miles RT Wooded path from Trout Creek Park (paid parking) in downtown Truckee to Northwoods Blvd. (parking free).

TRUCKEE LEGACY TRAIL

Easy | 10 miles RT | tdrpd.org Stretches from downtown Truckee to Truckee River Regional Park, River View Sports Park and Glenshire.

Park at either park or East River Street. Electric assist OK. TART

BUS & SHUTTLE SCHEDULES

North Tahoe & Truckee: laketahoetransit.com (TART) | South Tahoe: tahoetransportation.org

PURCHASE LIFT TICKETS, SEASON PASSES, RENTALS & GROUP LESSONS ONLINE

DiamondPeak.com 11

TheTahoeWeekly.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

be typical. It would take grit, ingenuity and most importantly faith — complete conviction and buy-in from the maintenance crew to accomplish the (near) impossible.”

“We still have a long way to go before we are making Grandview laps again.

The reality is, the crew is starting from square one, as all of the maintenance that is typically performed on Sierra’s lifts in the summertime was completely undone from the fire and can now begin again. With the haul rope in place, the crew can now begin additional restoration projects on Grandview, to prepare this lift and others for operation,” according to the blog.

Hurt, Lebel and Wilkinson join nine other Tahoe athletes profiled in the last edition of Tahoe Weekly (available at TheTahoeWeekly.com): Jamie Anderson, Bryce Bennett, Keely Cashman, Travis Ganong, Hannah Halvorsen, Nina O’Brien, JC Schoonmaker, Luke Winters and David Wise.

For details on the Olympics and the athletes, visit olympic.org or teamusa. org. The Winter Games will be aired on NBC, with coverage also available on the Olympic Channel at olympicchannel. com.

Note: Information on athlete bios was provided by Team USA.

Read the entire blog and see updates on the repairs at the resort at sierraattahoe. com.

Tahoe athletes join Team USA Three more Tahoe athletes – A.J. Hurt, Maureen “Mo” Lebel and Alix Wilkinson – have been named to Team USA to compete in the XXIV Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

A.J. Hurt Age: 21 Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Slalom | Giant Slalom | Downhill Hometown: Carnelian Bay

your is waiting.

Home Mountain/Team: Palisades Tahoe Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: Hurt is a two-time National Alpine Champion. Her father was a ski patroller for Squaw Valley Ski Resort, where she learned to ski. She joined Squaw Valley Ski Team at age 4 and fell in love with skiing. In her free time Hurt loves free skiing, spending time outdoors and hanging out at the beach.

Maureen “Mo” Lebel Age: 23 Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Downhill Hometown: Truckee Home Mountain/Team: Sugar Bowl Ski Team/Mammoth Mountain Ski Team Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: Lebel grew up skiing on the Sugar Bowl Ski Team and later made the move to Mammoth Mountain Ski Team.

She was crowned 2018 U.S. National Downhill Champion. “I had skis below

my feet at the age of 2 and started racing at age 5. Chasing down my three older siblings on skis was what excited me about skiing. I had to keep up with them in everything we did and when it came to skiing, I actually could keep up,” she says. Off the hill, you can find Lebel mountain biking, surfing (either behind a boat or in the ocean) and golfing.

Alix Wilkinson Age: 22 Sport: Alpine Skiing Event/Discipline: Downhill | Slalom | Giant Slalom Hometown: Mammoth Lakes Home Mountain/Team: Team Palisades Tahoe Olympic Experience: Olympic debut About: Wilkinson placed 1st in NAC Downhill and 2nd in NAC Super G in Lake Louise, Canada in 2019. When she isn’t skiing, she’s loves mountain biking, hiking and paddling.

Winter for Fun Everyone!

CROSS COUNTRY SKIING · SLEDDING SNOWSHOEING · ICE SKATING

ADVANCE RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE ‘21-22 SEASON

adopt & save a life at

petnetwork.org

(775) 832-4404 12

Limited walk-ups will be permitted, but not guaranteed.

RESERVE ONLINE AT

TCPUD.ORG/WINTER Visit tcpud.org/winter for more Know Before You Go tips, details on sessions, season passes, and reservations.

530.583.1516 251 NORTH LAKE BLVD. TAHOE CITY

February 9-22, 2022 GET OUTSIDE

TAHOE TRAMPLED BY TRASH B ROKEN S LE DS, I LLE GA L PAR K IN G P ROB L E MS PERSIST

BY PRIYA HUTNER

Sledding at Spooner Summit. | League to Save Lake Tahoe

O

n a recent cross-country ski at Prosser Reservoir, a popular area for recreating, a friend and I found ourselves at the top of the hill overlooking the frozen reservoir. The ground was littered with tiny pieces of plastic wrappers blowing around the area that would eventually blow into the reservoir and surrounding creeks. We picked up as much as we could, stuffing it into our pockets.

A few days later on a trip to Coldstream Canyon, another popular spot where people snowshoe and cross-country ski, the area was also littered with plastic wrappers and bits of plastic from kid’s snow toys.

Litter is a problem that exists yearround, but winter brings a different challenge. During the winter months, there is no place to dispose of trash because service to most parks and trailheads is shuttered or limited. The trash is left behind by people looking for a place to enjoy playing in the snow, including tubing with the family.

Unfortunately, the sheer number of visitors in the Tahoe Sierra during the winter is fraught with challenges, trash and parking issues among them. Areas around the region from Donner Summit to Tahoe Meadows to Spooner Summit suffer from overcrowding, cars parked

illegally along roadways and trash left behind by a day of snowplay.

Broken sleds left behind

The two most highly trafficked sled areas in the Tahoe Basin are Spooner Summit near the intersection of Highways 28 and 50 and Tahoe Meadows along Highway 431 (Mt. Rose Highway).

Tahoe Fund, along with League to Save

Lake Tahoe and Take Care Tahoe, created a Slediquette Campaign in 2021 to combat the debris left behind by broken plastic sleds. The campaign urged people to clean up and recycle their broken sleds or snow tubes and not leave any trash behind. Even with messaging the problem of sled trash still exists.

“There are a lot of people that come to visit and recreate [to Tahoe]. Sledding confounds us every year. We don’t have the resources to manage it and there are no official designated sled hills,” says

Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. A list of 30 local sledding and tubing areas runs in every print edition of Tahoe Weekly and on TheTahoeWeekly.com to provide visitors and locals with information about places in which to enjoy tubing. Of those 30 locations, however, only seven are public Sno-Parks, stretching from Kirkwood to Donner Summit.

Only two are in the Tahoe Basin, at Blackwood Canyon on the West Shore and at Taylor Creek on the South Shore.

Sno-Parks require a parking permit of $5 per day or $25 for the season. Parking permits, however, are only available for purchase online or at a local vendor.

The remaining tubing areas are privately run and require a fee to play in the snow. As well, Sugar Bowl is investing $2 million to build a new tubing area along Sugar Bowl Road to open in the 2022-23 season.

Along Mt. Rose Highway, Tahoe Meadows looks like the perfect sledding area but on any given weekend, hundreds of cars park along the side of the road blocking traffic and creating unsafe conditions. In early January, a young child was injured when his sled went into Mt. Rose Highway and he was stuck by a vehicle.

Nevada Highway Patrol officers routinely use megaphones to tell people

they will be ticketed if they park on the road. Hundreds of tickets have been issued yet the problems remain with parking and litter in the area.

There are no public parking areas available in the winter in the area nor are there any public trash cans or restrooms.

Debris from broken plastic sleds are left behind by day visitors to the popular sledding area. The U.S. Forest Service parking areas and restrooms at Tahoe Meadows and the Mt. Rose trailhead that are open in the summer are closed during the winter months.

