Tearing up the Winter Wonderland

Last weekend, my better half and I ventured to California for a little time away from Chicago and a little skiing/snowboarding in Lake Tahoe. California is a welcome reprieve from Chicago in the middle of February and ranks among the best trip ideas Sonia has ever had. Which is to say, it was awesome.

Driving into Lake Tahoe, the snow was falling thick and fast, dropping a few feet in just a few hours, forcing us along backroads as cars spun out and semis jack knifed along the only highway into Lake Tahoe.

The first day, we both learned to snowboard, an embarrassing process involving torqued knees and faces covered in snow, but at the end of the that day, we emerged victorious, able to conquer a green without fail.

At night, we ventured out into another storm to see all hype of the casinos on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. Walking the casino, we quickly became aware we were too well dressed, too capable of completing full sentences and too inept at even knowing which table was playing what game to hang around.

The next day was Valentine's Day, and another few feet of fresh powder covered the ground. My pride broken, I switched to skis, hoping to take on some hard parts of the mountain without injuries, physical or emotional. Sonia, in her usual persistent way, took to the snowboard again, and through many trials and tribulations proved that persistence is the only way to become better at something.

I enjoyed tearing up the mountain, over rocks, through trees, over ridges, keeping an eye of my wonderous girlfriend, who became rather adept with the snowboard, no speed demon, but capable of carving and moving down complicated hills without embarrassingly disappearing into a pile of snow. By the end, Sonia was snowboarding all over the mountain, doing blues, while I watched and skied between the trees. The vistas were incredible. We returned to the lodge to find other skiers, their dogs and hot mulled cider waiting.

That night we celebrated Valentine's Day in the usual fashion, with a dinner by the lake, though we found several other cozy spots in Lake Tahoe, including hot tubs open to the sky, where your drinks are brought to you by servers. We found, once again, we were tragically overdressed, reminding us just how "city" we really are.

The next day we headed home through yet another snow storm, traveling less than 20 miles in the first two hours. We were fortunate enough to still make the flight home, and watched as our path took over over the South Shore of Lake Tahoe and Heavenly, seeing the runs we did that day from the air.

When that ski bug gets under your skin, its hard to let it go, so tomorrow, we are off again to Devils Head to tear up some more mountain.

In conclusion, California rocks and so does my girlfriend. QED

DM