I did not get as many days on snow as I would have liked this past season.

First strike in my reduced season was a warm Midwestern winter, with little natural snowfall and not enough snow-making opportunity. The weather led to poor conditions on many weekends at most of my usual drive-to destinations. I did ski this (see pic below) one February afternoon at Wilmot. Luckily I did not have to pay for the privilege of grass stains. However, I was wiping mud off my skis when I returned to my car at the end of the session.

My season began on New Year’s Day at Cascade. Poor conditions on many of the easier runs, so I stuck with blue and black runs on the (lesser-traveled) Cindy Pop side of the mountain. I got a new pair of goggles in the pro shop, and had a delicious dinner at a restaurant in downtown Portage.

The following weekend, I flew into Vail/Eagle County airport for what has now become my “annual” Beaver Creek trip. Snow cover was fairly low, which is to be expected that early in the season, but the crowds were also thin. I had a delightful time skiing blue cruisers on the Arrowhead/Bachelor Gulch side of the resort.

After my arrival in Beaver Creek, I attended Saturday night Catholic Mass at the Beaver Creek Chapel, then strolled over into Beaver Creek Village for a light dinner. Since it was crowded, and I was a solo diner, the host asked if I’d mind sitting in the bar area. I was seated at a table already occupied by a young woman. She offered to move but I said, “No problem, we can share.”

Long story short, we ended up talking for hours, and made plans to ski at Vail on my last ski day of my visit. She picked me up at my hotel in her vintage Acura sedan (“I have good snow tires on this car,” she assured me. That she was driving stick was all the evidence I needed to guess that she was a capable driver.)

The weather in this visit was bitterly cold, though thankfully not too windy, with temps in the single digits and teens on the three days I skied out there. Our day in Vail was no different, and after a long run, we’d head inside to warm fingers and toes, then back out for more runs. Snow cover was very light, and you can peep grass through the snow in my video. (My camera mount was a little wonky so it’s pointing to the ground on much of this footage.)

My next ski trip was with a childhood friend who now lives in Duluth, MN. We planned for me to fly in, and we’d drive east over toward the UP, but she got the idea to just scoot up to Lutsen, instead.

This may have been one of my best ski days of the season. Despite it being a Saturday, we arrived early and scored awesome parking near the ticket windows. It never really got too crowded, and there was adequate (mostly man-made) snow. Best of all, the temps were in the 30s, so I wore my spring kit and was comfortable all day. Although a lot of terrain wasn’t open due to lack of snow, we had an absolute blast on what was available, hitting little jumps along the groomers.

Ironically, the second reason for reduced on-piste days this season was TOO MUCH SNOW in Tahoe on the weekends I visited.

My First Tahoe trip was via a charter departing from Bloomington, IL that made a stop en route in Fort Collins, CO to pick up more passengers. After a long delay leaving, we landed in a snowstorm, and our departure to Reno was delayed further.

But we did arrive, and the next day, I made my way from downtown Reno to Mount Rose Ski Tahoe. Chain warning lights were on, but the road that morning was not too bad, only a few small patches of packed snow here and there. I knew snow was in the forecast for the afternoon, so I only bought a half-day ticket in order to make my way back down Mt Rose Highway easily. It was a fun day, although very windy on the Slide Bowl side of the mountain. I also took a “Green Tour,” a free offering of the resort, skiing with guides explaining some of the geology, water sources, trees, and other natural features. As a bonus, one of the guides offered to take my picture, and framed it nicely with a sliver of Big Blue visible in the background.

The next day, conditions were very different, both on the mountain and the roads. As it was Presidents’ Weekend, and it snowed overnight, that Saturday crawl up Mount Rose Highway was littered along the shoulder with minivans ill-equipped for the snow-packed switchback road, all of them ignoring the Chain Warning (or AWD/Snow Tire) flashing signs on the way up. Very frustrating.

Things weren’t much better on the slopes. Interesting sights I saw from the lifts: lots of wipe-outs, and frustrated skiers taking off their skis and throwing them downhill (yes, more than one person on more than one run.) To be fair, the fresh snow was deep, sticky, and grippy that day. If you did not build up some speed, certain segments (and not flat areas, either) were tough to navigate as you’d sink into the snow.

I had fun initially, but by lunchtime, the crowds had grown and the snow was in worse shape.

It snowed again, overnight. My initial plan was to ski a total of three days on this visit, but based on traffic info, I decided to scrap day three and just do things in Reno, which was quite enjoyable. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy going there – so many things to do: shop, spas, art, great food/drinks, gaming, hiking, and more.

That familiarity with cool stuff to do in Reno came in handy when, two weeks later, I flew in to RNO in the midst of a massive blizzard. I did bring all my ski gear *hoping* that after the snowfall, I’d be able to get out the day before flying home. It was not to be, due to road closures. Still, I had a great time with my adult daughter walking around downtown Reno, exploring little shops in the converted old US Post Office, a bar-cade, church, casinos, a spa visit, and a fabulous, quirky dinner at Louis Basque Corner.

The hoped-for ski day came and went when, all decked in our snow gear, after schlepping my skis through the hotel lobby to the car, we punched in the location to Google maps to learn that Mt Rose Highway was closed. It did open later that day, but my daughter had an afternoon flight back to Seattle.

Instead we packed her things into the car, took a snow-covered, back roads, white-knuckle drive up (and down) Geiger Grade through Virginia City and finally over to Carson City to enjoy one of our regional favorite spots: Carson Hot Springs. After a relaxing soak, thankfully I-580 back to Reno was reopened, so we had a quick drive back to town.

We savored lunch and delightful beers at Beefy’s, then over to the Peppermill Casino for gelato and a little gaming before I dropped her off at the airport.

The minute I arrived home from that trip, I plotted to go back. I had one day left on my EPIC 4-day pass, plus I suspected it would be my last opportunity to ski for the season.

At the end of March, I was back in RNO, and my first ski day was Northstar Resort in Truckee, CA. I liked the resort, even though it had that familiar “Vail Vibe.” In particular, it had sections of blue cruisers that I found enjoyable, especially because some of them had low traffic. Grooming and lifts were adequate, and I lucked into fairly easy parking. Be prepared to get in line for a shuttle bust from parking to the lifts, but the busses are plentiful enough that you won’t be waiting too long.

The next day, I decided to try something different and drive past Mount Rose and continue on to Incline Village and Diamond Peak Resort. I really liked this place, despite its small size. Again, lots of blue cruisers for me to enjoy, including a few long runs from the top that were true leg burners. Views from the Lakeview chair are stunning. Everyone I met was so pleasant, and prices for food in the lodge were quite reasonable. I will be back there again for sure.

I’m already looking forward to the ’24-’25 season, and hopefully I’ll get more days out on the snow.