winter

South Lake Tahoe, CA – Recovering from a major joint surgery doesn’t usually inspire the idea of snowshoeing by moonlight, but that’s exactly what Carol Bennis, age 75, was asked to do during her recovery last February.

Carol had never been on snowshoes before, or hiked at night, but when she heard her surgeon and other patients at a similar stage of recovery would be there, she decided to try it out.

Twelve four-season resorts with 20,000 skiable acres are all now part of a new company that was formed to acquire Intrawest Resort Holdings, Inc. and Mammoth Resorts.

Affiliates of KSL Capital Partners, LLC and Henry Crown and Company now own Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Snow Summit, Bear Mountain and June Mountain in California; Steamboat Ski & Resort and Winter Park Resort in Colorado; Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Ontario; Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec; Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont; and Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia.

Truckee has it's own "Secret Garden," a lush valley full of rare carnivorous plants and threatened bird species that has been preserved and kept from the public for more than 100 years.

The Truckee Donner Land Trust and Nature Conservancy partnered together and bought over 1,200 acres in the Lower Carpenter Valley for $10.3 million, 600 acres that is so sensitive that initially the only access with be through guided tours. 637 acres were purchased last year and treat hikers and mountain bikers to Crabtree Canyon. The final 80-acre parcel is under contract for purchase by the partners.

Residents of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado county, Fallen Leaf Lake and Alpine County are encouraged to take advantage of the free curbside chipping service offered by the Lake Valley Fire Protection District (LVFPD).

The free service will be offered through October, weather permitting.

Homeowners can work on their defensible space by removing limbs and slash on their property, then the chipping crew will come by and collect it, then convert into wood chips.

This action reduces flammable vegetation and helps homeowners protect their property from the threat of wildfire.

South Lake Tahoe area law enforcement, agencies and safety personnel are preparing for a very busy holiday weekend, full of people coming to enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities. With a very high lake level, and overflowing rivers, caution and safety are urged to have a fabulous weekend in Lake Tahoe.

And they aren't only going to be dealing with water safety. Rules and regulations along the beaches will also be enforced for safety reasons.

The historic winter in Lake Tahoe continues to leave its mark with high water levels leaving limited beach space, causing sensitive areas to be prone to environmental degradation.

The area the public can access along the south shore just got smaller as the California Tahoe Conservancy has announced they will limit public access and temporarily close portions of some beaches to protect sensitive habitat and limit erosion.

Locations where portions of the beach will be closed include the Upper Truckee Marsh and other Conservancy-owned beaches near Lakeview Commons as shown in the photo.

Pete Sonntag, the current senior vice president of Vail Resort's Lake Tahoe region, is leaving the lake to be the new chief operating officer of Vail's Whistler Blackcomb.

He will start this summer once his Canadian work visa is approved.

The appointment follows the announcement last month that longtime Whistler Blackcomb chief operating officer, Dave Brownlie, was stepping down to pursue other endeavors after a nearly 30-year career at the resort.

A tough winter on Sierra Nevada roads is still taking its toll. State Route 4 over Ebbetts Pass remains closed for road repairs near Wolf Creek, and it is expected to remain closed into July.

The road is closed from the east end of Lake Alpine to 7.2 miles west of the junction with State Route 89.

Caltrans has been able to clear snow and make repairs on State Route 108 over Sonora Pass. It opened Tuesday afternoon.

For up to the minute road conditions, visit http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/.

5:00 p.m. - A section of Highway 50 in El Dorado County is now closed after new slide activity at the location pushed a heavy amount of debris onto the roadway. Crews are in the process of putting the signage up.

"The channel looks good and recovery is holding up," said Theresa Cody, Restoration Hydrologist with the U.S. Forest Service. "Water is on the flood plains as its supposed to."

Cody was talking about the $7 million project on part of the Upper Truckee River known as Reach 5. The three-year long restoration project was to improve the river channel stability and aquatic habitat along 1.2 miles of the river adjacent to the Lake Tahoe Airport.

Dear Community,

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) would like to thank the many community members and volunteers who helped in the clean-up and closing of the South Lake Tahoe Warm Room in early May. The Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe arrived with their moving van and efficiently packed and moved our belongings into storage. Kim, William, and Lily Demus; Michelle, Brian, and Kelsey Hogan; Dave Huber; Matt, Miri, and Addie Lucksinger; Kathi Jensen; Guy Lease; Christine O'Farrell; and Randy Volgelgesang were all on hand to do the heavy lifting and moving.

