Unofficial Rose

 I have to say I was moved to tears when Kurt Buser, one of the owners of Mt. Rose, stood up at JT's recent memorial at Winter's Creek and raised a toast in recognition that JT was a part of the Mt. Rose Family. That a commercial resort owner recognizes that we are a family is rare indeed, but even more rare was the outpouring of love for this ski brother and all the love he shared for our mountain, skiing and for the family itself. Gentle, caring, gracious and as passionate as any man about skiing, JT's friendships were connected by all the turns he did with those he shared the mountain with. May you not rest in peace JT but rather, continue to prowl this mountain for powder through all of us that continue to turn in honor of JT and all of those who have left tracks for us to follow.  Thank you Kurt and the rest of your staff for the support you continue to render to our Rose family. -Sven                      ...

 Skytavern was gracious enough to organize what they described as a "Fossil Fest" for part of the Greatest Generation and their not quite as great generation or two to follow.  The highlight of the day was the celebration of Raymond Joseph's 97th birthday on skis! Half a dozen runs later through the deeper than deep corn mush he was seated on the deck on a glorious March afternoon enjoying BBQ and birthday cake provided by Anne Shrakes and friends and enjoying the comaraderie of friends and family. When asked by a reporter what he owes his skiing longevity to, he replied "You just gotta keep moving... I've been retired for close to half a century and skiing just as long. You just have to keep moving!" Skytavern provided the perfect place for Ray to have some runs all to himself and keep moving! All the skiing big wigs were there including Rusty Crook, Tim Briody, John Talbot and a whole host of others and a good time was had by all.  Happy Birthday Ray from ...

 I know my friends over at www.tahoeweatherblog.com have a much more optimistic view of the meteorological world than I do... however, when you take the past winter and then look forward, well, yeah it looks pretty bad drought wise. I know they would point out that it could all change with one big atmospheric river and they would be right... but as the spring cranks up that becomes less and less likely of a scenario every day as we float toward summer. Keep in mind that this follows the driest January and February for our region, ever. That makes our current situation even more dire. Here is where we are at now:  And here is where the forecast says we are headed:  I just don't think we are going to be able to polish this turd no matter how hard we try. The impacts of this current lack of average water will negatively effect food production on farms and ranches, forest tree health, wildfire starts, propagation and severity, water allotments and in the longer term, hydroele...

Here Raymond Joseph is flanked by his buddies John Talbot (left) and Pat Parrequie (butchered his last name good) and who were actually out on the hill today with the Bobo's sponsored skier. Raymond's 97th birthday is this Wednesday and it will be celebrated this coming Friday at Skytavern. If you know Raymond come on by for a BBQ on the deck between noon and 1:00 pm.

 Grooming today looked an awful lot like the first days of the season, in other words... not a lot of choices.  On the Slide side it was basically Bruces or Bonanza as Silver was hard as a rock this morning. On the Rose side only NW was groomed on the face leaving out Bullwhip, Waterfall and Sixgun which have been groomed almost daily this season. Aida's was also left off the "TO DO" list which is always a bummer. Maybe its just a one off and a groomer was sick or something but there were complaints from the Breakfast Club for sure.  More importantly, beware the anomaly! When snow gets wet or a groomer is not looking back quite enough, it gets more and more difficult to leave nice cord in the tiller's wake. You may see pits, walls, grouser marks or frozen in snow boulders which is all well and good as long as you have decent vis. But in the shadows or when foggy or in a white out, it's a different game altogether. We do need to give these guys a break though... gr...

Next Friday, March 25th Skytavern Ski Area is throwing a party for skiers that are, shall we say... long in the tooth to enjoy some skiing, bbq on the deck and ski stories from "back in the day.".  On top of that it is also Raymond Joseph's Birthday where he will turn a respectable 97 and yes... he is still skiing! You can still see him on the hill usually flanked by his all female security detail (read: harem) as he skis most of the mountain and occasionally dabbles in The Chutes. Since Skytavern will be spinning the lifts they are asking for a suggested donation of $20. Hope those of us who had anything to do with Mt. Rose or Skytavern over the last half century can make it up whether to ski or just sit on the deck, throw back a few and talk story! For more information please contact the Skytavern Junior Ski Program at: info@skytavern.org. Sven

 We knew it "felt" awfully dry as the clear and occasionally windy days rolled by without any new snow but not many of us knew that it would be the driest two months on record! Sven

 There are over 6000 ski areas worldwide and over 450 in the United States alone. Most of these ski areas serve over priced libations of some kind in a ubiquitous ski bar. All but one of them have only one thing in common... they don't have the expertise of Ryan Senft as a bar manager. And that, my friends, is what makes Timbers Bar the very Best Ski Bar in the World.                You'll find Ryan Senft behind the taps delivering the most unique craft beers and ciders Most ski bars are on contract with distributers and get the same order week after week throughout the season. Out West here you can expect to see kegs of Heineken, 805, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Great Basin Icky and of course, a tap for Coors Blue Moon or the Silver Bullet and/or Bud or Bud Light as well as a sprinkling of others. Most ski bar managers and tenders come and go with the seasonal work. Larger corporations like Vail operate many bars and efficiency seems to be ...

 Ralph Esacoff, lifts supervisor and dedicated Master Brewer for several decades agrees... the Brewski is the best event of the year and is happening this Sunday on the Slide Deck. Hope all you unofficial fans make it out! Sven

There were pow turns to be had yesterday but low angle was definitely the correct dangle if you could find it. The 10 degree pow cut down to the coral below pretty easily unless you were nimble on your big fat skis and found some nice lower angle terrain. That made it magical! Another Blue Bird Day at Mt. Rose... today was amazing in its grooming perfection! Nice job boys of the night. Sven