Another week in Tahoe

Two weekends ago we went to our 3rd Annual Tahoe Trip!! Each year Julie's aunt is kind enough to let us all stay at their beautiful summer home (even though we tend to break things - crystal, lamp shades, hot tubs...) This year, with only 11 people the breaking of things was kept to a minimum. We stayed 4 full days total, we skied 3 days and snowshoed one day.

I have to say the snowshoe day was one of the most fun. The goal was to snowshoe 3 miles round trip to the top of a mountain with a great view of Lake Tahoe. Instead of following the groomed switchback trail that gently leads you up the mountain, everyone one started straight up the mountain with at least 3 feet of fluffy snow!!! We made it to the top (with lots of rest breaks - including one to throw snow balls at tree trunks and another one to slide down part of the mountain on our butts in this chute that Mike ingeniously carved out with his own big butt!). Then we stopped for lunch (and a beer) in Truckee afterwards.

On our last day of skiing, It was only Mike, Laura, Justin and I. Laura and Justin are good skiers but had never skied a Black Diamond. So, the 4 of us were happily skiing Blues when we started to follow signs for Lookout Mountain. This was still early in the morning so the trails were very icy since the day before it was 65 degrees and then the slush refroze overnight. We reached a point where there was 2 ways down (both happened to be Black Diamonds). We obviously took the trail that was wide, groomed and not in trees. Unfortunately it was straight down and very long! Justin and Laura were both scared. Justin started out with a big fall and long slide, and then made it down, but Laura was not so lucky! She stared out with 2 falls with 2 slides (she Barely stopped before heading into the trees) and then was so scared it took her like another 30-45 minutes to get down the mountain!! Mike helped her down and Laura kept her humor about her. In fact, they did 3 other Black Diamonds after lunch!!

Every evening we sat in the hot tub, cooked dinner, played board games and most importantly had Family Home Video Night, where Mike complied the days pictures and videos from everyone's camera and we watched them on the huge TV!!