Tahoetopia

Preparing a Business Plan

Until committed to paper, intentions are seeds without soil, sails without wind, mere wishes which render communication within an organization inefficient, understanding uncertain, feedback inaccurate, and execution sporadic. Without execution, there is no payoff. The process of committing plans to paper is easy to postpone under the press of day-to-day events.

Trees Bow to Snow

The accompanying pictures were taken in Mt. Rose Meadows after the first storm, as I did a little cross-country skiing. Under protecting trees, the powder was 36" deep.

The Donner Party Tried a Shortcut

If the group of emigrants had had just a few "breaks," almost no one today would have even heard of the Donner Party. The lake and summit would probably be named after Elisha Stephens who successfully pioneered the route two years earlier, in 1844.

A Christmas Wish: Powder

Please give me fresh powder, a lake full, a sea,
And, oh, what a happy skier I'll be.

Call it fluff, or freshies, or even white sauce--
I don't care what you call it, I don't care a toss.

Uncork those clouds and let them roar,
We who love powder, we know more is more!

I'll carve it on skinny skis, even board like a dork,

A Community Joy: Christmas Dancers

The first half of the show consisted of dozens of small children in bright outfits parading on stage. One five-year-old girl in an orange bird outfit captured many hearts as she whirled with a combination "deer-in-the-headlights and where-are-my-parents" look in her eyes.

Snowboarding’s Wristy Business

By far the most common injury for snowboarders is wrist injuries. Last season, Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee admitted over 500 patients to their Emergency Room (ER) for wrist injuries.

"It was almost like an epidemic," says Dr. Michael MacQuarrie, the hospital’s Director of Emergency Services.

Aging Gracefully: Shall We Dance?

It's nice when a little story with high potential for lightening the load floats in out of the blue. The themes in the story are not especially new, but they strike a chord nevertheless.

The open letter below is credited to a 63-year-old woman who was writing to a dear friend.

Dear...

Night Action: Snowmaking

Minks feels his way through a ceaseless torrent of white toward the snowgun. He bends over the hose and touches the connecting valve as carefully as the way one touches a still animal that may or may not be alive.

Winter Warriors: 10th Mountain Division

Pearl Harbor
The weather over the northern Sierra on Dec. 7, 1941, was cold, but pleasant. It was Sunday and there were about a dozen skiers from Reno taking advantage of an early season snow pack on the sand dunes above the Mount Rose meadows, between Incline Village and Reno.

Kingdom of Toz

The Kingdom of Toz actually extended to the mountain ridges near the sky. On the west side of Toz was a single, winding road--once only a trail. It crossed over a pass to the land beyond, the Kingdom of Wind. And to the south, Toz's sky-blue river crashed over snow-white waterfalls and snaked its way into the Kingdom of Lakeonia.

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