Similarly, there are U.S. Forest Service recreation sites with parking areas spread throughout the Tahoe Sierra around Lake Tahoe and in Truckee, but the majority of these sites are closed in the winter, as Tahoe Weekly identified in our 2021 story “Winter Recreation Access Pushed to Limit.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 13

TheTahoeWeekly.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

Most of these areas were designed and built decades ago when there was little to no demand for winter access. However, as winter demand for access has increased, it’s not as simple as plowing those areas for winter use. Parking lots would have to be rebuilt to accommodate plowing (most are only a 1-inch

limited or no parking (and park illegally) or sled in areas that are unsafe. The need for parking along Mt. Rose Highway and Spooner Summit aren’t the only places where this is an issue. On any given weekend, the parking lot at Donner Memorial State Park fills up quickly with people looking to cross-country ski, snowshoe or sled in the park. The same

“People just pull over and decide to sled on the side of the highway. They park anywhere and leave their trash. … We go out there and ticket them but a ticket for parking is $35. Some people don’t care and will just pay the ticket.”

RESOURCES California Sno-Parks | ohv.parks.ca.gov League to Save Lake Tahoe | keeptahoeblue.org Take Care Tahoe | takecaretahoe.org/sleds Tahoe Fund | tahoefund.org

PREVIOUS PAGE: Broken sleds at Fallen Leaf Lake. | League to Save Lake Tahoe Sled trash at Tahoe Meadows along Mt. Rose Highway. | Kendra Cromwell THIS PAGE: Dog poop bags at Donner Lake. | Priya Hutner Broken sled trash collected at Fallen Leaf Lake. | League to Save Lake Tahoe Sled corrals at Spooner Summit. | Courtesy Take Care Tahoe Chains collected by Caltrans after a snowstorm. | Courtesy Caltrans Sled trash campaign.| Courtesy Take Care Tahoe OPPOSITE PAGE: Priya Hutner collecting abandoned dog poop bags at Donner Lake. | Priya Hutner Sled corral.| Courtesy Take Care Tahoe 14

- Officer Carlos Perez

overlay over dirt), restrooms would have to rebuilt to provide year-round use in harsh winter conditions and trash services would require increased staffing and maintenance costs. All of these are out of reach due to a lack of federal funding for the six Forest Service districts that serve the Tahoe Sierra.

League to Save Lake Tahoe staff and volunteers have also identified several illegal concessionaires along the Mt. Rose Highway and Spooner Summit selling cheap, plastic sleds, snacks wrapped in plastic and drinks in Styrofoam cups, all of which end up as trash left on the ground. Nevada Department of Trans-

portation (NDOT) is investigating the concessionaries, according to Gavin Feiger, the league’s senior land-use policy analyst. California Highway Patrol (CHP) has also reported illegal concessionaries along Old Highway 40 on Donner Summit.

Tire chains are also a mounting source of winter trash that is vexing California Department of Transportation. Chains that aren’t installed correctly break and are left behind in roadways, on the side of roads and in parking lots.

“It’s a problem when people don’t put on their chains properly. I am sure as we start to see the snow melt, it will definitely unearth some things. I guarantee you, there are loads of chains that are buried along the shoulders,” says Raquel Borrayo, Caltrans District 3 public information officer.

Illegal parking epidemic

Although there are many options for sledding in the region, people continue to choose to sled in areas where there is

is true for parking at nearby Coldstream Canyon and along Old Highway 40 on Donner Summit. Visitors are looking for places to play in the snow and park illegally along the roadway, leaving behind broken sled pieces and other trash.

From the rest areas on Donner Summit to areas around Lake Tahoe, trash and parking from people sledding on the side of roadways are major issues for California Highway Patrol.

“People just pull over and decide to sled on the side of the highway. They park anywhere and leave their trash,” says Officer Carlos Perez, CHP public information officer.

Although there are signs clearly marked that no snow play is allowed at the rest areas, the officers get called routinely; they clear out the area but an hour later another group gathers to play in the snow.

“People pull over and block the road to play in the snow. We go out there and ticket them but a ticket for parking is $35. Some people don’t care and will just pay the ticket,” says Perez, adding that CHP is considering raising the price of parking tickets.

According to Perez, CHP has a large area to monitor from Donner Summit and Truckee to the highways encircling Lake Tahoe to Meyers and Echo Summit. Addressing parking, snow play issues and illegal concessionaires requires resources and this often takes away from other important issues that officers may need to address.

Toxic dog poop

Dog poop continues to be another problem in the region with piles and bags of dog poop left at popular snow play areas and on trails. No one wants to ski, snowshoe or sled through a pile of dog poop.

It’s also an environmental hazard.

Dog waste contains toxins that leach into the waterways and can harm the environment. It’s labeled a non-point source pollutant by the Environmental Protection Agency. This places it in the same category as herbicides, insec-

February 9-22, 2022 GET OUTSIDE

ticides, oil, grease, toxic chemicals and acid drainage from abandoned mines.

Most people think of dog poop as no more harmful than bear poop. It’s natural, so just leave it in the woods. But dogs eat a diet of processed food that is not the same; bears eat berries. It is important to pick up dog poop to prevent the toxins from getting into water sources.

As well, plastic doggie bags don’t degrade for a long time and when they do, they, too, pollute waterways. Tahoe Fund continues to try to address the issue through public education efforts.

“We are hoping to work with public agencies to do an inventory of hot spots and better align with waste stations,” says Berry.

Challenges to effecting change

Berry says that everyone recognizes the problems yet effecting change has been slow and difficult. Tahoe Fund has organized a consortium of local business associations and chambers, nonprofits, ski resorts and local governments to grapple with the tourism impacts. Tahoe Fund has also tried to encourage visitors to be mindful of trash with billboards placed along roadways leading into the region; Berry admits it’s not enough.

Locals have called out stores in the region on social media for selling cheap sleds that break into pieces and end up being left behind, but sustainable alternatives are limited. Raley’s has said that it’s looking for more sustainable sleds to sell, according to Berry.

Feiger points out that the League has done some research into sustainable sleds that won’t break apart so easily but has found there are few options available. He suggests Flexible Flyer sleds, which have some good nonplastic options and metal saucers that don’t break apart easily.

“Tahoe Blue Crews volunteers pick up trash one to two times per week,” says Feiger, who acknowledges that volunteers have been overwhelmed with the amount of trash; it has been difficult for them to find places to take the bagged trash.

“This week we are installing a Dumpster and two Porta-Potties [on Spooner Summit] with additional signage. We’ll

see if people take advantage of the opportunity to properly dispose of their waste or if it creates unintended consequences like illegal dumping or is too expensive to maintain,” says Feiger.

The League has been working with NDOT and contracted with Clean Tahoe to pick up trash at least five days per week, once a day in the mornings, which Feiger says has been helping.

Tahoe Fund is looking toward the three “Es” as a way to mitigate the issues the region is facing with education, enforcement and engineering (infrastructure).

Tahoe Fund has installed five billboards in the region with messages about its dog poop clean-up campaign, Slediquette campaign and litter. Berry acknowledges that messaging alone won’t change behavior, noting that changes in infrastruc-

ture are also needed.

“Enforcement is a hard one in the winter. Public agencies don’t recognize many sled hills as official sled hills. We are working with dozens of partners in the Basin to research the feasibility of a regional parking-enforcement program that will allow the California and Nevada highway patrols to spend time on more critical issues than parking,” says Berry.

“What is needed is bigger design thinking, similar to the East Shore Trail when it comes to infrastructure,” she says.

“For Spooner, it could mean redesigning the parking area to either eliminate the area for people to park to sled or redesign it in a way that better manages the flow of people. It can also include more trash cans and litter patrols.”

Tahoe Fund is now spearheading an effort to create a regional sustainable tourism plan that will kick off in mid-February.

“It’s frustrating to everyone and we need a collective effort,” says Berry.

“This is looking at a bigger issue holistically. We have never had a tourism objective clearly identified for the region.

This work will do that with a lot of input from the community and ultimately an action plan.” n

Less Impact For Greater Good Understand the Impact of Your Flight to Truckee Tahoe

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from vehicle travel

Thank you for doing your part.

