Tahoetopia

A Father's Hole in the Head

My father had to be one of the last of the Cavaliers, or gentlemen-soldiers. Not that he ever glorified war, far from it. He was a quiet, well-educated man, with a warm sense of humor whose connections to the world were sentient. But war had been a major part of his life.

Retail Death Spiral: Quality vs Quantity

The reason why it doesn't work is straightforward: Merely piling more people onto an organization with performance problems typically dilutes the quality of what was being offered in the first place. And quality has become a major deciding factor to customers in our competitive world.

OUTDOORS: Plenty to Do

Take your pick:
• Skiing & Boarding. Check the Tahoetopia Webcams. There is great snow on the higher elevations. Ride up in comfort and carve your way down. Then do it again.

• Ice Skating. Squaw and Northstar have excellent rinks and ambiance. Glide and twirl to your heart's content.

SBX Champ, Nate Holland, on Olympic Team

December 16, at the inaugural U.S. Snowboardcross Championships at Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon, the Palisades Tahoe Freeride Team member placed third. This result, on the heels of two World Cup SBX wins, secured Holland a spot on the Olympic team roster at the 2006 Torino Winter Games.

Christmas Flood of 1955: "Storm of Century"

A vigorous jet stream picked up moisture from Hawaii and generated a "Pineapple Express." A series of storms belted the mountains. Ten to 13 inches of precipitation fell in one 3-day period.

Pineapple Express Storm Dumps 42' at Upper Elevations

The storm followed the same pattern as earlier systems this season, namely, a lot of moisture with mostly rain at lake level. If this trend continues, as some forecasters predict, it could produce flooding.

Record-Setting Low Temperatures in Years Past

In the December 1990 Nevada Climate Summary, the now-retired State Climatologist, John James, summed up that month's weather: "At least 16 locations, with between 30 and 113 years of record, set new temperature marks for any month, with 2 to 3 times that many just missing [their] all time lows but es

Preparing a Business Plan

Until committed to paper, intentions are seeds without soil, sails without wind, mere wishes which render communication within an organization inefficient, understanding uncertain, feedback inaccurate, and execution sporadic. Without execution, there is no payoff. The process of committing plans to paper is easy to postpone under the press of day-to-day events.

Trees Bow to Snow

The accompanying pictures were taken in Mt. Rose Meadows after the first storm, as I did a little cross-country skiing. Under protecting trees, the powder was 36" deep.

The Donner Party Tried a Shortcut

If the group of emigrants had had just a few "breaks," almost no one today would have even heard of the Donner Party. The lake and summit would probably be named after Elisha Stephens who successfully pioneered the route two years earlier, in 1844.

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