To Tahoe or not to Tahoe? Winter storms sideline plans, close ski resorts even amid break in weather
SODA SPRINGS -- Friday marked a surprisingly calm day in the Sierra after days of stormy weather, a welcomed sight for a region that's not yet in the clear.
The break in the snow has some asking: to Tahoe or not to Tahoe?
Caltrans leaders on Friday at a press conference asked people still to limit non-essential travel as the unpredictable storm tapers.
People not wanting to risk getting stuck have been cancelling weekend and spring break plans, others are simply crossing their fingers.
Most Tahoe ski resorts closed on Friday as they worked day and night to dig out from days of heavy snowfall and perform avalanche mitigation work.
The Quezada-Bucil family from San Jose decided Friday to pull the plug on their weekend plans.
"Because of the weather, we had to cancel our reservation," said mom Sandra Quezada-Bucil. "We decided to change plans and just go with the flow and the weather and see how far we could get."
Her trip to Soda Spring with three kids in tow became instead a stop in Nyack to play in the snow before heading back home.
"This, this is exactly what I wanted," as her kids laughed and squealed sledding in the snow park.
Up Interstate-80, a break in the weather made for an easy drive Friday with no chain controls.
The clear skies were deceiving, as the last round of heavy snow still shuttered ski resorts as they battle the snow left behind, burying lifts and equipment.
"It just so happens we are getting the snow during our peak travel time," said Brendan Mooney of Tahoe Dave's ski and board rental shop in Truckee.
At the downtown store, Friday should be a busy night. Instead, it was quiet. The back-to-back storms are bad for business.
"So we've been slower all winter," said Mooney.
They do their best in ski seasons with average to below-average snowfall, meaning tourists rarely cancel plans or get stuck on the interstate.
Some at Tahoe Dave's though were manifesting a Saturday ski day, buying the gear and hoping the slopes open since Friday was a bust.
"Immediately all I heard resounding through our house was, we can't go skiing. So it was tough, we all traveled really far," said Katie Haskins.
She and her group of friends are in town from New Jersey, on a ski trip that's so far included no skiing.
"We need to get on the slopes," laughed Lucas Vuleo.
They and other Tahoe area travelers have their fingers crossed, making the most of Mother Nature, no matter how unpredictable she may be.
"This is actually better than we had anticipated!" said Quezada-Bucil of her interrupted plans and impromptu snow park adventure.
With Friday's calm weather, it was a race to restore Sierra power outages as more than 2,000 homes remained in the dark. The break in storms is helping 157 Sierra crews play catch-up, a sigh of relief for those that have been stationed here storm after storm.