Lake Tahoe Is the Place Twain Found ‘Fairest’

When Mark Twain first hiked from Carson City, Nev., to the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe in 1861, he was moved to describe the view as “the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”

That was almost a century before chairlifts or an aerial tramway could have carried him to ski slopes from which even more picturesque vistas unfold: peaks soaring to more than 10,000 feet and the lake below mirroring the many moods of the sky.

As the largest alpine lake on the North American continent, at an altitude of over 6,000 feet, Lake Tahoe is the center for outdoor activities year round.

Downhill and cross-country skiing in winter are followed by warm-weather adventures as varied as mountain biking and hiking, rock climbing, river rafting, hot-air ballooning, windsurfing, sailboarding and deep-water scuba diving.

For visitors who tire of these activities, there are always the entertainments and casinos on the Nevada side of the state line.

More than a dozen alpine ski areas ring the lake, and there are at least as many more for cross-country skiing, including U.S. Forest Service wilderness trails.

At Squaw Valley, off the northwestern shore of Lake Tahoe, the great challenge is to tackle some of the same runs that were raced during the 1960 Winter Olympics.

More than 8,300 acres of this world-class ski area overlook the lake from the slopes of six Sierra peaks. The runs are linked by a network of 32 lifts that include a 150-passenger cable car. About 70% of the runs are geared for beginning and intermediate skiers.

In the summer, the Squaw Valley cable car carries hikers up a spectacular 2,000-foot vertical ascent to trails that wind around high-country peaks.

On the way toward its slopes from Stateline and South Lake Tahoe is the Spooner Lake Cross-Country Ski Area.

Here there are about 65 miles of trails, ranging from the warm-up meadow to back country tests such as High Notch and Snow Pass that are rated “most difficult.”

A day trail pass for adults at Spooner is $7. The daily package that includes ski rental is $17.50.

A volunteer program is restoring the 150-mile Tahoe Rim Trail around the lake. The trail wanders through old Washoe Indian hunting grounds and the edge of the rim reached by Twain on his hike from Carson City.

The rim trail loops high into what were places of mystery for early visitors, like the steaming pools of Hellhole. For more information, contact Tahoe Rim Trail, P.O. Box 10156, South Lake Tahoe, Calif., (916) 577-0676.

Diamond Peak at Ski Incline, Mount Rose, North Star at Tahoe, Donner, Boreal Ridge, Sugar Bowl . . . one legendary ski resort after another beckons as you round the north shore of the lake heading toward Squaw Valley. From there, down along the Truckee River and the western shore of Tahoe, are the Alpine Meadows, Granlibakken and Homewood ski resorts.

Southward from Heavenly Valley, the Lake Tahoe Winter Sports Center and Hope Valley offered more cross-country ski adventures. Kirkwood and the Sierra Ski Ranch combine cross-country trails with downhill slopes to test all levels of ski ability.

United States Forest Service marked trails around Lake Tahoe range from easy beginner to difficult advance terrain. Contact the Forest Service for Sno-Park permits and trail safety information: P.O. Box 731002, South Lake Tahoe, California 95731. Phone (916) 573-2600. Ask the Forest Service also for guide maps to snowmobiling adventures.

When trekking through the Sierras around Tahoe in winter, you’ll be reliving the adventures of famed Snowshoe Thompson, the immigrant farmer from Norway who made a 10-foot pair of Norwegian skis from oak and began delivering mail, food and medical supplies over snow-covered peaks in the mid-19th Century.

You’ll also be able to share the feelings of explorer John Fremont and his cartographer, Charles Preuss, when they climbed to the summit of Stevens Peak on Valentine’s Day in 1844 and first saw Lake Tahoe.

Deep-water scuba diving in the lake--which is 12 miles wide, 22 miles long and up to 1,645 feet deep--will help you re-create what Twain saw when he looked down through “the marvelous transparency of the water” to rocks that seemed alive, “sometimes gray, sometimes white.”

Daily lift-ticket rates this winter range from $10 at the tucked-away slopes of Granlibakken, the oldest downhill resort at the lake, to $34 at the major resorts.

But all kinds of ski packages help to reduce ticket rates and the cost of adventuring around Lake Tahoe during any season of the year. The grand casinos as well as small inns have packages.

Harvey’s Resort Hotel & Casino at the Nevada edge of Stateline offers a two-night ski package for $128 per person, double occupancy. Price includes a view room, lift tickets to Heavenly, Squaw Valley or Kirkwood, a dinner for two at the Top of the Wheel restaurant and a show in the Emerald Theatre. Call toll-free (800) 648-3361.

The Riviera Inn at Stateline in South Lake Tahoe has 40 units close to Edgewood Golf Course and the lake shore. Ski packages range from two nights/one day to seven nights/six days. The midweek package at $148 per person, double occupancy, or $185 weekends, provides three nights’ lodging and two days of lift tickets, plus $24 per person toward breakfasts or dinners at a number of participating restaurants.

The package also includes complimentary wine on check-in, and shuttle service to the ski lifts. The lift tickets offer choices of Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Sierra Ski Ranch, Kirkwood or Heavenly (for Heavenly add $8 per person to the package price). Call (916) 544-3448 for more information and reservations.

For more information on travel to Lake Tahoe, contact the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, P.O. Box 16299, South Lake Tahoe, Calif. 95706, or call toll-free (800) 288-2463.