We left Friday morning and had an uneventful drive into Tahoe. After settling in, we built a fort and snow people to greet the rest of our group. Saturday, we boarded at Sierra-at-Tahoe, even though we were closer to Heavenly. I think most folks in our group prefer Sierra because it's less expensive and is more boarder-friendly. The conditions were good in the morning: fresh powder, no lines, decent weather (not blue skies, but also not snowing or too windy). As the day progressed, we could tell that the storm was moving in. By lunch time, it was snowing and pretty gusty at the top of the mountain. But we went out for more boarding because the snow was so good. After a yummy dinner prepared by Grace, we just hung out and played Rock Band. Thanks for bringing it up, Ed and Char!
Sunday morning was a lazy morning. Slept in, made breakfast and had a snowball fight. That was good fun! Then it was time to pack it up and head home. This is when our weekend turned into a miserable, never-ending comedy of errors.
First a map of Lake Tahoe to help orient you.
We were staying in S. Lake Tahoe (bottom of the map), just off the road that takes you from S. Lake Tahoe Blvd to Heavenly (Ski Run for those of you familiar with the Tahoe Area). 1:00 PM - We departed the cabin. We inched our way forward on Pioneer Trail and noted all the cars turning around. Hmm...this is not a good sign. Thanks to the magic of GPS, we were able to take back roads to Meyers, near the junction of Hwy 50 and 89. (We're still at the bottom of the map). Cal Trans has closed Hwy 50 and 89 for avalanche work at the summit. Hwy 88 was closed due to avalanche danger. So, we couldn't take the 89 to 88 past Kirkwood. We just sat and wait...and wait...and wait. If any of you have taken a road trip with my husband, you *know* that this is cruel and unusual punishment for him (and anyone else in the car with him). He *cannot* sit still and gets incredibly antsy. Thankfully, we had a deck of cards and started playing card games.
3:30 PM - We've been sitting for 2.5 hours. Some of us have to potty. We made an executive decision to turn around and drive around the lake to the North Shore/Truckee to take Hwy 80 home. Of course, we checked road conditions before we made this decision. Hwy 80 as open. Why is this a big deal? Because in the winter, you have to go the long way around the lake. Hwy 89 is closed at Emerald Bay due to avalanche danger. For those of you not familiar with the long way, look at the map. We drove back towards our cabin on Hwy 50, crossed the Nevada/California State line, up Hwy 50 to Hwy 28 to Hwy 267 to Hwy 80.
6:00 PM - We're now at the top left of the map, near Truckee. The road conditions are not stellar. It's snowing, borderline blizzarding. The visibilty is poor. But traffic is moving! As we approach 80 westbound, there aren't many cars on the highway. Maybe everyone's already headed home? It looks like we made a good decision...until we see brake lights and then 80 becomes a parking lot at Donner Pass Road. Hwy 80 is *closed* at Donner Summit due to blizzard-like conditions and zero visibility. We also find out that Hwy 50 is now open. OMG! Are you have to be kidding me?! It's kinda comical...in a sick twisted way. What should we do? We decided to get dinner and see if the road opens up after we're done.
7:00 PM - We manage to maneuver around all the parked cars and flip a u-turn on the highway. Yes, we flipped a u-turn. After driving around for 20 minutes, we found an Italian place in Truckee. We had a nice meal, watched some TV (the Oscars and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader), hung out for a bit and then decided to give it another shot.
9:00 PM - Hwy 80 is *still* closed. In fact, they blocked all the westbound on-ramps. What to do? Let's get gas at the gas station. There are heaps of cars, trucks and SUVs parked on the side of the road, just waiting. Should we drive back to S. Lake Tahoe and take Hwy 50 home? There's no guarantee that 50 will remain open and still be open by the time we get there. Not to mention the fact that our trek to Hwy 80 would've been a futile effort. Or do we wait it out for them to open 80? The last time we didn't wait, 50 opened up. Of course, there is no estimated time of re-opening. It's a catch-22. We're damned if we do. We're damned if we don't. We decide to wait it out, since the last time we didn't we got screwed.
Greg is now convinced that Cal Trans is in cahoots with the Truckee businesses. It's all just a ploy to keep people in the area...force us to spend money on food, gas and lodging. "Cal Trans sucks @$$," says Greg.
It's amazing how cold a car can get when it's cold outside. Luckily, Ed and Char had blankets to keep us warm. Note to self: pack blankets whenever we roadtrip. We talk for a little bit, and then everyone in the car dozes off.
12:00 AM - We wake up and decide to give it yet another shot. The storm seems to have passed. It's not snowing outside anymore, and the wind seems to have died down. It's *still* closed! The guy in the truck says 80 probably won't be open until the morning. Hmm...we could just stay overnight, call in sick and board in fresh powder. Except we both have doggies we need to get back to. We've got nothing to lose now. So, (this is just classic) we drive *back* to S. Lake Tahoe to take Hwy 50 home. On the plus side, there's no traffic on the roads.
2:00 AM - Life is cruel. 13 hours after we left, we're back where we started. We basically drove to Truckee for dinner and a nap and then back to S. Lake Tahoe. Hahaha! On a positive note, everyone in the car is taking this in stride. No one's blaming anyone. Tempers are *not* flaring. Greg was probably the most frustrated person in the car because he's not good at feeling helpless. But he was still laughing at the situation and making jokes.
2:30 AM - Hwy 50 is...open! Hooray! We pass chain control and are on our way home. According to Char and Greg, driving 50 that late at night was surreal. You're literally staring into the blackness and you see nothing. Every now and then they'd see an animal along the side of the road. They saw a coyote, a mountain lion (they think) and Sasquatch (not). Ed and I were passed out in the back seat. So we'll take their word for it.
7:30 AM - After being on the road for 19.5 hours, we are *finally* home! I think the entire drive home is a lesson in patience. If we had just had the patience to wait it out on Hwy 50, we probably would've been home much sooner. Needless to say, we "worked" from home today and managed to take a nice long nap in the afternoon.
Call us crazy, but we're plotting another trip back to Tahoe to erase the sour memory of our insane drive home. =)
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