Not a white christmas after all...

Christmas 2011

After Britt spent the winter of 2010-2011 in Tahoe, raving about the skiing and all the pow-pow!!! We decided a white Christmas sounded perfect. My parents rented a house on Donner Lake in Tahoe and Ian, Britt and I packed up the Subaru with our ski gear and headed to Cali, yes were leaving some record amounts of Washington snow but surely the Sierra's wouldn't let us down. We had a great trip, lots of great food, wine and Christmas cookies, time with friends and family, kinect dance offs, chocolate tastings and boardgames, ice skating, trail running and hiking. Oh wait...did I forget to mention skiing? NOPE, I didn't forget it just that there wasn't any. There was a record LACK of snow in the Sierra's last winter and we were there!!!

Early morning run above Donner Lake

 

We did get in some fun hikes, one day we went up the backside of Squah in tennis shoes, the very trail we usually back country ski on. Britt, Ian, my dad and I were joined by Jerry Riessen, the newlyweds Greg and Brooke Riessen, and some new friends from the Riessen wedding earlier in the summer. My mom rode the gondola and met us at the top of Squaw with wine, cheese and crackers, so all in all it was still a great day on the mountain. We did get one day of skiing at Mt. Rose, the same Mt. Rose Ian and I had biked to the top of earlier in the summer. It was the only place with a couple decent runs that wasn't still asking full price for their life tickets despite having only 1/16th (if that) of their mountain open.

 New Years was spent at the Riessen family home, with great food friends and ice skating around a bonfire. It was a fabulous way to ring in what has proved to be an amazing 2012!!!

Much Love
xo
I&K