Missing Snowboarder Found Alive in Casino

I gotta believe this kind of thing happens all the time.

A missing snowboarder who prompted an all-night search at Heavenly Ski Resort was found safe and sound at a Lake Tahoe casino.

OK, maybe not the all-night search part, but the 'Where the hell is my friend? Oh, there he is playing poker,' part.

Rescuers searched throughout the night in snow, wind and avalanche danger. More than 75 people were involved in the search that included two helicopters. The cost is estimated $40,000.

It's gonna take more than a hot streak at the dice tables to erase that one. Next time, pick a meeting place and keep your cell phone on. Full story here.

Who You Callin' a Hoe!?

Snow and sun!? Weird.

The Tahoe trip is a wrap. The final day at Squaw didn't deliver six feet of blower on the upper mountain that it could have, but it still had 40" and that's good enough for me. Lift lines were the only real downer of the day. Twice we had to wait in 45-minute lines full of irritable folk and skiiers trying to snake you out of your spot. Once I got in line with my friend only to end up three people behind him once we got to the chairs.

Everybody and his mom

Luckily, both lines served up the goods. Knee to thigh-deep pow and open bowls. Scattered tracks, but still distinguishable as individual tracks. Definitely not moguls. The highlight was fresh tracks down Sun Bowl. A dozen or so turns all to ourselves. Run of the year so far.

Kickin' back after a long day.

Now, I'm back in Portland. Mt. Hood has been picking up right where Tahoe left off. Starting with four feet of snow this week. New lifts to open tomorrow. Let's see what Cascade is all about with that much new. Maybe some high-speed, top-to-bottom runs. After all, I'm pseudo-training now. Possible big trip in the future. Only three weeks out. Check your calendar, maybe you know what I mean...

Tahoe Just In Time

A quick update from Tahoe. I've been here since Sunday, which is just after the eight-foot storm that filled in all their gaps. After two days of riding, I caught the six-hour flu from hell. Today I got back after it, which is good because Tahoe is still getting hammered. It dropped 27" overnight, but they only opened three lower lifts at Squaw and they just ran from 10 to noon. Yup, free voucher to ride tomorrow. Another two to three feet expected tonight. That means up to six feet untouched on the upper mountain tomorrow. I'm gonna need a bigger boat.

View out my window Friday morning. Might be clearing as of Friday afternoon.