» diamond peak ski resort
diamond peak is a small and very scenic resort on the northeast side of the lake. we went there after being prevented from going to kirkwood due to bad roads, and heavenly due to high winds. it ended up being the best skiing we had all trip. there was basically only one lift that had good runs off it but that was actually kind of nice because at larger resorts like heavenly you can spend half your day traversing around the mountain trying to get to the runs you want. diamond peak also seemed to be geared towards beginners and families so the powder in the trees was virtually untouched. wind had deposited huge drifts of powder on some of the slopes making for easy air and cushy landings. probably the best powder tree skiing i have experienced, and if you hiked off the beaten path you felt like you were on the mountain all alone.

high winds blast the higher elevation trees with snow.

frosted hills above the lake.

tree.

storm clouds over the lake.

powder in the trees.

frosty.

me in the trees, and erik getting sucked into a tree well.

snowy.

my footprints on the way to some fresh powder. this would have been a great place to snowshoe with all the huge snowdrifts.

deep snow, and fresh tracks.

frozen.

blue sky.

trees, lake, and mountains.

same.

clouds above the mountains above the lake.

looking towards the desert.

the afternoon sun.

moss.

the trees around tahoe are really interesting, they tend to have big trunks with short branches, perhaps due to the winds they must endure.

me, jen and erik, erik, and mom.

» heavenly ski resort
heavenly is a large resort and although they had received a lot of snow this year, high winds had blown it off most of the runs leading to an average day of skiing.

south lake tahoe.

rocks.

"jobs sister" and "freel" peaks as seen from the top of heavenly.

looking towards the east side of the lake.

tree tops against a blue sky.

snowy mountains.

dead tree.

the gondola, and some tree trunks.

» squaw valley ski resort
squaw valley has lots of interesting terrain but the 70 mph gusts on the mountain ridges prevented us from fully enjoying it. many of the lifts were closed and the near whiteout conditions up top made it hard to see where you were going.

where the cable car goes up.

trees.

tall trees.

loner trees.

snowy trees.

a river running through squaw valley.

frosted trees (from high winds).

frosted trees.

closer.

mossy trees.

» emerald bay state park
emerald bay is one of the more scenic areas of the lake. jagged mountains tower over the small bay creating an impressive scene which is hard to capture in a picture from the road because the bay is in front of you while the mountains are behind you.

emerald bay, and some of the mountains above emerald bay, on a stormy day.

» sand harbor
sand harbor is on the northeast end of lake tahoe, and is one of the few areas around the lake that has sandy beaches.

the beach south of sand point, and sand harbor.

» from the plane
the views from reno to phoenix were pretty scenic.

mountains south of lake tahoe. i believe the large clouded mountain in the center foreground is "white mountain peak", just on the edge of california. behind it is the sierra nevada range, home to the tallest mountains in the US, outside of alaska.