15

TheTahoeWeekly.com

Homewood celebrates 60th anniversary

BY JENN SHERIDAN | COURTESY HOMEWOOD MOUNTAIN RESORT

ABOVE: Skiers enjoy the view atop Homewood. | Courtesy Homewood Mountain Resort RIGHT: Relaxing on the lift and enjoying the view. | Courtesy Homewood Mountain Resort BACKGROUND: View from The Face at Homewood Mountain Resort | Silent A Photography

L

ake Tahoe, including the West Shore, was the summer and fall home to the Washoe for many centuries before non-Native Americans even knew it existed. However, things changed quickly during the mid-1800s. The westward exploration by John C. Fremont in 1844 put Lake Tahoe on the maps and shortly after, the California Gold Rush and discovery of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nev., inspired a westward migration of people hoping to strike it rich including to the West Shore.

The Lake Tahoe Basin wasn’t particularly fruitful when it came to precious metals, but many of the failed miners who settled the area found success logging the forests to provide lumber for the railroad and the Comstock Lode in Nevada, including Jack Sargeant Ellis, a dairy farmer for whom Ellis Peak is named, and Dick Madden, who settled along the creek that now bears his name.

Although logging and mining brought settlers to the West Shore, the area slowly began to evolve into a resort destination.

16

A Homewood District was established as a vacation resort and marina. The Hotel Homewood was built in 1910, soon followed by a large casino and dance hall that attracted people in search of fun to the area.

The tale of two rope tows

One of those who was drawn to Lake Tahoe was Ron Rupp. Recognizing the calm waters on the West Shore, he ran a waterski school near Homewood and rented a room at the Homewood Hotel, owned by Don Huff at the time.

“My waterski school was across the street, at the pier and I always looked across at the hill back here and thought, you know, that’d make a wonderful ski hill,” said Rupp. “I was working parttime at other ski hills and I got a lot of learning skills from those times. The hill back here always intrigued me.”

The 1960 Winter Olympics put Lake Tahoe on the map as a winter destination and the time was right to bring skiing to the West Shore. Rupp pitched the idea to

Don Huff. If Rupp could open a ski hill, he could use the land and Huff would open the lodge in the winter. Rupp went to work building a lift.

Unfortunately, the rope tow wouldn’t operate as planned that winter. When the Cuban Missile Crisis struck, Rupp was one of the reservists called to service.

Meanwhile, local realtor Max Hoff had been selling property in the Chamberland’s subdivision with the promise of a ski area nearby. With no way to install the lift and no idea how long he would be away in service, Rupp struck a deal to sell the lift to Hoff who set it up where the current Spillway run exists and established Tahoe Ski Bowl.

As it turns out, Rupp was released from duty after one month. So, he returned to the Tahoe area, got a job with a local survey company and went to work building two more rope tows.

“One thing I didn’t have was a building and ski rentals. So, I made enough money to buy 64 sets of rentals, skis, boots and poles. And then I needed a building

so I built a little A-frame that housed the rentals and a repair bench and I had a potbelly stove that came out of a caboose. That little building still stands — it’s the building on the other side of the Madden Chair.” Rupp said.

The community helps

So that season, Homewood opened much like it was built: as a one-man show, but the community pitched in to help get the operations running.

“The mothers would volunteer to help.

They would sell tickets and I’d set the kids up in ski boots and skis and poles and shove them out the back door. Then I’d go outside, hit the button and start the lift and then I’d ring the ski school bells,” he said. “I had a toboggan in case of an accident; we had a few of those. I’d go up and teach them skiing and we sold candy bars and stuff inside. And that was the way we ran. It was a lot of fun.”

Once that he had established the ski area and found that the interest was there, it was time to figure out how to

January 26-February February 8, 2022 GET OUTSIDE

grow. Rupp’s vision of the future included expanding the ski area farther up the mountain as well as turning the property into a year-round destination with a marina and a hotel on the lake. Around the same time, Huff told Rupp he was ready to sell his property. So, Rupp set out to find a buyer.

“I had these families that would come here to go skiing. One was the Aldrich family and they really enjoyed it. Ms. Aldrich would bring her kids: Hank, George and Bill,” said Rupp, who ap-

The next phase

“I had a lot of nice young men that I hired that helped me at the time as we developed up the hill — the Madden Chairlift and then a T-bar that we put at the top of Madden. The way I laid out the runs was by horse. I had a horse and it was an easy way to get through the brush,” said Rupp.

The crew laid out Miner’s Delight, Bonanza, Gilbert’s Gultch and Homewood Mountain really started to take shape.

Over at Tahoe Ski Bowl, things had

was only a couple of years after we ran the quad that Jamie put in the Ellis Chair.

That started a nightmare with Rainbow Ridge because if Ski Bowl skiers ended up on Rainbow Ridge they either had to either know a route to get back to Ski Bowl or they’d end up at the bottom of Homewood without a Homewood ticket — and the same thing happened to Homewood skiers who would end up at Ski Bowl. We each had a special pattern we’d punch into the paper tickets to give people a warning,” said Rosenburg.

Two resorts become one “The mothers would volunteer to help. They would sell tickets and I’d set the kids up in ski boots and skis and poles and shove them out the back door. Then I’d go outside, hit the button and start the lift and then I’d ring the ski school bells.” proached George with a master plan.

George Aldrich bought the land and he and Rupp built a new platter lift where the Happy Platter sits today; the following year they built the Spring Lift — the first chairlift at Homewood Mountain Resort. The following winter the resort opened with the new chairlift and lights making it one of the only resorts offering night skiing in the area.

- Ron Rupp expanded from the small rope tow used to advertise the property in the neighborhood into a growing ski area. Just after the construction of Rainbow Ridge, the team at Tahoe Ski Bowl built the Ellis Chair and that opened a new era for the two resorts.

“Ray Kettenhoffen owned Tahoe Ski Bowl next door and his son Jamie was the mountain ops manager over there. It

“I started working here in 1983 when Helen Aldrich owned the resort,” said Nancy Gimbert, senior accountant at Homewood Mountain Resort and one of the mountain’s longest-standing employees. “I worked at the Hofbrau. We had breakfast and lunch and we would just make a good breakfast for the ski patrol and all the groomers would come in. It was fun. I remember it was a big winter that year because we were open for Thanksgiving.”

In those days, Gimbert said it was common to pitch in wherever help was needed. Bob and Nan Martin were in charge at the time and they left a legacy of creating a community at Homewood.

In the late 1980s, the Tahoe area saw a series of dry years that were hard on the ski industry in the area. Tahoe Ski Bowl in particular fell on hard times and Helen

Aldrich bought the ski hill and combined it with Homewood.

Tahoe Ski Bowl required a lot of work to continue running so Rupp and the team got to work clearing new trails, upgrading the grooming fleet and making repairs. Unfortunately, a couple more years of dry winters proved to be too much to revive the two resorts and in 1991, Aldrich filed for bankruptcy and sold the ski resort to Steven Wyler.

Though things seemed dire, Steven Wyler took a chance on the resort. Wyler went to work purchasing a new fleet of grooming machines — including the mountain’s first winch cats — installing new snowmaking systems and completing summer trail maintenance to ensure the resort would be able to operate the next time a dry winter hit. His investment paid off a few seasons later with 36 feet of snow falling in the winter of 1993 bringing a record number of skiers and riders to the hill.

Visit skihomewood.com for the complete history of the resort, historic images and to watch the documentary on the resort’s anniversary.n Editor’s Note: This article is excerpted from Homewood Mountain Resort’s history of its first 60 years.

GAME DAY SUNDAY PARTY Big Screen Viewing | Feb. 13 | 3:30pm

Giveaways | Beer Specials Special Game Day Bar Menu

725 GRANLIBAKKEN RD., TAHOE CITY, CA 96145 CEDAR HOUSE PUB | OPEN THURSDAY – SATURDAY 17

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THE makers

creative awareness | arts & culture | makers’ movement

Jillian Culver C R E AT I V E C R O C H E T C R E AT I O N S STORY BY PRIYA HUTNER PHOTOS BY JILLIAN CULVER

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Jillian Culver wears a handmade crocheted sweater, hair extensions, dog sweater. beer mittens and beanie.