From their 1960s heyday, through being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to performing on the Harrah's Tahoe stage, the one constant in the legendary Yardbirds has been drummer Jim McCarty.

Most will remember the Yardbirds for two things. First is the fact that being part of the band launched the careers of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Secondly, the Yardbirds are remembered for their long list of classic hits including “For Your Love,” “Heart Full of Soul,” "Shapes of Things, "“I’m A Man” and “Over Under Sideways Down.”

After this harsh winter, so many of our homes and businesses are in dire need of a paint touch-up, some gardening, or other cleanup projects to help keep our community beautiful. Like many other local buildings, Live Violence Free is gearing up to bring their office back to the polished, welcoming space it has been since it was opened years ago.

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On behalf of the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH), I would like to thank our community for your support through the second winter of the South Lake Tahoe Warm Room project. Our organization received donations from over 200 different individuals and businesses and benefited from over 60 volunteers who provided over 1600 volunteer hours.

A plunge into Lake Tahoe can literally take your breath away. It may be warm outside, but the lake can be dangerously cold. Lake Tahoe’s average surface temperature in the summer is 63°F, and can drop to 53°F just 18 inches below the surface.

Clarity levels at Lake Tahoe in 2016 increased in winter and decreased in summer in 2016 according to a report released on May 17 by researchers from University of California, Davis.

They said the summer values were due to the continuing effects of climate change and were so large that they outweighed the improving winter clarity which were at their highest since 2012.

With one of the biggest winters we have experienced in years and the snowpack level at 200-300 percent of normal, it is expected that the excessive precipitation will likely push the start of the 2017 fire season back a couple months.

“Below normal significant wildland fire potential is expected to develop across northern portions of the Great Basin and far western Nevada in May and June,” reports the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).

However, the low risk scenario will not last forever once the moisture is gone.

On May 20 at 2:00 p.m., third-generation farmer and author of “July & Winter: Growing Food in the Sierra” Gary Romano will take your questions about gardening and mountain farming at the South Lake Tahoe Library. Romano will share tips and techniques for growing food in the Sierra Nevada, including the foothills and the east slope. The talk is sponsored by the Friends of the Library in partnership with the UCCE Master Gardeners of Lake Tahoe. The event is free and open to the public, and “July & Winter” will be available for purchase.

The sunken sailboat off the shore of South Lake Tahoe near El Dorado Beach will soon be a thing of the past. All winter long the mast of the sunken boat could be seen from the shore, and as water levels rose, the mast tipped over more.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in North Lake Tahoe, they had sent a crew to the boat during the winter to document and verify the sinking, retrieved the vessel number and made contact with its owner. USCG said they also made the information public so boaters would be forewarned of the hazard.

Caltrans crews have been working on seasonally closed mountain highway to get them open for spring and summer travelers.

Monitor Pass/State Route 89 opened Monday afternoon, while District 10 maintenance crews continue to clear Sonora Pass/SR-108 and Ebbetts Pass/SR-4. Yosemite National Park handles the clearing of Tioga Pass/SR-120.

After the wettest winter in over 100 years there are still some areas of upper passes with 20 feet of snow.

This past city council meeting all 5 council members agreed to have staff present us a ballot measure that would increase the city sales tax by 1/2%. This came after a survey was completed and results were presented by the outside independent company contracted by the city. The results indicated that almost 68% of the survey respondents supported the increase as long as the funds would be dedicated by law to roads.

The warm weather has been a welcome relief from a long, wet winter, but the dry and sunny days are gone from the from the forecast for at least a week. The National Weather Service says to expect showers, thunderstorms and even snow (sorry) as unsettled weather passes through the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Here is their forecast:

Today - Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. Light south wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight - Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. Southwest wind around 10 mph.

For the first time ever, Squaw Valley will operate past July 4 and is now planning for an "endless season." They will attempt to keep one lift open on Saturdays to take advantage of the over 714 inches of snow that fell this winter.

As the snow melts from this record-breaking winter, the litter and debris that has been covered up for months is starting to show. Volunteers are invited to get involved and help kick off this summer with a clean, litter-free town at the Clean Tahoe Program’s 2nd Annual “Spring Clean” event on Saturday, May 6th from 9am-noon.