Many folks have asked me to show a drive on Mount Rose in snowy conditions. This is by far not the worst conditions on the mountain but it is likely the best I will ever show because:
1) Driving on this mountain in inclement conditions takes constant concentration and attention, making shooting with a camera a potentially costly - or even lethal - mistake.
2) I rarely have a passenger that could take the pictures, especially in inclement conditions.
3) The truly nasty times on the mountain don't photograph well. It's hard to show a pitch black night with blizzard conditions that brings visibility down to 10 feet.
This will not be my whole commute but 2/3 of it, a run from Reno to Mount Rose Ski Tahoe, the ski area I drive past every work day. The travel distance will be 19.1 miles. The temperature is 14F. We will start at 4,500ft. elevation and end at 8,260ft. It is 0830 PST (GMT -8) on a Sunday morning.
Here we go...
Just south of Thomas Creek:
Where we're headed:
The long climb to Galena:
Galena Forest, at the base of the mountain:
Entering the forest:
An abandoned vehicle:
A snowy camper:
The Northern snow plow guys digging out some extra equipment (the Southern crew is based in Incline Village):
On the first sky climb:
The East face of Rifle Peak:
Entering the first hairpin turn at 6,000 feet:
Climbing to the 2nd hairpin:
Leaving the 3rd hairpin:
Passing through 7,000 feet:
Passing by the Reindeer Lodge:
A rare straight section:
Another sky climb section, and the truck ahead is sliding to the right:
The Southern face of Rifle Peak:
Starting into the 4th hairpin and the truck ahead is sliding again:
Climbing past the sand sheds:
Starting to hit traffic as we get closer to the first entrance to the ski area:
Another sky climb:
Can you see the old lift? It's a landmark, a remnant of the first ski area established here in 1930 and shut down in 1960 when the newer areas opened:
Oops... the road to the Slide Bowl is closed! This is because we got 4 feet of snow 2 nights ago, and another foot last night. It takes time to cut through to the parking area about 1.5 miles up the hill, and even longer to plow that parking lot into something usable:
You can see the neat work of one of the monster snowblowers that has cleared at least the lower part of the road:
Continuing on to the Main side of the ski area:
In line for entrance to the main parking lot:
The main entrance:
Before we head back down the mountain, if you'd like to see some pictures of my day on the slopes - including a shot of the snowcats plowing the Slide parking lot - check out this thread:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8102
Here's a beautiful shot of the Washoe Valley on our way back down:
The sand sheds as seen from the South side:
Yet another Ford Explorer 4x4 ditch rider:
Back in Reno, safe and sound:
A Winter drive on Mount Rose, 01/06/2008
It looks so nice there!
Linear Mode