J

illian Culver learned to knit when she was age 7. She dabbled some but says it didn’t quite stick. In high school, a friend taught her how to crochet.

“My friend showed me this one stitch and I just started making beanies, scarves and different stuff. It was something I did while I watched TV or was bored,” says Culver, owner of Illjay Designs.

What’s the difference between knitting and crocheting?

“Knitting is using straight needles and crocheting uses one. When knitting, you have to keep all of your stitches on the needles or it will unravel. You can pick it up and go along wherever you want with crocheting. There’s a little more freedom in my opinion with that,” says Culver.

Crochet is a meditative art. It can be complex and time-consuming, especially for the novice.

Culver attended art school and studied painting and photography. But she always gravitated back to crocheting on the side. She found herself braiding yarn and string into her art, incorporating her love of crocheting into unique pieces of work.

The pandemic was a turning point for Culver, who was managing Zuri Coffee Co. in Truckee at the time. She utilized the time during the shutdown to start her business, Illjay Designs. She began crocheting wearable art. She created a You18

Tube Channel (Crochet with illJay), an Esty shop (illJay), a website (illjay.com) and an Instagram page (@_illjay_) to market her creations. In addition, Culver does all of her own photography and videography work. She has set up a booth at several craft shows, including the annual Made In Tahoe festival at Palisades Tahoe.

Culver crochets capes and ponchos, halters and hats and Alpine beanies and beer mittens — some of her bestsellers.

“I got such positive feedback for having beautiful and unique hair I began to make and sell sets of wool hair extensions. Each year I’ve hosted a hair braiding workshop at Burning Man. It’s become part of what I am known for now.”

- Jillian Culver

Need something to keep your pooch warm this winter? Culver knits custom dog sweaters, too.

“I love making dog sweaters. I knew someone who had a dog that lost his fur, so I started making him sweaters to keep him warm. They were a hit,” says Culver.

Culver’s dreadlock extensions are one of her top-selling products available through her Etsy shop. The colorful dreadlocks are made from sheep’s wool and come in a rainbow of colors perfect for dressing up, festivals or just for fun.

“The dreadlocks were originally inspired by the Burning Man culture. In my first year, I protected my long hair by braiding and adding in fun dreads and yarn extensions. The hairstyles I see on Playa are so inspiring. I could tell there was a market for it with a lot of potential and room for innovation. I got such positive feedback for having beautiful and unique hair I began to make and sell sets of wool hair extensions. Each year I’ve hosted a hair braiding workshop at Burning Man. It’s become part of what I am known for now,” she says.

Culver is passionate about designing and writing patterns for her creations.

She makes each piece a couple of times to formulate the exact equation for her patterns, which Culver says takes countless hours to design and write.

“I’ve spent years crocheting and making up my own patterns from my head. I write them down, record and document them and then sell them. It’s very, very tedious,” she says.

Culver has realized newfound freedom in business for herself and is living her best creative life. | illjay.com n

Crocheting Workshop March 7-May 1 or May 2-June 26 Truckee Donner Rec & Park District | tdrpd.org

the art s Cathy McClelland art exhibit For Goodness Sake | Truckee Feb. 9-March 8 12 p.m. | goodnesssake.org

Diamond Cut Video Competition Diamond Peak Ski Resort Incline Village | Feb. 9-March 20 | (775) 832-1177, diamondpeak.com

Mary Nagel Klein art exhibit Incline Village Library Incline Village | Feb. 9-Feb. 28 10 a.m. | (775) 832-4130, washoecountylibrary.us

Romina Braje art exhibit Tahoe City Visitor Center | Tahoe City Feb. 9-March 31 | (530) 581-6900, artbyromi.com

February 9-22, 2022 HISTORY

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stories

BY MARK MCLAUGHLIN

The Brutal Winter of 1951-52

Email anne@tahoethisweek.com for details

PA R T I V

O

verwhelming snowfall during January 1952 crushed the life out of the Tahoe Sierra. Thousands of residents, skiers and travelers were stranded at resorts, maintenance stations and in snowbound communities.

Virtually all primary and secondary mountain roads were impassable and manned roadblocks stopped all but emergency vehicles from traveling.

Cross-country skiers were warned to watch out for high voltage power lines buried by the deep snow. Central Sierra Snow Lab had picked up more than 31 feet so far and the snowpack was more than 14 feet deep on Donner Pass, a new record for so early in the season.

By the end of January, Truckee residents had shoveled nearly 23 feet of snow. The local high school was closed for 15 days that month.

from supplies for 20 days. They called the Coast Guard to bring in emergency provisions by boat, but the picturesque bay had frozen solid for the first time in 35 years. It took an auxiliary crew aboard a cutter eight hours to break ice in the bay so they could deliver food.

Like our contemporary Caltrans crews, resolute highway crews slowly won back the roads. On Tahoe’s North Shore progress was held to about one city block per day due to fallen trees embedded in the snowpack. Tahoe City was re-connected to Truckee on Feb. 18.

Worried about the snowbound hamlet of Homewood, Constable Harry Johanson delivered 1,400 pounds of food via Sno-Cat. Shortly after Officer Johanson reached the West Shore community, another powerful storm rolled in.

North, West shores residents isolated

Donner Summit was pounded with an additional 7 feet of snow in eight days and the snowpack exceeded 18 feet.

Highway 40 over the Sierra was shut down again.

By Feb. 21, downtown Truckee had picked up 27 feet and counting. Drifts 20 feet deep buried roads in Tahoe City isolating the community again. Some residents were using their second-floor windows as the front door.

It was even worse in the small town of Calpine north of Truckee, which had been snowbound for weeks and without electricity since Jan. 11. Due to the lack of power and 8 feet of snow on the ground, the local elementary school was closed for a month and a half.

March roared in like a lion with another 13 feet of snow measured at the snow lab. Precipitation that month was double normal, with the Soda Springs snowpack peaking at more than 22 feet deep. It was getting harder to accurately measure the depth since the snow stake was only 200 inches (16.7 feet) tall. At Eureka Bowl near Quincy, the snowpack stood at 23 feet and contained a drought-busting 110 inches of water.

Highway 89 along the Truckee River was shut down for a week, isolating Tahoe City and North Shore communities where there was a shortage of fresh milk, eggs and butter. Residents in need of heating oil tapped tanks at unoccupied homes.

In early February, a break in the weather allowed a plane to fly in with repair parts for Placer County’s two rotary plows that had been working to clear the main highways on the North and West shores of Lake Tahoe. Both plows had broken down; the Tahoe City machine needed a new transmission and the Kings Beach plow a rear axle.

The transmission was dropped over Tahoe City Golf Course, but despite being rigged with a parachute, the 800-pound box hit the snow “like a bullet.” On its recovery it was discovered that they had received the axle by mistake. At Kings Beach, men waiting for the drop couldn’t find the crate until they discovered a large depression in the snow on the roof a nearby residence.

They shoveled the roof, repaired the damage and recovered the transmission from the living room below. After the delivery error was radioed in, a follow-up air drop rectified the situation and soon both plows were back in operation.

A family of five caretaking Vikingsholm Castle at Emerald Bay was cut off

The snow kept coming

Southern Sierra pummeled

Extreme snowfall also hit the southern Sierra Nevada. On March 14, 15 employees at the California State Highway Maintenance Station at Crestview in Mono County reported an unofficial

Record summer snowpack on Mt. Rose Highway. | Courtesy North Lake Tahoe Historical Society

snowfall tally of 84 inches in just 24 hours. (California’s current 24-hour snowfall record is 67 inches measured at Echo Summit in January 1982.)

Near Bishop, 33 people were rescued after an avalanche destroyed their mining camp. The group had spent two days huddled in a concrete basement fearing to leave. The snow slide hit so quickly it separated an infant from its mother and buried the child under 15 feet of snow.

