Snow

Please pardon the radio silence, it has been a busy couple of weeks with little time to blog. I just couldn't resist posting this picture though, it came from my uncle Peike in Holland. On Easter Sunday he shot this out of his window and decided to go back to bed. I don't blame him. Snow in Holland in late March, wow. I don't think that's happened since I was a little kid. (I am headed to Holland soon, I hope the weather clears up a bit before then.)


Meanwhile I just came back from a fantastic four day break in Tahoe, skiing everyday under a blue sky with loads of sunshine. Spring skiing at its best. Here's a colleague doing a trick on his board. (We had a work ski day on Thursday, thanks McAfee!)

Snow!

This weekend I did my first skiing of the season! There is tons of snow in the California Sierras, much better than last year. The San Jose Mercury News reported on Friday that because of the snow level, Bay Area residents won't have to worry about water shortages this summer. That means everyone can water their lawns, wash their cars and flush their toilets, plus there won't be a need to share bath water. (Seriously, that's what they reported, though I doubt anyone shared bath water last summer.) Anyway, here are some snow shots.

Whistler

Turned out that last weekend was the last weekend of skiing on Whistler mountain. It doesn't make much sense to me, since there were still epic conditions up on top. True, there is no snow left down in the village and skiing down to lower elevations equates almost to water skiing, but up higher it is great. Two days of skiing were wonderful and exceptionally quiet with barely any lift lines and no crowds on the slopes. I highly recommend Whistler and Blackcomb (which will be open for a bit longer) for spring skiing.

Off to Vancouver!

The ski season has been cut somewhat short and has been snow-deprived in the California Sierra Nevada. However, I am heading up north to Vancouver for the CanSecWest security confab and am staying through the weekend to enjoy the spring skiing up at Whistler/Blackcomb. This will be my first time up in the Canadian snow. People have told me lots of great things about the resort though. Stay tuned for some more snow pictures, then its on to camping and mountains in the sun. (Image source: Ski Canada.)

Spring skiing at Bear Valley

It was a gorgeous day last Sunday, even though the snow got a bit slushy at the end of the day. More snow is finally forecast, so maybe the season isn't over yet!

Gorgeous day at Squaw

It pays to bring a photographer along on ski trips. I still don't know how Declan was able to ski with a heavy backpack with thousands of dollars worth of gear, but it got me some nice shots of myself. Makes my parents and grandmas happy as well. Thanks D! (For the in crowd, more pictures of this trip are in my private album.)

Don't swim here!

Also at Donner lake stands this sign with some good advise.

Donner Lake

Right outside our cabin in Truckee lies Donner Lake and it was partially frozen over this past weekend, thanks to weeks of frigid weather. (It was 17 below zero centigrade at night.) We even walked on part of the lake. And, yes, this is where Donner Pass is and where the Donner group of settlers had their horrible winter experience when moving west a long time ago.

Truckee Diner

We enjoyed an original American breakfast at the Truckee Diner on Sunday morning before heading to Reno for some time in the casinos. The food was abundant, but the quality so-so. However, the price was reasonable. So, if you want an all-American diner experience, don't want to wait long for your food and don't care about the tast so much, I recommend the Truckee Diner.

Sunset from Squaw's High Camp

Gorgeous skies while we were going down the mountain in the high camp cable car at Squaw Valley ski resort on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007.

USPS truck with chains

We wished the postal trucks really needed those tire chains because the Tahoe area can use some more of the white stuff this winter. However, skiing wasn't bad this year, it was worse in December, when only one run was open. Resorts are likely shutting their doors early though this season, sad enough.

On the slopes again.

Not the most charming shot, but what do you want when taking a photo of yourself. This is on the slopes at Squaw Valley ski resort Saturday, Jan. 13, where I enjoyed a mini vacation with friends Denis (pictured) and Christel and Cindy.