Journeys›Photograph

Bluebird Ski Day at Palisades Tahoe

·Placer County, California·#winter#skiing#lake tahoe#sierra nevada#bluebird day
Two people take a selfie on a snowy ski slope with a large lake and mountains in the background.

A bluebird day at Palisades, twenty minutes down the road, and we took it. Not a cloud all morning — the lake sat flat and blue below the runs on the Tahoe side, and from the top you could see clear across to the far shore and the peaks behind it.

The snow told the other half of the story. It's been dry, and the coverage shows it: bare dirt creeping in at the edges of the groomers, brown patches on the south-facing slopes, whole rock faces standing out of the snow that should be buried in mid-February. Still plenty to ski on the main runs, and the corduroy held up fine, but you had to pay attention near the trees.

We stopped a couple of times just to stand there and look at the lake, which is most of the point of skiing this side of the mountain anyway. One of the old wind-bent pines near the ridge is still hanging on, leaning the same direction it always has.

A leaning tree on a snowy slope overlooks a large blue lake framed by forested mountains and distant snow-capped peaks under a clear sky.A vast snowy mountain landscape featuring a ski slope, evergreen trees, and distant snow-capped peaks under a blue sky.A sweeping view of a blue lake, distant snow-capped mountains, and numerous tall pine trees under a clear blue sky.Tall evergreen trees frame a view of snow-covered mountains against a clear blue sky.A leaning pine tree on a snowy slope, with snow-covered mountains and dense forests under a blue sky.A snow-covered mountainside filled with tall evergreen trees under a clear blue sky, with a rocky peak.

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