Tahoe Vacation News

Do you love the outdoors but don’t know how to begin to camp in the wintertime? You’re not alone.
This winter, join TRTA volunteer guides on an overnight trip to familiarize you with winter camping that we call Snow Camping 101.
Led by two experienced TRTA guides (Jordan Summers and Wayne McClelland) and staff, this one-night excursion is designed to share the joys to be found in the snow-filled backcountry overlooking Lake Tahoe.
With an emphasis on safety, comfort, and fun, Summers and McClelland will teach participants winter travel methods and considerations, winter hazards, and snow-camping techniques.
Snow Camping 101 will cover the preparation steps necessary before venturing out into the frosty, white backcountry. You will learn important techniques and other considerations once you are out traveling and camping in the snow.
Specifically, your guides/instructors will cover: Packing for snow travel; basic orientation skills; winter travel hazards; winter survival techniq

Heavenly Mountain Resort will extend their discounted season pass price for five days because of last week’s snow storms.
The adult Heavenly season pass will be available for only $369 through Friday. Prices will increase on Saturday, Dec. 19.
Heavenly season passes are on sale now at www.skiheavenly.com.
Recent snowstorms dumped 30 to 65 inches of snow in the past seven days at the resort, according to the mountain’s Web site.
“These are the best early-season conditions we’ve seen in years,” said John Wagnon, Heavenly’s vice president of marketing and sales, according to a release. “We just had to celebrate by extending the super-low extended season pass price so those who haven’t purchased their pass yet have an opportunity to do so. If there was ever a year you want to own a pass, this is it.”
Heavenly is currently offering skiing and riding on 52 trails, with access through three base areas including the Gondola, California Lodge and Stagecoach Lodge. O

NEW YORK – Ashleigh McIvor tries to take stock of her competition when she moves into the starting gate, sizing up who will give her the most trouble while screaming down a mountain in what could best be described as NASCAR on skis.
Usually it’s another Canadian – or two or three.
The reigning skicross world champion is one of the favorites to win gold in her backyard of Whistler, British Columbia, when the sport makes its Olympic debut in February. To do that, she may find herself trying to beat the rest of her Canadian teammates in a white-knuckle race where she admits that “it’s inevitable you’re going to crash.”
“It’s definitely a lot more spectator-friendly than regular Alpine skiing,” McIvor said during a recent trip to Manhattan. “I think it’s the future of the ski industry, especially ski racing, because it’s the pure, raw format of skiing. It’s what everybody did growing up.”
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Heavenly Mountain Resort announced Monday morning that it has extended the availability of its discounted season passes after a series of storms have deposited ample snow on the Sierra.
The adult Heavenly season pass will be available for $369 through Friday. Season pass prices will increase on Saturday.
Heavenly has received 30 to 65 inches of snow in the past week. Weather forecasts call for another storm on Tuesday that could leave as much as an additional foot of snow at the resort.
“These are the best early season conditions we’ve seen in years,” said John Wagnon, Heavenly’s vice president of marketing and sales. “We just had to celebrate by extending the super-low extended season pass price so those who haven’t purchased their pass yet have an opportunity to do so. If there was ever a year you want to own a pass, this is it.”
Heavenly is offering skiing and riding on 52 trails with access through three base areas, including the Gondo

NEW YORK – With a last name like that, no way Torah Bright could have a gloomy personality, right?
The Australian snowboarder keeps her sunny disposition even when describing the painful shoulder problem that nagged her for more than three years.
“It would just pop out,” she says with a lighthearted laugh as if she were discussing a fun day on the slopes, “and I’d sit and scream until it went back in.”
No longer must she fret about her left shoulder staying in place when she should be worrying about landing a switch backside 720. After spring surgery and months of rehab, she’s focused now on preparing for February’s Vancouver Olympics, where the 22-year-old Bright will be a gold medal favorite.
“I feel like I’m one functioning body now,” she says.
The first time the shoulder popped out was at the 2006 Turin Olympics, where she finished fifth, on the first trick of the first round of the finals.
“It just came

SUOMU, Finland — The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team’s moguls squad was on fire Saturday as Hannah Kearney (Norwich, Vt.) won, Bryon Wilson (Butte, Mont.) finished second for the second day in a row and Nate Roberts (Park City, Utah) launched his comeback, marking his best World Cup result in two seasons with third.

“I won the qualifying run again and just skied the same run. I made no mistakes this time and I ended things in first place, which is very satisfying,” Kearney said. “I did a back layout on the top air, which helped me carry my speed into the middle section, then I did probably the best heli I’ve done the whole week off the bottom air.”

One of the top Olympic criteria points is a top three World Cup finish. Wilson and Kearney now have two, and Roberts one with Saturday’s competition.

For Kearney, being able to land the results she needs is a boost to her confidence as she continues to land runs in the leadup to Olympic Trials — a winner takes all competition that gives a

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. — Olympic Champions Shaun White and Kelly Clark were killing it as usual Saturday as they landed runs to finish first at the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix – the first of five Olympic qualification events.

Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, Colo.) and Louie Vito (Sandy, Utah) took the second spots for men and women, and Zack Black (Breckenridge, Colo.) and Spain’s Quera Castellet were third.

With all eyes of the freezing crowd watching to see if he’d be as perfect as they’d heard, White did not fail to deliver a stellar run.

“It was great. It was a heavy competition. We’re doing tricks that have never been done before. I think today was the heaviest run I’ve ever done in a competition,” White said. “I’m just happy to get through it, get through the weather and be the leader here.”

South Lake Tahoe resident Elijah Teter finished 11th out of 16 finalists.

For White, the win means being able to take a deep breath before he competes in Mammoth.

“I’m ju

VAL d’ISERE, France – Ted Ligety paced the U.S. Ski Team in Val d’Isere on Saturday morning with a second-place finish, the best of his career in a super-G.

Ligety slid hard on his hip, but recovered for 2nd in Val d’Isere (Francis Bompard/Getty Images)

“He’s a phenomenal technical skier, and he brought it out today in a very tough race, one of the toughest races I’ve ever seen,” said Men’s Alpine Team Head Coach Sasha Rearick.

Indeed, Ligety’s run wasn’t mistake-free, but the rest of the field endured worse struggles.

“It never felt good the entire way down the course, but to be in second place now is pretty good,” Ligety said. “It was just a struggle today, nobody was gonna feel good, so I was able to use my GS skills and have a decent-enough run.”

Ligety’s previous high was a seventh-place finish at Beaver Creek in December 2008.

Amazingly, the giant slalom specialist wasn’t even pleased after laying down a 1:21

ARE, Sweden – Sarah Schleper’s best race in four years may have moved her a big step closer to a fourth Olympics.

Schleper put down the best time of any skier in the second run of a World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, moving her from 19th to eighth for her first top-10 finish since 2006.

Even though she finished more than 1.7 seconds behind winner Tessa Worley of France, it was the kind of performance Schleper needs to make a case for a spot on the U.S. team going to Vancouver.

“I won the second run, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” said Schleper, who was the best American after overall World Cup leader Lindsey Vonn skied out in the first run and Olympic GS champion Julia Mancuso finished 16th. “All the hard work and the things we’ve been doing with my coaches, all the training we’ve been putting in is paying off.”

And the 30-year-old from Vail, Colo., has worked hard to get back to skiing’s elite level.

Schleper tore the ACL in her left knee after the 2006 T