“I was outside the mill when the avalanche struck. I looked around and saw a wall of snow roaring down from the canyon walls. The houses seemed to explode. I started running toward my home, almost crazy because I was sure my wife and baby were killed,” recalled Thomas Holmes.

After he found his wife injured but alive, she pointed to a wall of snow and said, “Our baby Michael is under that.”

Holmes and some friends frantically dug into the snow pile for two hours before finding the toddler alive. Amazingly, the child was fine. Holmes later said, “Michael was wedged between the family’s two small dachshund dogs. All were alive and uninjured. I am sure we owe our baby’s life to our dogs. They must have crept as closely as possible to him to protect him and keep him warm.”

26 feet at Soda Springs

With roads closed at Kings Beach, Nurse Audrey Welch had to shoulder a backpack of medical supplies and struggle through fresh powder up to her neck to care for pregnant women on both sides of the state line. Snow depths throughout

the region were virtually unprecedented.

Tahoe City was reporting 12 feet; the west end of Donner Lake nearly 17 feet; Echo Summit 23.5 feet; and the greatest of them all, a solid 26 feet of snow at Soda Springs.

The winter of 1952 boasts a seemingly endless list of weather superlatives, including the deepest snowpack of 26 feet at Donner Pass and its second greatest annual snowfall of record with nearly 68 feet. Vital Highway 40 was blocked for 28 consecutive days, plus many additional days with temporary closures.

Read Parts I-III at

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Some blamed the exceptional snowfall on the December 1951 eruption of the Hibok-Hibok volcano in the Philippines that had blasted tons of ash and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. It’s impossible to say whether all that particulate matter contributed to the incredible amount of snow that buried the Tahoe Sierra that winter, but to stranded residents the endless powder certainly seemed like an avalanche of white ash.

This article is an excerpt from McLaughlin’s book, “Snowbound: Legendary Winters of the Tahoe Sierra.”n Tahoe historian Mark McLaughlin is a nationally published author and professional speaker. His award-winning books are available at local stores or at thestormking. com. You may reach him at mark@ thestormking.com.

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h oro scopes FIRE

EARTH

BY MICHAEL O’CONNOR

AIR

Life Coach Astrologer | SunStarAstrology.com

WATER

Aries (Mar 21 – Apr 19) The Capricorn impulse that began especially strong about a month ago comes to a peak this week.

In addition to the four planets still in Capricorn, Saturn will conjunct the Sun by the end of this week, also adding weight to matters. If you’re feeling it be aware that it is not ‘happening to you’. It is all actually ‘for’ you, but it might not seem like it.

Libra (Sep 23 – Oct 22) Big, deep, drum beats have been pounding for what might seem like months. Yet, they have gotten extra loud over the past several weeks. In some respects, shifts are occurring. Yet, in other regards, the tempo is simply getting stronger and louder. It remains that feeling at peace and keeping your stress levels is extra important yet among your biggest challenges.

Taurus (Apr 20 – May 20) Making your way in the world at this stage implies getting attention. You may find that the kind you are getting leans to infamy more than to fame and notoriety. However, you may be the hero for some while the villain to others. It is all a matter perspective. Somehow, you are getting attention and you are determined to make practical use of it.

Scorpio (Oct 23 – Nov 21) Your executive posture should be evident by now. Beyond the execution of practical decisions, the shift due to Aquarius time includes accessing your core sense of individuality. Yet, doing so may also be producing disturbance waves on relationship fronts.

Positively, these are breaking patterns and ruts and opening your mind to new possibilities.

Gemini (May 21 – Jun 21) Looking back, you will probably notice just how much your world has changed over the past weeks. The flow in the regard is neither due to change right away. However, Mercury re-entering Aquarius will help you see blue sky through the otherwise obscuring clouds. Projecting a vision toward a brighter future is there, yet also subject to interferences so do not draw conclusions.

Cancer (Jun 22 – Jul 22) Looking back over the past couple of years you should be able to recognize just how much your world has changed. These changes have occurred both inside and out and are likely very actively churning even at this very moment now. While a mix of themes and responses is indicated, they invariably include death and rebirth or transformation.

Leo (Jul 23 – Aug 23) You are generally oriented to a solid and stable lifestyle. However, there is a very active dynamic underway now and one that will continue.

Eventful changes may be subject to the changes others are undergoing in your life. As the story goes, changes in their lifestyle are invariably causing waves and shifts in your own.

Virgo (Aug 24 – Sep 22) The strong Capricorn influence may be working in your favor, at least in terms of activating a whole new level of personal power. Circumstances are pushing you to be more alert and to draw upon your reserves of strength, leadership and creative intelligence. Mercury in Aquarius will prove helpful and support your intuitive and inventive solutions.

20

Sagittarius (Nov 22 – Dec 21) Your sights continue to be firmly focused on creating a more powerful future. This focus may well encompass the welfare of others, such as family. Mercury in Aquarius is helping you thinking more clearly and to see more angles of the flow of circumstances underway. Even so, much is happening and the ground is hardly static and stable.

Capricorn (Dec 22 – Jan 19) Mars and Pluto in Capricorn are especially strong factors regarding your ardent determination to take pioneering leads. Yet, as determined as you are, some things simply cannot be rushed due to various realities holding them in place. So, you are wise to do what you can but avoid trying to force people and situations to your will as doing so will likely backfire.

Aquarius (Jan 20 – Feb 19) One way or another you are entering new territory. This may be literally true or it may be psychological, emotional, and spiritual or possibly even all of the above. The ace is likely to be steady and carrying a lot of weight and torque. Like powerful flood waters this force is serving to sweep away these past and there is little you can do but adapt.

Pisces (Feb 20 – Mar 20) Old structures are dissolving, perhaps quickly.

The question is: are you resisting or adapting.

Resistance now is likely to be futile, so opt for adaptation for best results. It is not a matter of what you have done wrong in the past so much as it is a matter of destiny which carries an inexorable force that must be respected, or else…

February 9-22, 2022 THE LINEUP

THE lineup live music | shows | nightlife

festivals | entertainment

Stan Charles O N E M U S C I A N S ’ H E A R T B E AT

BY SEAN MCALINDIN

“I

’ve been hiding out like a hermit, recording nonstop,” says Stan Charles from his home studio in Glenshire.

A computer screen full of half-finished files gives hint to the way his mind works.

“I can hyper-focus on recording or writing songs, but then I can’t find my keys,” says the 42-year-old multi-instrumentalist. “I’ll lose my phone 10 times a day. Really dumb stuff. But I haven’t written nonstop like this before. Ideas are spewing out of me from all different directions.”

Charles grew up in the San Francisco Bay community of Redwood Shores with his younger sister Jenni, the fiddler and frontwoman for Tahoma Americana band Dead Winter Carpenters. His first memories of music were singalongs as a 2-year-old in the band van with his father, legendary cowboy entertainer Pete Charles. As a toddler, he took drum lessons from Kenney Dale Johnson, a Marin County session drummer who plays with Chris Isaak. By age 6, he started piano lessons and soon picked up the guitar.

Charles was always a natural musician who played by ear and feel.

“I never got good at reading music, so I’d fake it,” he says. “In my older age, I’m understanding it’s my meditation. I can’t calm my mind even with guides or whatever, but I can sit down and play a riff for three hours straight.”

A true child of 90s California, Charles was a fifth grader at Catholic elementary school when he formed proto-rock groups, Armada and One Shot, which later morphed into punk band, On the

Brink. After high school, he studied music at California State University, Long Beach where he immersed himself in Rastafari culture while touring with Dub Kinetics and The Lighter Thieves.

“I was a white skater punk who wanted to learn where reggae came from,” he says. “I went to the local church and read the Kebra Nagast. I got way deep into it.

It was very spiritual to me.”

In 2004, Charles moved to the mountains and founded hip-hop reggae collaborative, Truckee Tribe. He cut his teeth on wild, late-night gigs at the infamous Pastime Club in Truckee.

