Robert Frohlich

Skiing and Satori on Mount Tallac

Several skiers were already on top, loosely cluttered, some already clicked into their bindings, alert but casual as they viewed the surroundings and shared a reverential quiet.

The sun began to break out of the dreamy foliage of dawn, its canopy exploding into an enormous sunlit corona of mist, which trailed across the azure water like a cape.

Now, almost on cue, skiers snapped to attention. Several peeled off the crest and arced with a low-pitched, ripping noise, as if the air itself had split open. Down they went into Tallac's huge bowl.

Part I: Tahoe’s Top 25 Skiers in History

In alpine events alone, no fewer than 50 U.S. Ski Team members, 20 Olympians, and dozens of national champions have come from the Tahoe Basin. A number have their names in the National Ski Hall of Fame. Tahoe is a major source of competitive skiers.

Who are the greatest of all?

The selection criteria are somewhat subjective. There are so many wonderful skiers that some must be left of a "Top 25" list, including both Mancuso and Marco Sullivan. Those two current U.S Alpine Ski Team stars haven't even come close to the apex of their superb careers at this time.

A Christmas Wish--Powder

Please give me fresh powder, a lake full, a sea,
And, oh, what a happy skier I'll be.

Call it fluff, or freshies, or even white sauce--
I don't care what you call it, I don't care a toss.

Uncork those clouds and let them roar,
We who love powder, we know more is more!

I'll carve it on skinny skis, even board like a dork,
I've ripped it from Europe to upstate New York.

Over steeps, down chutes, poached it like a rat,
Powder's great...except when it's flat.

Don't bore me with groomed, I might as well fall;

PLACES: Four High Sierra Huts, One with Ghosts

There are four such huts built and maintained by volunteers: Bensen, built in 1949; Peter Grubb built in 1938-9; Ludlow built in 1958; and Bradley (Pole Creek) re-built in 1998.

Bensen Hut

PLACES: Shakespeare Rock

The famous promontory directly south of Glenbrook was first named in 1862. The wife of Reverend J.A. Benton, while sketching mountain backdrops, noticed a deep cut in the side of the bluff situated above Glenbrook, a pioneer settlement. On further study she saw an unusual likeness to the original Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare.

Since then a steady stream of travelers have visited the rock, peering up its formidable face in hopes of identifying the sonorous scribe of the Stratford of Avon.

Dick Dorworth, Mountain Man

Instead of conquering the top, one of America's most famed skier adventurers wound up in a solo descent off the mountain as he was suffering with cerebral edema.

High-altitude cerebral edema is a spontaneous, often fatal, filling of the brain cavity with fluid. Dorworth was stricken at 20,000 feet. A sure treatment is rapid descent. Dorworth's case was advancing quickly. He had become so weak and uncoordinated that he was unable to tie his bootlaces.

Quick Turns With Warren Miller

Six hundred people were there, most all mountain lifers, most all still living the dream. Among those present were world-class skiers and snowboarders like Scot Schmidt, Tom Day, Shane McConkey, and Tom Burt to dole out accolades and love to the primary guy who made them famous.

Author Oakley Hall Dies

Hall published his first novel in 1949. In 1963 Scribner Co. published his ski novel that Hall loosely based on the career of Olympian Dick Buek. His narrative provided much more than apt descriptions of downhill racing and the resulting intellectual explanations. In a deep sense, the real theme of the novel was not racing but initiation, ritual behavior, and accomplishment that was increasingly unavailable in the confining, limiting careerism of the current times.

The Great Ski Race - Tahoe City to Truckee

Many years ago, when heavy snow cut Tahoe City off from the rest of the world, Tahoe City resident, Jack Starrett, delivered the mail on skis by climbing out of the Tahoe Basin over a 7,990 foot pass that lead to a long downhill run along Sawtooth Ridge to Truckee, 18 miles away.

PLACES: Lost Trail Lodge

The giant, yet gentle, dog's immediate friendship is a hearty welcome in a wilderness setting. Opie creates an easy, relaxed tone for one of snow season's most unique getaways around Lake Tahoe.


"I named this place Lost Trail because people are always getting lost off the backside of Sugar Bowl or along the Pacific Crest Trail, and they somehow end up here," explains David Robertson, owner and operator of the winter wonderland
outpost.

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