Tag Archives: snow

Let’s Go Skiing

informational, personal, photograph, recreation, travel, , , , , ,


<br /> Lake Tahoe Snow<br />

Snow in the Sierras


Lots of winter snow is a boon for those who love to ski.

The Lake Tahoe area is noted for its many ski slopes. This past March our plan was to visit relatives in Reno, Nevada and then drive to one of the nearby ski resorts. We made plane reservations, packed and were on our way.



We traveled by plane from our home in Grand Rapids to Reno which is the closest airport to Lake Tahoe.



We arrived in Reno to some very nasty weather on Friday. Snow in the Sierras was predicted to be six feet deep.

As predicted the snow fell heavily over the Lake Tahoe area. Some places reported eight feet of the white fluffy stuff. Yes, as skiers we welcomed the snow – but not this much. All of the ski resorts were closed to the public as the workers there were doing their best to dig the lifts and gondolas out of the deluge and groom the slopes and trails.

The interstate highway from Nevada to California was closed for safety reasons and the traffic was stopped at the state line for three days.

On Monday my son who lives in the area said that we might try to reach one of the ski resorts by an alternate route. To our surprise these roads were relatively clear of the snow. Instead of a drive of 45 minutes by the interstate we drove for two hours to reach Truckee, CA by this “backdoor” road.

Truckee is home to the Northstar Ski Resort and sits close to the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Since the main road to Truckee was closed in both directions – Nevada from the east and California from the west, the parking lot was not very full.



On the back road we were treated to some very nice scenery.



The alternate road was relatively clear of snow and tarffic.


 



Here’s our skiing crew ready to hit the slopes at Northstar.



The four of them are ascending on the quad chair.


 



Later on we took the gondola to one of the higher slopes where we enjoyed the view from the top.



The skiing was great with lots of fresh powder and uncrowded slopes.





We finished skiing by late afternoon. We took the interstate that was closed for three days had just reopened. Half way back to Reno we could see that the vehicles stopped at the Nevada-California border since Friday were starting to move on the other side of the highway. As you can see there were an amazing number of vehicles crawling along Interstate 80 to reach California.


We’ll remember the time we asked for snow and received way more than we needed.

 

Our March ski trip turned out well despite the exorbitant amount of snow that the Sierras received. We also got to visit with our son and his family for a few days.

Written by:

Arnie Lee

 

 


Winter is Fading

nature, personal, , ,

This year’s Michigan winter has felt long and unpredictable. December was decidedly frigid and harsh. During other times, we’ve seen surprising warm spells intermixed with lots of cloudy skies, frozen temperatures and snow.

But as I ventured outdoors yesterday, my camera noted a subtle change taking place. I’m seeing that old man winter may be relenting.

Last weekend we turned our clocks ahead an hour – a signal that spring is on its way. I’m hoping for an abundance of sunshine to warm the air.
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee
 
 

First Snow … get out there and enjoy

nature, techniques, , , ,

Today was the first day of appreciable snow in West Michigan with Mother Nature blanketing us with a foot or more.

It’s cold outside – about 20 degrees – but if you bundle up you might appreciate the beauty that comes with the first snowfall.

Here’s a suggestion for the photographers among you. The white fluffy stuff usually “tricks” your camera’s automatic exposure into thinking that it’s brighter outside than it really is. I usually set the camera to add an additional one stop of exposure (+1 exposure compensation) when shooting in the snow so that my pictures don’t appear overly gray and washed out.

Following are a few snaps that I made on a short walk down the street to get my morning coffee.

DSC02749 DSC02752 DSC02753                 DSC02754

                    
DSC02756   DSC02760 DSC02762

Bundle up to stay warm and then get outside to enjoy the outdoor sights!