Small World

This image has nothing to do with the following story except that it happened up here at Lake Tahoe. What good would a photographers blog be without a photo of some sort.

So it is a small world. This last week I got a call from a friend back in Door County, Dale, who was on his way out to Tahoe to spend some time playing cards. We hooked up on one of my days off this week. Dan Leudcke, our friend Erin, and myself headed down to South Shore after a day of riding at Homewood. We picked Dale up and headed to Sato's for some Sushi! A delicacy that we do not get to enjoy much up on the Peninsula. We hung out for a bit and then parted ways as Dale went into the poker room to play some cards. It was good to see other familiar faces from back home. That is not the small world story though.
On Wednesday, my friend Keith and I were riding at Northstar. The conditions were pretty good, no fresh powder though so we were mainly staying on the groomers and going really fast.
We pulled up to the lift line right up next to this guy talking on a cell phone. I wasn't paying to much attention to the guy and he ended up on the same chair as us. While we were riding up the lift we talked a bit and right away I recognized the voice and then thought I recognized the person. I kept saying to myself, "What are the odds?" "It can't be him." After a few minutes I turned to him and asked him if his name was Mitch? "Why yes it is"
It turned out to be Mitch Larson a local Door County Resident. We both agreed that it was a small world, really what are the odds of us hitting the same chair at Northstar Resort which is 2100 miles away from where we know each other from. It turns out that Mitch and his Wife recently bought a house up here at the Lake.
For the last three seasons that I have been out here, I have been wondering when I was going to run into someone that I know just out of the Blue. There have been many people from the Midwest and Wisco that I have run into, but nobody I actually knew until now. Mitch Larson is the first person! What a small world.

Snowboarding

1st day Snowboarding

Now I remember why I am out here at Lake Tahoe. Not for the work, although the money is good. Not for the beautiful views of the Lake, one of the most beautiful views my eyes have set gaze on. But for the Snowboarding! It has been a very slow start to the winter snow season up here at the lake, but with this last storm that we received last Thursday, things are shaping up pretty good. They say that we got about 16" of snow, a moderate storm for the area, but I was in over two feet of snow in some places.

As you can see from this image from Homewood, we still need more snow to get things in great shape. The bushes that you see on the slopes are usually covered and not an obstacle that you have to avoid. With the snow last week, it really made things ride able where you do not have to stick just to the groomers any more. You still have to be careful where you are because the tree stumps and rocks are still poking out in some places.




It was a powder day and for my friend Dan Leudcke, it was his third day on a snowboard and only his first day riding in powder. I informed him of the saying, "No friends on Powder days" and gave him my radio so we could get in touch with each other when we got split up. I stuck with him all day long because it was such a joy for me to see a good friend having the time of his life riding the "Pow" Dan had to leave early around 1ish so he could head to work. I rode for a few more hours and had to stop before the lifts closed because I could feel the fatigue setting in. The night before, I had only got about three hours of sleep and I was starting to feel it.


The next morning I got up early because I knew the powder would be good since it was dumping out when I left the hill the previous day. The weather had cleared and it was a beautiful sunny day. Chilly with temps under 30 degrees which kept the snow good and fresh. Off to Northstar to take advantage of my pass that I got this year there. Thanks to the Rock star parking provided by a friend, it was a quick and easy stroll up to the gondola which got me up to the top of the hill. I was by myself and unfamiliar with the mountain so I am sure I was missing out on the sweet spots. Northstar is a pretty big and popular resort so you have to get there early in order to get the freshest of the fresh. I was a little slow and got to the mountain at about 10:30a.m. but I was still able to find some powder stashes in the trees. It was a great day and the views were very impressive. Snowboarding is why I am here at Lake Tahoe! We have another storm moving in on Thursday. It is not looking like it will be a three to four foot dumper for us, but it will be enough to freshen up the mountains and bury some more of the tree stumps and rocks opening up more terrain for all of us to enjoy.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

It is a new Year and what better way to start it than with starting my first blog! It has been a long time coming and this will be my first New Years resolution that I will start on in 2007.

Get more connected on the internet!

I rang in my New Years at the Tahoe Biltmore Casino up at Lake Tahoe NV where I work as a Blackjack dealer for the winter months. It is one of the best casinos to work for on this holiday because our bosses brought us Champagne at midnight to celebrate with all the other crazies. It made for a very fun night and I was glad that I had to work until 6a.m. in the morning so my buzz could wear off and I could drive home. Now that the holdiay is done, the crowds should drop off again until a few weeks from now when it is Martin Luther King Weekend and the masses have another three day weekend.

It is time to start my snowboarding season. It has been a very slow start to our snow season out here at the Lake. Even now, I am still not overly excited to get out on the slopes and ride because of snow conditions. There is snow up in dem der hills, but not anything close to where we should be for this time of year. The last two new years, we were digging ourselves out of huge storms. Not this year! It will come though, hopefully sooner than later. this Thursday we are epecting more snow to hit us.

Happy New Years to everyone and I hope that 2007 will be a great year for you!