Snow. Lots of snow. It was good to play in it again.

I spent this past weekend snowboarding in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, and nature came through with plenty of snow.

After a 230-mile drive that took over 8 hours due to traffic and weather, I was ready for relaxation. The beautiful condo my group stayed at helped things, but the blue skies, perfect temperatures, and lots of fresh powder the next morning really set the mood.

We spent the day at Alpine Meadows, where I did my first snowboarding in a year or two. When it comes to snowboarding, I don’t claim to be skilled, but I always enjoy it. The view from many of the slopes featured beautiful Lake Tahoe. The whole experience reminded me of my first snowboarding in the Rockies, when I went to Steamboat in 2003: good fun with great snow.

The second day found us at Squaw Valley, which is just up the road from Alpine Meadows. A storm brought a fresh dumping of snow overnight, and it continued dumping throughout the day. Unfortunately, the storm also brought high winds. In fact, the winds were so fierce that Squaw closed the upper half of mountain. The one good thing about the storm, besides the new snow, was that many people stayed home, so the runs and lifts were nearly empty.

Around mid afternoon, we decided to head out before the storm caused transportation problems. I drove the Outback out there, which seemed to love its return to the snow, but the best car in the world is no match for traffic congestion. After a very, very slow crawl west from Truckee along a snowy, chain-controlled I-80, we made good time back home (only 6 hours driving time). It could have been far worse: CalTrans closed the freeway a couple hours after our departure.

Good times. I think that south Lake Tahoe will be in the plans next year.