The Line of the Weekâ¨
Lake Tahoe, CA
Pow Turns in Emerald Bay
It’s amazing what a couple inches of fresh will do to not only my mood but the vibe of the entire community. In Tahoe City it only appeared to be about 2 inches or so. When I got up to the top of Granite Chair I was making turns almost knee deep. Granted there were some rocks and ice popping their heads out in places but overall the conditions were pretty damn fun! After spending the entire day skiing Squaw Valley’s finest, all I could think about was what to do tomorrow. I needed that fix, that pow fix.
I heard there was some good stuff on the West Shore but the full parking lot at Jake’s led me to believe that I would have to get a little more crafty to get that untouched blower stuff. I linked up with Brennan Lagasse and we headed toward Emerald Bay. Knowing the current snow conditions, we decided that skiing a rowdy line was a bit sketchy. We wanted to ski but didn’t want to slam into a hidden boulder. We were looking for a beautiful spot with beautiful snow.
At dawn we skinned up under a patchy sky. Across the way Jake’s was socked in. The hike was mellow and the views were outstanding. As touristy as Emerald Bay can be it never gets old. We reached our spot, reassembled our gear and started to make our way to our intended destination. About three turns down Brennan realized that his binding wasn’t working properly. We had just entered a zone with dozens of bumpy chunks of granite popping up. With the conditions appearing quite thin we decided to reassess. It was our intended ski and shooting zone but it didn’t feel right. We traversed out and headed to a different aspect not far away.
- Pow turns in above Emerald Bay
From the first turn the snow was deep and smooth. The foggy tops of the surrounding mountains began to clear up and the sun hit Emerald Bay. I was pretty surprised how good the snow was compared to what we started on. We skied pow all the way down, laughed at how good the snow was and headed home. Hopefully this was just the beginning…
“We all know it’s been a thin winter. But after this most recent storm dropped close to a foot of new the resorts got a blast of new energy, our community perked up a bit, and the refresh in the local backcountry far exceeded expectations. A bunch of bigger lines still need some love, but when it all comes down to it, a few silky fresh powder turns with views of Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay are the perfect explanation for why many of us do what we do, and love this place like none other.” Â – Brennan Lagasse
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The Line of the Week is a weekly photo piece by Ryan Salm featuring some of Tahoe’s finest athletes doing whatever we deem rad. We will be using the term “Line” loosely to describe anything resembling chutes, big airs, pointers or any general madness. All images are the property and copyright of Ryan Salm Photography. All images are only to be used in conjunction with the Line of the Week. Any other usage must be cleared in writing by Ryan Salm.