Tahoetopia

Skiing: Time is Suspended

Ahead of me, Tom Telluride boogied more expertly and enthusiastically, "shaking my assets," he bragged out loud. He had been righteously shaking them since the mid-seventies when we both first moved to Lake Tahoe. It all seems so long ago.

PLACES: Lucky Strike & Lucky Stars in Historic Tonopah

Not only did they serve as a sturdy pack animal and often the miner's only companion for months at a time, they occasionally led their masters to fortune and fame. Such is the legacy of the little town of Tonopah, midway between Reno and Las Vegas, and approximately 300 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe.

Conquering Fear & Mount Everest on Skis

As reported in USA Today, Kit DesLauriers began her journey to fulfill her dream of skiing the seven summits in 2004. In May that year she climbed Alaska's Mount McKinley and valiantly earned the distinction of being the first American woman (2nd woman ever) to ski from North America's highest peak (20,320 feet).

MURDER CONFESSION: The Donner Party--Mid-December 1846

Confession at Alder Creek Site
The 27 people trapped at this site, five miles from Donner Lake, were miserable. The makeshift tents leaked and the pioneers' clothes were often wet. The people ate the last of their beef and had begun to hunt rabbits and mice for food.

STORM: The Donner Party--December 9, 1846

For the emigrants trapped at the Donner Lake and Alder Creek encampments, the severe storm at the end of November had roared into December. It would be the first of three major storm periods during the month. On December 2 the snowfall let up a bit. That night the skies were partly cloudy, which led Patrick Breen to assume that the storm was over.

How Skiing Began at Tahoe--Part 1 of 2

In 1852 a miner named William Wier was killed by a winter avalanche near Pilot Peak in the Sierra Buttes near the town of Laporte, California (in Plumas County). Wier had no skis when he died, while he was working on the mountainside.

Wier's and other deaths proved to miners that skis,

How Skiing Began at Tahoe--Part 2 of 2

An enthusiastic skier since his childhood in Canada, Berry moved to Reno with his wife and family in 1928 to see the West. He found work as a linotype operator at the Nevada State Journal.

First Tow

THANKSGIVING 1846: The Donner Party

Franklin Graves and Charles Stanton were the only men in the company who knew about snowshoes. Now that they knew the miles of snow everyone would have to travel over on the west side of the pass, the men started to make snowshoes for the next attempt.

Dog & People Safety for the Holidays

"More dog bites happen over the holidays than at any other time," says Sandra James, an Owner/ Certified Trainer at the Ace K-9 Academy in Tahoe City. "At Ace K-9 Academy, we would like to help families prepare for the holidays, to make sure everyone stays safe and has fun."

Actions to Take

PLACES: Bodie's Maiden Lane &Virgin Alley

Bodie was called the "most lawless, wildest and toughest mining camp the far west has ever known." It is said that murders were an almost daily occurrence, as were robberies, stage holdups, and street fights.

Red Light District

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