The Perfect Tahoe Day

What's the definition of perfection at Tahoe? Here, some of Tahoe's most famous and knowledgeable locals tell us their ideal day of their favorite season - winter to autummn.

Early Winter Perfection

My perfect day would be a "true" winter day: December or January when the sun's low in the sky, it's still cold and the snow is good. First thing, I'd head over to the Red Hut Waffl e Shop and my favorite special—the tomato, onion and scallion linguica—would be on the board. That and some black coffee, and then I head to Heavenly.

It would have snowed all night and wouldn't be quite clear yet. I'd meet a big old crew of people raging, a rat pack feeding off of each other—hootin' and hollerin' on the chairlift and watching the snow fly. We'd ski around the lower mountain in the West or East Bowls; Hogsback and Avalanche Bowl. Then we'd do a backcountry run that I can't talk about.

After the storm pattern that dropped a couple feet of snow, the weather would clear to partly cloudy with good visual. We'd have a huge base of snow with big, developed moguls on the face blanketed with fresh powder. There'd be enough people on the mountain to help push the snow around, so by noon we wouldn't be skiing powder anymore but chopped up snow on The Face with gigantic moguls that you could blow right through—more lump-skiing than mogul skiing.

After railin' on the face for a long time, I'd stop and eat a gigantic plate of French fries. By the end of the day, we'd have real moguls built up, and we'd ski that right on down to the end.

After that, I'd have to sit for a while, because my blood would be pumping and I'd be shaking. My wife, Kimberly, would either cook a big meal at home, or we'd go to Naked Fish. If I were alone, I'd head over to New York Pizza to continue my massive calorie intake. If you're burning 6,000 or 7,000 calories a day, it doesn't matter what you eat. I'd probably eat a whole head of iceberg lettuce as well, cause it has so much nutritional value!

After dinner, I'd walk downtown. It's kinda cool to walk around the Heavenly Village and through the casinos seeing people do their thing. To truly be a perfect day, that night there'd be another full-blown, pounding snowstorm. So I'd end my evening by riding my bike around. I have a crummy bike, a 1930 old beach cruiser, and we just cruise around in the snowstorms. You've gotta have fenders or you get sludge all over your back. There's nobody around on nights like that, so the streets wouldn't be crowded while we slid around.

- Glen Plake

Down-home Downhiller

I love it year-round in Tahoe, but winter is what I live for most. The perfect day actually starts the night before, watching huge flakes of snow slowly drift down and pile up a couple inches an hour. That's Tahoe style. I like to be prepared, so all of my ski gear is packed. Skis and poles are in the car, everything else by the door inside. It's not always easy to sleep during a big storm because of the brain buzz. When we do go lights out, it doesn't seem long until Michelle, my wife, and I to wake up to the whining of Chevy and Streif, our Siberian huskies, who want to get out there and play. They love snow as much as I do. I make a call to Sugar Bowl's hotline to get the lowdown on the conditions and to see if Old Highway 40 is open to the summit. If I have enough time, pancakes get whipped up. If not, then granola and yogurt washed down with apple juice is what fuels me.

Packed in my Ogio backpack is an extra set of Oakley goggles, my Giro helmet, water, two Red Bulls, camera and a quick snack. If I plan on skiing off Judah Peak from Sugar Bowl, I also pack an avalanche beacon, shovel, probe and radio. With the Atomics in the truck and my boots warming up on the car dryer, I'm off to the mountain. After finding parking at Judah, Michelle and I fi nd a few friends and get over to Lincoln Express as quick as possible. The rest is all about gravity and enjoying that feeling of fl ying through deep pow, run after run. When I need a break for lunch, it's into Judah Lodge. The food is awesome. You can't always eat a burger and then go out and ski hard, so I'd suggest one of their killer pizzas or pastas. Round two, I'm out on the hill again to hit the secret stashes.

When we've had enough pow skiing for the day, we roll over to Le Chamois, The Loft Bar, at Squaw Valley to tell some stories and hang with my bro JR. Fire down a few Buds and watch some of the hotshot locals duel it out drinking Tahoe-style. When we've had enough, Tal's Mountain Cab takes us home to feed the pups and wrestle and roll around in the snow with them. They love to hang in the snow caves we build for them in the front of the house. I get on the bike for 30 minutes, watch some Tivo'd skiing or motocross and get my legs back to feeling normal. I stretch, run outside to cool off and then slide into the hot tub on our deck to let laziness take over with a nice bottle of wine.

Then we head over to Moody's for our "fix." We mix it up sometimes at Dragonfly, Bar of America, Zanos or Village Pizzeria but seem to always wind down at Moody's for the warm chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream and to hang with friends. Michelle likes to hit up a few spots on the row, and it's a toss-up between the Tourist Club or Pastime. At this time, I need a Red Bull and Grey Goose to drag the last bit of energy out before calling our man Tal again to take us home. Chevy and Streif get one last run around the house, and we pack up our ski stuff again to have it ready for tomorrow. Let it snow!

- Daron Rahlves

Getting Married at Lake Tahoe

My favorite day at Tahoe was the second day of February 2004, my wedding day. My fi ancé, Nancy, and I arrived the night before at Star Harbor along the North Shore, and there were already multiple signs that a major storm was brewing. There were whitecaps on The Lake against a threatening sky, and the snow was beginning to accumulate in front of the Star Harbor condo. Our big, beautiful white dog, Salt, was lying in the snow wrapped in her double layer of hair, making her look more like a small polar bear and almost invisible. Perhaps she was feeling some nostalgic, ancestral ties with her canine relatives.

At dawn, the storm grew in ferocity to blizzard proportions, and it became obvious that only a few of our friends could manage the journey from Davis to The Lake. Despite these conditions, Nancy's family and many of our close friends made it through the blizzard to the Boatworks Mall at Tahoe City where we met Bob Richards, captain of the research vessel John le Conte, and his wife, Kit, who had baked one of her famous cakes.

We had planned to be out on The Lake for the main event, but the snow was blowing horizontally and the waves were rocking the boat so violently against the Boatworks' dock that the minister and the entire wedding party had to lock arms while aboard the boat. The dock served as the platform for the heroic guests.

We went back to Star Harbor, where Salt was waiting patiently in the snow, anticipating some scraps from the leg of lamb turning slowly on a rotisserie in front of the wood fi re. The party celebrated with champagne, home-smoked salmon and a lamb dinner.

But we had a problem: We had a Nevada license but were married in California. We had originally planned to cruise across the mid-Lake state line for the ceremony but could not have managed in the storm. So Nancy and I followed the minister across the state line to the fi rst refuge from the storm, where he preformed an abbreviated ceremony beneath the Biltmore Casino entrance. I then returned with my lovely and now legal bride to the ongoing festivities at Star Harbor, saying to Nancy as we plowed through the snow that this was the very best day out of the over 40 years that I have had at beautiful Lake Tahoe.

- Dr. Charles Goldman