This can mean only one thing...snowboarding trip!!!!
That said, our trip is not for another week. Too bad, too, since this past week's crazy storms brought more than 5 feet to Tahoe and more than 8 to Mammoth!
DAY 0 - We load our SUV for our first snowboarding trip of the season, though not for our typical destination. This time we are driving to Lake Tahoe, hoping to depart no later than 7am.
Actually, we had hoped to arrive at Pete and Lori's place by 7am...so we are running a little late
Pete's snowboard joins ours on the rack
Clouds roll over the hills as we drive north on Interstate 5 through the Tejon Pass
This will probably be the last interesting thing we see on this freeway since most of the drive will be straight, flat, boring
Driving east on Interstate 80 through the Donner Pass
We stop at a vista point to catch our first glimpse of a lake...Donner Lake.
We are still 14 miles from our destination and nearly 20 miles from Lake Tahoe
Eric and Valerie by Donner Lake (Photo by Pete)
Considering we started our journey a little more than 8 hours ago and have made a few stops along the way, we have made great time
We find our way to the day parking lot for the Village at Northstar because we need to pick up our "Quad Pak" lift passes from the resort's season pass office
As we head towards the Village, we see a sign for The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe. We will be driving up there after we get our passes
Entrance to The Village at Northstar
Something about this village reminds me of the one at Mammoth Mountain
Like Mammoth's, there are residences, shops, and restaurants
Unlike Mammoth's, Northstar's has an ice skating rink
After picking up our passes, we head up to the hotel
That is, after Valerie poses with the hotel's sign
Now Pete wants a shot with the lion (Photo by Valerie)
