The View From Heavenly

It was one of those epiphanies that come with a few good lungfuls of clean mountain air, an amazing view and, if you’re a powder hound like me, a glorious ski trail piled high with virgin snow at your feet. Why the heck hadn’t I done this years earlier?

It was only the second time I had been to the ski mountains of Lake Tahoe--and on my first trip, long ago, there were seven people scrunched into two ratty motel rooms, all of us sleep-deprived, cranky and sore from alternating between dingy beds, cots and the floor.

Not this time. Late last month, five of my best friends and I started a killer long weekend ski getaway at Heavenly Ski Resort. We were doing it in style, and for a ridiculously small amount of money.

After prowling the Internet, my friend Bill from Chicago had hooked us up with a rental house from one of the many local property management companies, Tahoe Management. The house was less than three miles from the ski slopes, a mile from Lake Tahoe and the casinos, and it was comparatively cheap--$1,358.51 for six of us for five nights. The place was humongous--three bedrooms, most with two beds, and three giant sleeper futons. There were two roomy bathrooms, huge living, dining and family rooms and a two-car garage that was handy for loading the skis on those cold winter mornings. The house was stocked with piles of fluffy towels, cabinets full of cooking and eating utensils, a barbecue grill, extra sheets and linens and a washer and dryer to nuke our filthy ski clothes each night.

And in what turned out to be the best call of all, Bill had had the foresight to book a place with a big ol’ Jacuzzi out back, a serious fireplace and, the real bonus, a pool table. We had to check out of the house by 11 a.m. Sunday or risk penalties, and at the top of a fairly long list of no-no’s in the contract were strict rules against smoking and pets.

Since I could only take two days off, I hit LAX after work and made it to the airport in Reno by 9:30 p.m. Lucky for us, Avis had screwed up our reservation for a Suburban, and they gave us a smaller sport utility vehicle (a Blazer) and a car (a Buick LeSabre) instead. My friends had arrived a day earlier, and left me the car so I could save the $30 shuttle fee.

By the time I hit Route 50 west and began the climb into the mountains, I could barely contain my excitement--I’d not only be skiing, but seeing friends from faraway states who had recently become fathers for the first time, married, become engaged or changed jobs. We had a lot to talk about.

The house was easy to find, up a long hill just off the main drag in Stateline, Nev. My friends had already stocked the place with $300 in staples (and goodies) from the local Safeway. In return for their efforts, they stuck me with the smallest bed, in the only shared room. It was comfy, though, and the house was toasty warm.

Early the next morning, I awoke to the sounds of Charlie Parker on the house stereo and the hissing of pancakes hitting the griddle. In no time, we had eaten and were on the mountain, our pockets filled with sandwiches and fruit so we could avoid the time and expense of buying lunch at the ski lodge.

At $52 for an all-day pass, Heavenly is not cheap. But it’s one of the best ski mountains in the United States, with 27 lifts, 82 trails, a 5 1/2-mile descent--and that day almost a foot of freshly fallen snow on top of an 18-foot base. The view of sparkling Lake Tahoe from the slopes was one of the most scenic vistas I’d ever seen, on a ski mountain or anywhere else.

It was also one of my best-ever days of skiing. But even so, I was exhausted and sore by day’s end, and thankful for the five-minute commute to the house. Within moments, Bill and I were in the steaming Jacuzzi in the backyard, surrounded by tall pines, knocking back ice-cold beers and some Brie and French bread as we talked about the recent birth of his son.

We could hear the clacking of billiard balls above the music. Tom and Paul were preparing a dinner feast in the large, open kitchen: sauteed chicken and vegetables in a spicy sauce, wrapped in tortillas and topped with fresh pico de gallo, along with rice and salad. We sat around the long dining room table, taking our time and toasting the fact that we didn’t have to endure the local restaurant scene, with its long lines, mediocre food, high prices and loud, cattle-call atmosphere.

After a quick group cleanup, we adjourned, stuffed, to the two mammoth living room couches to watch college basketball in front of a crackling fire. The house was big enough so that some of us read or watched TV in one room while others played pool in another, but cozy enough so that we all could participate in the same conversation.

We skied only half a day Friday ($36) so we could save some energy for a night at the casinos. The afternoon sun was blazing, and I took off on my own, working my way back to the black diamond trails I used to ski before a three-year hiatus from the sport. At Heavenly, the expert runs were just that--studded with challenging moguls but not too tough, and perfectly groomed. With such a deep snow base, the locals say they expect to be skiing into May.

After another leisurely dinner, Jacuzzi and showers, and more pool, we played blackjack at Harrah’s and some smaller casinos until the wee hours. The next day we slept in, and most of us went for a long, scenic drive followed by an afternoon of “tubing”--cruising down a dedicated ski slope at Sierra at Tahoe mountain on giant, reinforced inner tubes. It was a blast. For $10, we bombed down the hill time and again, crashing our tubes into each other and firing snowballs at close range.

By Saturday night, we were so content--and tired--that a group effort to check out the bar scene failed miserably, and only Bill and I headed out. McP’s Irish Pub and the Island Cafe were deafening and packed with drunken strangers, so we quickly headed “home” to our friends.

On Sunday, house cleanup was a breeze, and we were on the slopes by 11:30. After skiing, we gave in and finally spent some money eating out. We headed to New York Pizza, just off the mountain and next to the ski store where my buddies returned their rented skis and boots ($27 a day).

The massive pepperoni pie, salad and beer hit the spot perfectly and cost about $50. Then, sadly, we hit the road and headed to the airport. But not before we agreed that next year we’re going to do it all again.

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Budget for One

Taxi to/from LAX: $43.00

Air fare LAX-Reno: $174.00

Rental car, gas: $69.71

House rental: $226.42

Groceries: $61.16

Ski passes: $140.00

Tubing pass: $10.00

Dinner, New York Pizza: $12.65

FINAL TAB: $736.94

Tahoe Management, tel. (800) 268-6308, Internet https://www.at-tahoe.com.