“It was the f*in’ Wild West,” he says.

His local popularity eventually led to opening slots for lionized artists such as The Wailers, Eek-a-Mouse and Lyrics Born.

When Covid arrived, heartbreak paired with seemingly, never-ending restrictions on live entertainment guided the long-time Tahoe Sierra musician inward.

He split with the mother of his 5-yearold daughter, Mazzy (named after shoegaze icons Mazzy Star), and left his job as a music educator at Tahoe Expedition Academy to focus on his own work.

Charles now has around 50 new compositions in varying degrees of completion.

“It was a dark time,” he says. “I holed myself up for two years. I was playing sad songs. I was staying up all night with a song in my head. The weird thing is I like the songs. It was my therapy to get it out.”

Charles is planning to release his solo music under the pseudonym, Technical Difficulties. His music is varied, com-

Truckee songwriter Stan Charles at work in his home studio. | Mazzy Charles

plex and soulful, as if Beck met Stick Figure on the road to Seattle.

“Beautiful Hot Mess” and “Hard Times” are warm emo-ballads about his ex, Veronica Lichter of femme-rock trio Rogue (formerly Burning Nylon). “Bye Polar” starts out as a low-key Death Cab for Cutie tune before morphing into melodic one-drop rhythm with a vocal delivery reminiscent of the Barenaked Ladies on Xanax.

Charles’ music fits squarely in the realm of genre-bending bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and 311, with the dynamic “Mellow Fellow” seamlessly transitioning from atmospheric rock to funky hip-hop at a moment’s notice. On songs like “Stay Up” and “Astral Travelin,” he follows his muse deep into a swampland of stripped-back New Orleans groove.

“Wonderful Life” weaves feel-good island vibes evoking modern groups such as Pepper and Rebelution.

For “Proud Boys,” Charles goes full-on country tilt for a sarcastic play on modern white supremacy.

“I like to make people think,” he says.

“If you look at my lyrics, I probably thought about that sentence three times and there is probably three different meanings to it.”

One thing’s for sure: the music sounds like him.

“This is a whole different chapter of weirdness,” says Charles. “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I do I feel like I’m doing something for myself. Then again, I might have gone crazy. All these songs might suck.” | stancharlesmusic.com n

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THE lineup

l i ve FEBRUARY 9 | WEDNESDAY

WinterWonderGrass returns to Tahoe P ET E R ROWA N R E C A L LS A L I F E O F F O L K M U S I C

BY SEAN MCALINDIN

WinterWonderGrass | April 1-3 | Palisades Tahoe

A

life lived in music holds more stories than could ever truly be told.

This goes for legendary singer and songwriter Peter Rowan whose young days in the parks and pubs of 1950’s Boston weave an intimate tour through folk history. Rowan will be performing at this year’s WinterWonderGrass Festival, which will return to Tahoe from April 1 to 3 for the first time since the pandemic.

Just imagine: A song from his teenage sock-hop group, The Cupids, plays on WCOP radio as Rowan’s mother drives him to the train station near Wayland, Mass., in 1956.

“We modeled it, like The Beatles did, after the Buddy Holly thing,” says Rowan. “It had harmony singing and great playing.”

An hour later, 14-year-old Rowan walks into The Golden Vanity pub in Kenmore Square to hear Piedmont fingerstyle guitarist Brownie McGhee pick classic blues with harmonica player Sonny Terry. He then travels to Park Plaza to hang out with Don Stover and the Lilly Brothers at Hillbilly Ranch.

“By the time I was 17 I had already started playing a little bit of bluegrass,” says Rowan. “I played mandolin. I’d go on the bandstand and play for the sailors and women of the town way down in Boston.”

He heads over the Charles River to Harvard Square where fabled New England banjoist Bill Keith is picking bluegrass with Jim Rooney, the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and resident folkie Eric Von Schmidt.

“That was where I developed my love of coffee,” says Rowan. “People were smoking pot. They were a little wired.”

One special night 17-year-old Joan Baez shows up and sings “Tutti Frutti” with members of The Cupids.

“We’d just played a rock ‘n’ roll show for kids dancing when we had heard this was the place to go,” says Rowan. “In this building is this girl with bare feet playing acoustic guitar and stealing your heart away, singing these old, ancient songs about silver daggers and things like this. I think that was the best of it.”

Roots of the music

It was Keith who introduced Rowan to the godfather of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, in 1963 when he sat in with the Blue Grass Boys for a brief New England run.

At the end of the tour, Monroe invited 22

Magic Fusion Starring Robert Hall The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Robert Hall The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

FEBRUARY 10 | THURSDAY Live Music Tahoe Wine Collective, Tahoe City, 2-8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Spafford Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, 8 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Live Music Bar of America, Truckee, 8-11 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

FEBRUARY 11 | FRIDAY

Musical cowboy Peter Rowan has been singing bluegrass music since the 1950s. | Amanda Rowan

Rowan to Nashville to join the group that started it all.

After four successful years, Rowan left the Blue Grass Boys to join mandolinist David Grisman in psychedelic rock group Earth Opera, which regularly opened for The Doors. He played Telecaster with roots-fusion band Seatrain in the early 70s until the day he dropped off tour in San Antonio, Tex. He found a cheap motel and walked the night streets perusing Catholic statuaries, flirting with women, eating $1 tacos and listening to live music at local restaurants and pool halls.

“It was an original sound that I loved,” he says. “It goes to show if you follow your inspiration, it may not lead to what you expect, but good things will come.”

It was then he wrote his most popular song, “Midnight Moonlight.”

“It was my fate to stay on in San Antonio,” says Rowan. “It was like the home of Tantric Christianity where the invisible would be made visible.”

The birth of jamgrass

In 1973, Rowan headed to California to reconnect with Grisman. The day after he arrived, they woke up, burned a big one and went for a walk on Stinson Beach.

“You know Garcia lives up the hill and

he loves to pick,” said Grisman.

“Sounds fun to me,” Rowan replied.

Later that week, jamgrass pioneers Old & In The Way was born in Garcia’s beach cottage.

“The idea with Old & In The Way was not to be overarranged,” says Rowan. “I think that’s why we got the reputation as a jam band.”

At WinterWonderGrass, expect Rowan to join in as a special guest with other performers of the weekend such as WinterWonderWomen, Pickin’ on the Dead, The Lil’ Smokies and Billy Strings.

“I like the experimentation of the younger bands,” says the 79-year-old musician. “One of the beautiful things about music is it breathes.”

Hopefully, some of Rowan’s ageless bluegrass wisdom will rub off on the young guns.

“If you want to define a classic bluegrass song, I think there has to be an intonation of immortality,” says Rowan.

“Back then it was a stricter time. You sang about hard times and suffering. Today it’s not hip to be writing about suffering. You forget what bluegrass was in those days. It was a passion. It was a serious passion.” | peter-rowan.com, winterwondergrass.com n

Live Music Tahoe Wine Collective, Tahoe City, 12 p.m.

Live Apres Music Heavenly Mountain, South Lake Tahoe, 3-5 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Live Music Bar of America, Truckee, 8-11 p.m.

Rock Hard Burlesque Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Tower of Power Bally’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Dueling Pianos Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8:30 p.m.

Matt Reardon Band Bar of America, Truckee, 9 p.m.-12 a.m.

Arty the Party Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 9 p.m.

Live DJ Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 10 p.m.

Live DJ Winter Bloom Bar & Lounge, Stateline, 10:30 p.m.

Bluebird Days Winter Concert Series Wylers Hope Valley, Markleeville

FEBRUARY 12 | SATURDAY DJ Cat Heavenly Mountain, South Lake Tahoe, 12-2 p.m.

DJs at Big Blue View Bar Homewood Mtn. Resort, Homewood, 12-3 p.m.

Rockin’ the Bowl Weekend Music Series Sugar Bowl, Norden, 1-4 p.m.

