Hey folks, good times, good times! This past weekend at Northstar was filled with excitement! Lots of great runs on Lookout, through the trees, and at the park. We got a nice condo on the resort and shared good food at Mikuni's and on the summit. For R&R we sat in the nice hot tubs and steam rooms offered at Northstar!

Pictures are posted below.
James

2009-2010 Snow Sessions - http://www.seaandsnow.org/image/tid/311
0910 Snow Sessions #16-18 - http://www.seaandsnow.org/image/tid/445
0910 Snow Sessions #16-18 - http://www.meetup.com/seaandsnow/photos/all_photos/?photoAlbumId=847138

Ben, Avi, and I enjoyed POWDER! Speaking of which, the weather reports POWDERING conditions ALL week for this weekend's snow session at Northstar!

My personal focus for this session was just jumps in-and-off the parks. My first run of the day was off Prosser on Lookout. With my 1080 Salomon Lab Race skis, I looked down the run which disappeared into the thick valley fog. While getting ready to go, there was some chap next to me who "looked" like a racer type. Well, it turned into a mini-olympics. Neck-to-neck down the run. I was bee-lining it so friggin' fast, I literally did the run in mere seconds. Now the air-time. There's a road that bisects the run. This road seriously makes a nice platform for some alladinization (rug-time air). CAUTION ROAD. Yep. The sensation of fast speeds, vertical lift, the sound of silence, is breath-taking but not-so breath-taking on accident, "oh, I'm off a ledge...". Being so focused on racing someone, I just forgot about the road and road sign. As I was snapping out-of-it in mid-air, I had to make a text-book style landing otherwise I would have smack into some trees as the trail curved to the left. Unforgettable and FUN.

See: http://www.meetup.com/seaandsnow/photos/all_photos/?photoAlbumId=840691
See: http://www.seaandsnow.org/image/tid/443

James

http://www.meetup.com/seaandsnow/calendar/12703833/

See: http://www.meetup.com/seaandsnow/calendar/12698740/

Hi folks,
A group of international people rained down on Northstar this past weekend. East and West Coast Americans, the Sri Lankan, the Italians, the Germans, and the Swift Swiss, came up to Northstar-at-Tahoe for a weekend of skiing/snowboarding and enjoying life. Our cabin at Northstar was literally ski-in-and-free-shuttle out to the slopes. The condo was a 3 story, 4 bedroom, 4 bath (3 shower), 2 deck, had a fireplace, and with all the amenities of the modern world: Internet and Cable TV. Collectively, the group of folks gave an excellent vibe throughout the weekend. The Northstar staff was very, very welcoming as well. Kudos to Heather, Courtney, Adele, and Brett. Most of all to Rusty, who came within 1 hour to fix up any issues with the cabin.

We enjoyed some good ski weather, a nice happy hour above the ice skate rink, "moustache" pizza at Rubicon, relaxing at the spa, ice skating, Olympic figure skating, sushi, bbq, homemade breakfast, and long car rides home, great laughs along the way.

Good times! Till next time.

http://www.meetup.com/seaandsnow/photos/all_photos/?photoAlbumId=828965
http://www.seaandsnow.org/image/tid/434

JJ

The Northstar session on Sunday was great. A light snowfall blanketed the mountain with cold temps and great skiing all around. A bit cold. We spent the prior night in a cramped one bedroom place in Tahoe City to avoid the morning commute. Luckily,the place offered a FREE real breakfast in the mess hall. It was excellent; french toast, eggs, waffles, you name it. At Northstar, I ordered the BBQ salmon dish which froze up within 2 seconds at the top of the mountain. To make matters worse, it came with a side of "hot" beans and rice. Well, cold beans and rice. At least my Guinness was at the right temp. Per skiing, we pretty much covered the whole mountain and found a ripping run that is usually closed off, called "the Woods". At day's end, we found a nice Hawaiian place in Auburn called the Kau Kau Hawaiian Food. Like the temps at the top of the mountain, the Kau Kau was freezing inside. Luckily, the food was good.

The following weekend, a trip was organized by a friend of mine for South Tahoe. We cramped 14 people in a 3 bedroom place. It was crazy. People and mice everywhere. We hit up Heavenly's Nevada side and took up a few runs way too many times, e.g., Olympic Express at the end of the day. The best runs were the gully trails below Olympic Express. Lots of banking the sides and carving the top. The difficulty was that contrast was pretty low towards the end of the day. So manuevering the carves we a bit tough at times. For lunch, we ate at the Boulder Lodge and one of folks found a new, unopened can of Pringles underneath one of there table ad boxes. It was tasty. I wore the Banana suit for this session given the size of our group. I was easy to spot and everybody seemed to like the Banana. So, next time, bring your costumes not for a "costume" party but for the slopes! At night, we stocked up on Pizza Hut's "any size, any toppings, for $10" and played two cool games called, Celebrity (combination of gestures, cranium, and memory), and Mafia (a who-did-it game). Fun times!

James

SKI TRIP: Snow Sessions 9,10,11 - North Tahoe (Feb 13 - 15) Sat - Mon, President's Day Weekend

PRICING:
Lodging $35 per night (Main Room)
Northstar Tix $57
Total $92 per day for skiing and lodging!

Lodging $45 per night (Bedroom)
Northstar Tix $57
Total $102 per day for skiing and lodging!

SKI IN and SKI OUT! at NORTHSTAR
http://www.meetup.com/seaandsnow/calendar/12294620

Since the dawn of my adult life, e.g, post-college, I have never stayed at a ski resort. I couldn't really afford it. I've always resorted to crashing on damp floors, the front rooms in noisy cabins, and bunking with other folks who snore. Today, after a decade, I have finally tasted yuppie-dome. YOU KNOW what? It's really not that much more than a "Tahoe" hotel room, e.g., The Tahoe Inn. The Tahoe Inn which has holes in the ceiling, floors, and walls.

The apartment/condo/1bedroom loft at Northstar rocks. Several of us had different variations... loft with fireplace or just a hotel style. I can't imagine what the multi-bedroom condos look like with the the scene overlooking the skating rink. Nevertheless, the room looks down one of the side streets of the village with the smell of belgium waffles in the air. The trees are lit up for the holidays and snow is everywhere even on the deck outside. The room is cozy and cabin-like. There is a flat screen lcd, dvd player, fridgerator, microwave, a lazy boy, and a soft bed after a long day of skiing. The bar is right outside and the sounds of holiday cheer is still in the air.

With the rental, you get vouchers worth of ice skating, passes for the rec center, hot tub, and spa, a nice parking space, and room service that's better than a standard hotel. This feels like home, the way Northstar was when I first came here. With the new Ritz, the village still feels apart from the new. Yes, GO TO the chocolate bar. Kristi or Darcy are great sweethearts there (even with all the photos shots) and can recommend the right chocolate tasty for you. Thanks again to Brett at Northstar for the Club rates! James

2010 Snow Sessions 6,7
http://www.seaandsnow.org/image/tid/426
http://www.meetup.com/seaandsnow/photos/799935/