Karen Soo – Trip Director
Happy New Year! Kung Hey Fat Choy! The holidays are over, I’m back from my business trip to Hong Kong and now we welcome the Year of the Dragon. According to Chinese Five Element Astrology Calendar, 2012 is the Year of Water Dragon.
Chinese astrology is a balance theory of Five Elements. Each animal can be converted into Five Elements. Dragon contains Earth, Water and Wood. It’s a source of water and it is also called the water dam in Chinese astrology. Since water of 2012 comes with Dragon, it implied water from the sky makes a dam over-flow. Therefore 2012 is a strong water year.
Something is wrong here. I think I remember 2 storms rolling through the bay area. The last storm provided enough coverage to keep the ski resorts open.
Last weekend, I went up to Kirkwood and Heavenly. It was sunny and cool enough to keep the snow from melting. Most of the main runs were opened and groomed.
Trip 1 is happening next weekend. If you are interested, please send me an email. There’s still room on the bus.
Heavenly had made improvements to almost every aspect of the mountain. In 2002, there were 86 trails. This year, they’re up to 97 trails with the addition of three new runs on the Nevada Side. All three are solid intermediate runs accessed by the Stagecoach Chair. Outlaw provides a scenic view bordered by trees while Mineshaft and Comstock are both fun little jaunts that provide a cutover to Galaxy. They also widened five runs on the California side so there will be plenty of space to spread out.
Steins, located at the bottom of Patsy’s and Powder bowl Express, is their new Euro-themed beer garden and Umbrella Bar with sausages, stews, and chili. You can’t beat the atmosphere on a bluebird day when you’re sitting in an Adirondack with a cold beer in one hand and a juicy brat in the other.
A new addition for this season is the Après Ski at Tamarack Lodge. This year, the resort is extending the hours at Tamarack and hosting THE premier après party in Tahoe, They have food and drink specials, DJs spinning party tunes, and the Heavenly Angels on hand to host contests and giveaways!
We only have 2 signups for Trip 2. Our cut off dated for the trip is next week. Most likely this trip will be cancelled. Maybe more rain and snow will come next month. It is hard to tell at this time.
Our long weekend trip to Mammoth is also experiencing a slow climb of participants. There’s still room if you are interested.
The dry weather is really hurting everyone this season both in the west coast and the east coast. Retail stores are having their big sales early to clear out their inventory. If you need new ski equipment, now is the time to buy.
Please continue to wash your cars and do a little rain dance for Mother Nature.
We need more snow. See you on Trip 1.
Karen