Live Music in the Village Kirkwood Mountain Resort, Kirkwood, 1 p.m.

Winter Music Series Northstar Village, Truckee, 2-5 p.m.

Live Apres Music Heavenly Mountain, South Lake Tahoe, 3-5 p.m.

February 9-22, 2022 THE LINEUP

Rockin’ the Bowl Weekend Music Series Sugar Bowl, Norden, 1-4 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 4:30 p.m.

Blue Grass Jam Alibi Ale Works, Truckee, 6 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

Live DJ Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 10 p.m.

Bluebird Days Winter Concert Series Wylers Hope Valley, Markleeville

FEBRUARY 14 | MONDAY Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

FEBRUARY 15 | TUESDAY Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

FEBRUARY 16 | WEDNESDAY Magic Fusion Starring Robert Hall The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Robert Hall The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

FEBRUARY 17 | THURSDAY Live Music Tahoe Wine Collective, Tahoe City, 2-8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Mgic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

FEBRUARY 18 | FRIDAY Live Apres Music Heavenly Mountain, South Lake Tahoe, 3-5 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Two Lions RMU Truckee, Truckee, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Rock Hard Burlesque Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Dueling Pianos Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8:30 p.m.

Blues Monsters Bar of America, Truckee, 9 p.m.-12 a.m.

Arty the Party Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 9 p.m.

Live DJ Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 10 p.m.

Live DJ Winter Bloom Bar & Lounge, Stateline, 10:30 p.m.

Bluebird Days Winter Concert Series Wylers Hope Valley, Markleeville FROM PAGE 20

FEBRUARY 13 | SUNDAY

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

a n s we r s

TOCCATA Tahoe Soiree Musicale Fundraiser area venues, Incline Village, 3 p.m.

Mudd Bonz Casey’s, Zephyr Cove, 6-9 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

The Green w/Keznamdi Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Live Music Bar of America, Truckee, 8-11 p.m.

Rock Hard Burlesque Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Tower of Power Bally’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Erik Griffin Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, 8 p.m.

Free Comedy Night South Lake Brewing Company, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Dueling Pianos Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8:30 p.m.

Matt Reardon Band Bar of America, Truckee, 9 p.m.-12 a.m.

Arty the Party Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 9 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Jon Armstrong The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

Live DJ Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 10 p.m.

Live DJ Winter Bloom Bar & Lounge, Stateline, 10:30 p.m.

FEBRUARY 19 | SATURDAY DJ Cat Heavenly Mountain, South Lake Tahoe, 12-2 p.m.

DJs at Big Blue View Bar Homewood Mountain Resort, Homewood, 12-3 p.m.

Rockin’ the Bowl Weekend Music Series Sugar Bowl, Norden, 1-4 p.m.

Live Music in the Village Kirkwood Mountain Resort, Kirkwood, 1 p.m.

Winter Music Series Northstar Village, Truckee, 2-5 p.m.

Live Apres Music Heavenly Mountain, South Lake Tahoe, 3-5 p.m.

TOCCATA Tahoe Soiree Musicale Fundraiser area venues, Incline Village, 3 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

ALO W/ Anna Moss Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, 8 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Live Music Bar of America, Truckee, 8-11 p.m.

Rock Hard Burlesque Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Two Lions Band The Sawyer at Schaffer’s Mill, Truckee, 8 p.m.

David Spade Bally’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Dueling Pianos Harveys Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8:30 p.m.

Blues Monsters Bar of America, Truckee, 9 p.m.-12 a.m.

Arty the Party Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 9 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

Afroman Whiskey Dicks, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

Live DJ Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 10 p.m.

Live DJ Winter Bloom Bar & Lounge, Stateline, 10:30 p.m.

FEBRUARY 20 | SUNDAY Rockin’ the Bowl Weekend Music Series Sugar Bowl, Norden, 1-4 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 4:30 p.m.

Food Distribution We’re delivering perishable food bags weekly IN TRUCKEE & NORTH LAKE TAHOE.

Delivery staff and volunteers are following best practices and wearing masks. Please follow social distancing and NOT interact.

To sign-up or cancel, e-mail food@sierracommunityhouse.org or call 775-545-4083; Provide full name, address, phone number, birthdate, and number of people in the household.

Blue Grass Jam Alibi Ale Works, Truckee, 6 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

The Beach Boys Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Winter Snowdown III Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

Live DJ Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, Stateline, 10 p.m.

Bluebird Days Winter Concert Series Wylers Hope Valley, Markleeville

FEBRUARY 21 | MONDAY Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

FEBRUARY 22 | TUESDAY Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Matt Marcy The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

FEBRUARY 23 | WEDNESDAY Magic Fusion Starring Robert Hall The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 7 p.m.

Live Music McP’s Taphouse, South Lake Tahoe, 8 p.m.

Alex Ramon Real Magic Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Stateline, 8 p.m.

Magic Fusion Starring Robert Hall The Loft, South Lake Tahoe, 9 p.m.

Tahoe Science Center Open Tues.-Sat.

Reservations required

TahoeScienceCenter.org

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TheTahoeWeekly.com

EAT &drink

food & libations | recipes | delicious events

Game Day Snacks

BY PRIYA HUTNER

F

ebruary brings us the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LVI and, hopefully, more snow. While we might not be hosting big parties this year, what better time to prepare some fun foods when settling in to watch sports with family or friends.

Whether you choose to offer smaller bites for game-time snacks or lean into a big spread depends on your commitment to the kitchen. Less time in the kitchen means more time watching athletes break records, win medals and score touchdowns.

Let’s break it down: dips for ease, smaller bites for cooler nights and bigger commitments for the foodie in all of us.

PIGS IN A BLANKET From the kitchen of Priya Hutner 1 package of organic beef hot dogs or veggie dogs 2 cans crescent rolls Mustard for dipping Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prep a baking sheet with parchment or silicone and spray with oil.

Cut hot dogs into four pieces.

Open a can of crescent rolls and cut the dough into four strips. Wrap the hot dog pieces in dough and place on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with stone-ground mustard or honey mustard.

Try Priya’s recipe for

Pretzels with Cheesy Beer Dip in this edition

24

Chips and dips

My all-time favorite is a hot spinach-artichoke dip with tortilla chips, crostini or crackers. It’s warm, cheesy and delicious. My aunt and uncle make shrimp dip and buffalo chicken dip with bagel or pita chips along with the classic potato chip and onion dip.

Hummus and pita chips or crudité speak to the healthy while guacamole, salsa and chips along with hot queso dip with jalapeños will please anyone.

Small bites

Pigs in a blanket with hot mustard are not only nostalgic but fun and tasty.

They can easily be vegetarian. With a can of crescent rolls and hot dogs and a few minutes in the oven, these babies are ready in no time.

Who doesn’t like Buffalo chicken wings with celery and bleu cheese dressing? There are many versions of wings, too: Korean style, Jamaican style, barbecue, breaded and air fried or just plain salt and pepper wings. Any of these are perfect for eating while watching TV. Ranch dressing is great on any type of wing and good with pigs in a blanket, too. For the vegetarians in the house, cauliflower wings are scrumptious.

Egg rolls are easy to make and bake; the sauce is key. I love sweet chili sauce with my eggrolls, but lemon soy and green onions with a splash of sesame oil are very good, as well.

Other small bites include meatballs,

always a hit with marinara and/or pesto sauce for dipping. Shrimp cocktail with cocktail sauce is also an easy dish.

Bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese are a nice morsel and excellent finger food.

My all-time favorite is a hot spinach-artichoke dip with tortilla chips, crostini or crackers.

It’s warm, cheesy and delicious.

Bigger commitments

My family loves sports and food. Pizza with toppings is always on their Super Bowl table. It is a laborious meal if made from scratch. Buying dough and rolling it out with assorted toppings cuts down on time. And yes, there’s always frozen pizza, but that somehow seems like cheating.

Nachos are a hit and they can be made individually or on a big tray. There are many variations, but jalapeños are a must.

Philadelphia-style soft pretzels are

a definite commitment to make from scratch, but they will take center stage at any table. Try my recipe in this edition.

