Finally we arrived in the USA! Our home for the next three months was a one bedroom condo (flat) in Incline Village, Nevada - situated on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The estate agency claimed it was small but the American definition of small is different to ours! We had plenty of room and enjoyed simple luxuries like our own kitchen to cook in, a sofa to relax on to watch DVDs and space to unpack. The condo was close to a gym, a supermarket, the library and the bus to the ski resort, which was all we really needed for our time here.
Once our ski gear had arived by post (thanks mum), we were ready to hit the slopes. We had bought a season pass for Squaw Valley ski resort (£350) and were keen to use it. Squaw is a big resort (which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics), but unfortunately the snow fall was much less than normal and only a few runs were open. Thankfully Squaw Valley also owned another resort called Alpine Meadows, which meant our lift pass could be used there too. So for the first couple of weeks we caught the shuttle bus between mountains and built up our ski muscles.
The Californian weather seemed to be endless blue skies and mild temperatures. Fortunately the weather broke in spectacular style with a huge storm. The snow gave us our first taste of powder skiing - skiing in deep snow or POW as the Americans call it. Mr Greenhead floated through the fresh snow with ease on his snowboard, whilst I was learning how to ski through the deep stuff and feeling the burn in my thighs. As I got the hang of bouncing turns, I started to really enjoy the softness of the new snow.
Once the storm had passed through and the grooming machines had flattened out the bumps, we had alot more ski runs to enjoy. We particularly liked the friendly atmosphere and empty slopes of Alpine
Meadows resort, so ended up spending lots of time there. The runs were perfect for Mr Greenhead swapping his snowboard for skis and learning to ski again. He was annoyingly good straight away, despite it being 18 years since he last skiied. Also the lodge at the base of the mountain was a great place to hang out too, with an open fire to warm up next to on cold days. They even allow you to bring your own picnic lunch (soup in our case), which was good for the budget.
We soon settled into a routine of skiing in the day and visiting the gym in the evening. This friendly gym (thanks Bobby, Lauren and Taylor) was no ordinary place to work out! As well as the usual machines and range of exercise classes, there was an indoor climbing wall. The wall had several routes with ropes and a great bouldering wall. In fact we climbed so much in the first few weeks, that we developed callouses (hard skin) on our hands and had to tape them up to protect them. It was 5 months since we had climbed so our muscles were weak to start with, but we soon regained our strength and were soon pushing ourselves to climb harder grades than we had before. We loved climbing so often and really want to live close to a wall when we get back home.
When were weren't climbing at the gym, we were using the wide range of machines and taking part in the exercise classes. The classes which made us sweat were great for fitness but our newest hobby was the yoga sessions. Yoga is a range of stretching movements which are performed whilst concentrating on your breathing. It sounds straight forward but the positions you get into are challenging! A yoga session from Hank followed by a steam in the steam room, meant our skiing muscles were ready for the next day.
After the first big storm there were several more snowy days, though far fewer than last year (as several locals told us). Most snowy days were cold and windy, so the crowds stayed away and we could make our own tracks, down untouched snowy slopes. Mr Greenhead tried his skis out on one of the powder days, only to find that it was trickier than on the snowboard. After he cartwheeled down a tricky black run, we decided to head down some easier blue runs. Though I didn't escape unscathed - I managed a spectacular fall underneath the lift and had the embarrassing phrase "double ejection" shouted at me (I lost both skis in the fall).
The days soon ticked by in a blur of blue skies, snowy days and evenings at the gym. We met lots of people on the chair lifts and at the climbing wall, but two people in particular made our Tahoe experience even more fun. The first was a chap called Grover who we met whilst catching the bus. He drove the free shuttle on Sundays and we were often the only ones on the bus, so we got chatting. He has lived in Tahoe for a long time and was keen to show us around, so he very kindly became our unofficial tour guide. He showed us Truckee, Reno, Donner Summit, Carson City, Tahoe City (especially the Riverside Bar and Grill) and drove us right around Lake Tahoe in his truck. The tour also included a visit to Cabellas Outdoor Shop where there are hundreds of guns on sale! We asked how easy it was to buy a weapon - apparently it only takes 20 minutes as long as you are not a criminal or mentally ill!
Lake Tahoe is beautiful, especially on a sunny day when it sparkles. It is 22 miles long 12 miles wide and has 72 miles of shore line, so the drive around can take all day. Also it is 501 metres at its deepest point (11th deepest in the world due to volcanic activity) and 1897 metres above sea level (only Lake Titicaca in Bolivia is higher). We actually drove around it twice - once with Grover and once with Mr Greenhead's parents - so we have lots of photos!
Emerald Bay on the south shore was the prettiest part and small enough to capture in a photo. The whole lake is framed with mountains and the colour changes from one amazing shade of blue to another as the depth changes, but you struggle to capture this on camera.
Our trip around with Mr Greenhead's parents was accompanied by an audio CD by a local chap, so we learnt some of the history too. One fact that stuck with me was the way the first settlers (in the 1800s) claimed their land - any land you could put a fence round was yours! We also took a boat ride on Lake Tahoe thanks to Grover. He borrowed his friends speed boat and took us out for a spin which was exhilerating.
The other friend we made was called Charlie - a ski instructor from Squaw. He showed us places to find hidden patches of powdery snow and secret paths where no one else skiied. He also kindly drove us to Squaw resort one evening so we could go to an avalanche awareness and ski safety clinic. It was an eye opening evening where guest speakers (including famous USA skiier Darren Rahlves) told us about their avalanche experiences and safety equipment needed. One video showed us a guy with a head camera who was burried in an avalanche, then dug out. Another showed us the story of a guy who had a serious head injury and the long road to recovery - wear a helmet was his message.
Our final 2 weeks in Tahoe were spent with Mr Greenhead's parents who came for a holiday. After a horrible journey from San Francisco in a storm, they arrived at our condo and were ready to hit the slopes. We hired a ski locker in resort, so the bus journey to and from our condo was much more relaxing without all our gear! The snow on the first day was perfect and they soon found their ski legs. In fact we were very impressed by their improvement - there was even some off pieste skiing!
The skiing went from strength to strength and we were skiing from first to last lifts. We also had fun in the evenings trying out the local restaurants and bars.
Unfortunately the two weeks flew by and before we knew it, it was our last day. Oh and what an amazing last day it was. We had fresh snow and blue skies - perfect. We raced for first tracks down as many runs as possible, then skiied until our thigh muscles burned. Wow what a day! Then sadly it was time to say goodbye to the parents, our skis (thankfully Virgin airlines allowed 2 people to take 4 pairs of skis and one snowboard home!) and our condo. Lake Tahoe is an amazing place - definitely worth a visit!
