Baby Cham: Mt. Tallac – Tahoe
Works + Photos by Tyler Boutelle
I finally got the infamous “Baby Cham” chute on Mt. Tallac yesterday. I have been scoping this line for the last 8 plus years and yesterday the conditions were perfect so it was time to ski it.
Me and my friend Josh Senning started at the new trail head parking area on highway 89 around 8:30am. We made the long slog up the North side of Mt. Tallac and scoped lines and enjoyed views of Lake Tahoe the whole way up. We got real good view of “Baby Cham” from the Northeast peak of Mt. Tallac. We saw a couple of old tracks and the snow looked to be powdery the whole way through.
To access the entrance to “Baby Cham” you traverse skiers left from the top of the more popular Tallac line “The Cross”. Once we took a look from the top we knew it was completely good to go. I dropped in first and took my time, making a few turns at a time, then pausing to the side in order to let my “sluff” pass by. The snow was surgery powder to chalk the whole way. It is a consistent 50-55 degree pitch the whole way and is long enough to really get your legs and lungs burning. There was one small rock in the crux which I managed to stop right on top of. The rock was only about a foot long but relatively smooth, I simply grinded down it to the soft powder below. If I had set myself up right I could have easily turned around it.
Baby Cham is a classic Tahoe line and I am glad I waited for the perfect time and conditions to ski it. Can’t wait to do it again sometime!