Mustard is great, although some prefer a cheesy dip. Occasionally, I’ll acquiesce, but my first choice is always mustard.

Lasagna or baked ziti can feed a large group. Street tacos take time to prep, but, boy, are they good. In the end, maybe go more gourmet with scallops wrapped in bacon or beef tenderloin bites with horseradish sauce. Stuffed wonton cups filled with almost anything such as poke, spinach dip or shrimp salad might take some time but are worth the effort.

In my house, poke or ramen bowls with toppings rule the table.

When the Super Bowl and Olympics are over, there’s hockey and basketball to create plenty of opportunities to prepare a feast of fun foods.n Priya Hutner is a food writer, personal chef and owner of The Seasoned Sage, a local meal delivery and catering company. Priya has been creating and preparing meals from an early age. She has worked in the restaurant industry in New York City, attended catering school, and was the head chef and executive director of a nonprofit spiritual community in Florida. Visit her website at TheSeasonedSage.com. Send your comments, story ideas and food tidbits to priya@tahoethisweek.com.

February 9-22, 2022 EAT & DRINK

F RO M T H E S E AS O N E D SAG E

Soft Pretzels W IT H C H E E SY B E E R D I P

BY PRIYA HUTNER

I

split my time growing up between the suburbs of Northeast Philly, Penn., and Queens, N.Y. You quickly learn that there are certain foods that are just better in certain places.

Take soft pretzels, for instance: Philly rules. You can get the best pizza and bagels in New York, but the only place to get the best soft pretzel is Philadelphia.

Occasionally, I’ll make a cheesy dip for guests, but, in my world, mustard is the only way to go.n

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Cooking is a meditation for Priya, it is from that place she curates her menus and recipes to create delicious and nutritious meals for The Seasoned Sage, her company catering to client’s culinary preferences and dietary re-strictions. She is also working on a series of cookbooks. Visit her website at TheSeasonedSage.com or contact her at priya@ theseasonedsage.com.

From the kitchen of: Priya Hutner Philadelphia-Style Soft Pretzels

599 N. Lake Blvd.

Cheesy Beer Dip

1 pkg. active dry yeast

2 T butter

1½ C warm water

2 T flour

4 C all-purpose flour

1 T fresh garlic, minced

2 t salt

½ small onion, diced small

4 t baking soda

1 can beer

5 C water

1 C gruyere or Jarlsberg,

Coarse salt

grated or shredded

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1 C sharp cheddar,

Grease baking sheet.

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

grated or shredded 1 t Dijon or stone-ground mustard

In a separate bowl, mix flour and

1 C heavy cream

salt together. Mix in yeast water

1 t kosher salt

to make a stiff dough. Knead the

1 t fresh ground pepper to taste.

dough until smooth, then roll into

1 jalapeño or serrano pepper,

a large ball and place in a greased

seeded and diced small

warm for 1 hour.

When the dough has doubled in

dium heat. Add flour and stir for 2 minutes. Add garlic and onion; cook for about 3 minutes. Add beer

6 to 8 balls. Roll out the balls into

and mustard; mix well and allow

long ropes and shape into pretzels.

the mixture to simmer and thicken.

Dissolve baking soda in water and

Stir in grated cheese, a bit at a time. Add diced pepper and stir

bring to a boil. Drop the pretzels

until reaching a smooth consis-

into the boiling water until the

tency. Add heavy cream, salt and

pretzel floats. Remove from water,

pepper and mix well. Simmer for 5

drain and place pretzel on the sheet

minutes.

pan. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake for 10 minutes or until browned.

enjoy $5 Frisky KittIES every Friday!

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Melt the butter in a pot on me-

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Set aside.

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glass bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow it to rise somewhere

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Serve hot with homemade soft pretzels or buy frozen soft pretzels and bake them.

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The patio at Baiocchi Wine.

G

reg Baiocchi’s first passion in life was music. As musicians do, he opened himself up to many styles and rhythms as he matured. His second passion is wine. Wine also has an appeal to his creative side, since making good wines involves both complexity and experimentation.

“It is a challenge to abandon your security blanket to follow your dreams. I’ve ended up working harder every day than I ever did, but with no regrets. I feel that this is truly what I was meant to do. The result: creating a brand and also a lifestyle that is founded in the earth and is real, kinesthetic and sustainable,” Baiocchi wrote in his blog.

That’s the origin story of Baiocchi Wines. From the first vintage in 2009 until today, it’s been a path of taking risk, correcting the course and forging ahead.

The result is elegant wines in the Southern Rhone tradition. On the 12 planted acres of the 40 acres Baiocchi owns in the Fair Play AVA of El Dorado County, he coaxes his vines to produce the best fruit for his handcrafted wines.

“The vineyard philosophy was to plant Mourvedre, Grenache Syrah and Tempranillo because of the excellence of terroir for these varieties,” Baiocchi explained. “These varietals all grow well together here. This vineyard mix allows me to make wine of defined character no matter what Mother Nature throws our way each year.”

Baiocchi took courses in viticulture and winemaking at the UC Davis Extension winemaking program. He also gained valuable practical experience with hands-on work at two Northern California wineries: Miraflores Winery and Big Basin Vineyards. Before he knew it, he was following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Maggio Baiocchi, who also made wine and enjoyed music.

At Baiocchi Wines, Baiocchi pays attention to tone and notes just as he did as

a performing artist.

“My winemaking philosophy is to use indigenous yeast, balance some wines with oak, stick with my belief in unfined and unfiltered wines, and to create wine with a sense of place,” he said. Baiocchi also plays on the edge with his winemaking by doing some co-fermentation, including experimenting with field blends.

At Baiocchi Wines, Baiocchi can be a risk taker with his blends. He likes to experiment, and he blends with the goal in mind of delivering purity and freshness of fruit, imparting a sense of place, and ultimately creates an experience that emanates from the vineyard and finds its way to the glass.

The tasting room is open Friday to Sunday at 82 Main. St., Sutter Creek. | (209) 267-5523, baiocchiwines.com n Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from the second edition of the popular guidebook

“Wineries of the Sierra Foothills: Risk-Takers & Rule-Breakers” available on Amazon. All sales support Tahoe Weekly.

t ast y t idbit s Last Tracks Wine/Beer Tasting Diamond Peak Ski Resort Incline Village | Feb. 9, Feb. 16 4:30 p.m. $94 | (775) 832-1177 diamondpeak.com

Wine Tastings The Idle Hour Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe | Feb. 9, Feb. 23 5-8 p.m. | (530) 600-3304, tahoesouth.com

Wyld Women Drink Wine Tahoe Wine Collective | Tahoe City | Feb. 9 6-8 p.m. | facebook.com

Snowshoe Tour & Dinner The Chalet at Alpine Meadows Tahoe City | Feb. 12, Feb. 22 4:30 p.m. $95 | palisadestahoe.com

40 ANNIVERSARY TH

1982 – 2022 FEB. 13–19, 1986

| An unidentified participant in

the annual Sierra Sweepstakes Sled Dog Races being held at the Truckee Tahoe Airport was featured on the cover of the “North Tahoe Truckee Week.” If you know who this person is, email us at editor@tahoethisweek.com.

Ski ballet star Suzy Chaffee was performing and teaching at Tahoe Ski Bowl (now Homewood), an article on the Sierra Snow Lab featured a then 26-year-old Randy Osterhuber, and heli-skiing packages were offered at Squaw Tahoe Resort.

JULY 17–23, 1986

| Volunteers working

to build the new Tahoe Rim Trail were, from left, Terri Tombaugh, George Laubbacher and Dave Vichules.

Photography courtesy Barifot Photo.

Cruises on North Tahoe Cruises were $10 as were guided horseback rides at Tahoe Donner. Tower of Power was playing at the Music at Sand Harbor series.

More covers from our past will be featured @TheTahoeWeekly on Facebook and Instagram and in our newsletter throughout the year.