When I wrote about Tahoe’s wacky weather in my publisher’s note in the last edition of Tahoe Weekly, I could have never predicted the unseasonably warm weather we’ve had. While everyone is lamenting the lack of snow that has delayed the start of the ski season, Tahoe is fortunately one of those rare places where you can enjoy the outdoors anytime.
Hiking, mountain biking and cycling season has been extended far past when you can normally access trails. The snow will return with a small system moving into the area this week and, fortunately, night-time temperatures have finally dropped into the 20s and 30s, which will enable ski resorts to be able to make snow overnight that won’t melt the next day.
Mother Nature doesn’t usually start bringing mountain-covering snowstorms to the Tahoe Sierra until later December, so our ski resorts have invested tens of millions of dollars into snowmaking systems to push our ski season back into mid-November for years giving everyone a longer ski season. But without those cold temperatures at night, they can’t make snow that will stick. So, keep praying for snow and those cold nights.
Be prepared for conditions
I want to remind visitors to our region that while you’re enjoying the outdoors – whether hiking, biking, skiing or snowshoeing – that you need to be prepared before heading out. Once you leave the pavement, you are in the wilderness. That means weather can change rapidly, trail conditions will vary by elevation and there will likely be no cell service.
You need to carry layers for rapidly decreasing temperatures, food and water, and the proper gear, as two visitors found out recently when they needed help from Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue.
Rescuers responded to a call on Dec. 1 for two lost hikers found near the top of the Shirley Canyon trail. “They were not from the area and did not know the severity of the ice and snow at higher elevations. TNSAR was dispatched to locate the hikers and bring them jackets, water, crampons and ski poles so that the hikers could make it safely off the mountain,” they wrote on in a Facebook post.
I have lived in Tahoe for 20 years and I’ve hiked many local trails late in the season and I’ll share the best advice I can – be prepared with food, water and clothing but also be prepared to turn around. I know these trails and when I reach snow, I turn around if I didn’t pack my snowshoes. Post-holing sucks. It’s no fun, it’s exhausting and you can get hurt doing it. And trails disappear in the snow and ice. Just turn around.
