It Was Absolutely Heavenly...

at Heavenly, South Lake Tahoe, CA!

Fortunately the nasty snow, ice and freezing rain of Jan. 28 did not delay our early AM departure and subsequent early afternoon arrival in sunny, warm and lovely South Lake Tahoe. The other 8 in our group were sadly not so fortunate, with Mark, Janet, Gwen, Laura, Karen, Bob and Kayla arriving around midnight and Barb finally making her appearance at 2 AM! However, thanks to the wonders of cellphone communication, Dale and I were able to access the rental house, get the first round of groceries bought and scope out our surroundings all while awaiting the others. Everyone especially appreciated the cold beer we had waiting when they finally arrived!

We were amazed by the huge house that Janet had rented for us, astonished at the beauty of the area, and pleased with all the reports stating that despite the sunshine and warm temperatures at lake level, the snow up above was in perfect condition. We dropped our skis off for waxing and sharpening that afternoon, and observed first hand the smiles on all the skier and boarder faces as they left the mountain. We were excited in anticipation of what the next few days would bring!

3606 MacKedie Way, South Lake Tahoe, CA


From the moment we rode up the quad on at 9 AM on Thursday morning until our last run down on Sunday just in time for the Super Bowl, all we can say is that Heavenly absolutely lived up to its name!!

Looking out toward Lake Tahoe at 9 AM

Preparing to cruise to Nevada

Top of the Summit Lift, 10,057'

With a very few exceptions, all of the ski runs are above 7500', with lifts running up to just over 10,000'. The slopes are predominately those wide, long, impeccably groomed and beautiful cruisers that we just love. They run through forests of enormous evergreen trees with views of Lake Tahoe or the Nevada desert out in every direction. A smattering of beginner runs are basically concentrated in their own areas, and with just a few daily publicized exceptions, the blacks and double blacks are huge fields of monster moguls or untracked bowls. There are several terrain parks for boarders plus a halfpipe, and those combine to keep the slopes relatively boarder free. Dale, Mark, Janet, Gwen and I are confident that we skiied every single blue run in the entire 4,800 acre area running from California to Nevada and back again. Plus, we also very much enjoyed all of the groomed blacks. The weather could not have been more perfect either. There was not a cloud from Wednesday PM until Monday AM when we reluctantly boarded the bus back to the airport. Overnight temperatures plummeted to the low teens, but the daytime highs soared into the mid to upper 40's! That combination made for true skiing comfort. Because of the high altitudes and the impressive skills of the groomers, the snow remained in that light and perfect condition that combine to make skiing such pure pleasure. There was NO ice, and only very occasional patches of what could be remotely considered hardpack on the lowest slopes. Amazing! Of course, the locals were doing a little complaining about the lack of powder, but even they had to admit that the skiing was pure bliss. The only blot on this perfect tableau was the pulled calf ligament that Dale experienced following a fall late on Sunday morning. Due to the pain he was experiencing, he decided to download just a couple hours earlier than the rest of us. Fortunately, he is hardly hobbling at all now, and he feels certain that he will be fit for our next scheduled ski excursions in late February.

Back in California!

The Nevada desert seen from the Skyline Trail


On a slope in Nevada looking toward some of our favorite slopes in California.

Janet, Mark, Dale, Gwen and Lake Tahoe always in the background

Except for one dinner out and a short visit to Harrah's Casino, we stayed in our luxurious home, enjoyed the hot tub on the deck, cooked large meals of yummy food, played Scattergories, watched "Mamma Mia" and the Super Bowl, hung out in our 'leisure wear' and just relaxed.

Janet and I loved our blue "Tahoe Tea" at Cecil's! Others in the photo are Mark, Janet's niece Laura, Kayla, Gwen and Barb.