Officials Get an Earful on Tahoe Vacation Rental Ordinance

Susie Vasquez
January 21, 2005

STATELINE - Douglas County residents spoke to the county commission Thursday on subjects ranging from bear-proof containers to fines levied on homeowners and property managers when new laws are adopted.

The discussion was sparked by a new ordinance in the works regulating rentals homes on the Lake Tahoe side of the county.

Last year the Lake Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, which governs housing policy within the basin, agreed to allow counties and cities to establish their own ordinances regarding vacation homes that draw unruly people to them.

To allow vacation rentals to continue operating in the Tahoe basin, cities and counties are required to adopt the ordinances, which were supposed to be in place by September 2004. Douglas County is the last county in the basin to adopt such an ordinance.

Among the ordinances elsewhere in the basin is South Lake Tahoe's, which fines property owners who do not address the nuisance issues after several complaints are made to city officials and the police department.

Craig Morris, director of Lake Tahoe Accommodations, which handles 400 rentals around the lake, said no new ground was broken at Thursday's commission meeting.

"No property management companies want to deal with tenants who misbehave," he said. "For us, it means additional work and employee time."

Resident Doris Nolan asked the board to consider an ordinance that would designate some neighborhoods - especially those with a high volume of vacation home rentals - as commercial zones rather than residential.

"That's a special concern to us," Nolan said. " We need to define when a neighborhood is no longer a residential."

Commissioners emphasized they want the ordinance to be specific but not too restrictive.

"If we draft an ordinance that protects every person who comes here, we won't be able to get it out of the room," said commissioner Kelly Kite. "We want an ordinance that we can enforce.

"This is a cottage industry that's been going on for a long time. We don't want to destroy it, but we do want to protect permanent residents," he said. "We want to go after the people abusing the privilege. That's our goal."

Excessive noise, disorderly conduct, vandalism, overcrowding, traffic and congestion are just a few of the resident complaints received by Douglas County officials concerning vacationers.

An ordinance proposal based on public input was held up to scrutiny by Douglas County officials for the first time on Jan. 11, after a copy of the draft was sent to over 30 interested parties.

"About a dozen people showed up and we identified a number of issues," said Douglas County Manager Dan Holler. "We're going to hold a second community workshop before next month's board meeting and have a second reading, to give residents to add more input.

"At that point, I hope we're ready to adopt (an ordinance,)" he said.

No date or time for the meeting was set, but information should be available at local Improvement Districts, Holler said.

Desperate for snow? Here's where to go

By Kristin Jackson
Seattle Times travel staff

If you don't want to water-ski on Washington's slopes, where can you go?

Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, a favorite of Washingtonians, probably isn't the answer. Most lifts were closed Wednesday and today because of high avalanche danger. And it faces a weekend wet-and-warm forecast of rain mixed with some snow — and a scantier snow base than usual. Another favorite, Mount Bachelor near Bend, Ore., was a balmy 41 degrees at its base midweek, and daytime above-freezing temperatures are forecast for the next few days, although without the heavy rains.

To find better conditions, skiers and boarders may need to head to resorts in the B.C. Interior, Montana, Idaho, Utah or California. Just be aware it's unusually warm in much of the West, not just the Cascades. And keep a close eye on the forecasts since, as past weeks have showed, the weather can change suddenly.

B.C. interior

The Big White ski area in British Columbia's Okanagan is about an 8-hour drive from Seattle, but it may have some of the best conditions through the weekend among the relatively nearby resorts, said Bryan Boice, president of Ski-Pak, a Seattle ski-tour company.

Big White has a 7,606-foot summit and daily snow is forecast this week, said Boice (although there's a possibility of ice pellets on Saturday). Those who don't want to drive could look for Alaska/Horizon vacation packages/cheap flights to Kelowna: the resort is about 35 miles from the city's airport and served by shuttle vans. ( Big White info: 250-765-3101 or www.bigwhite.com)

Mixed snow/rain is forecast this week at most other Okanagan resorts, including Silver Star, and at Sun Peaks farther north near Kamloops, but at least they have decent snow bases. In southeast B.C., Red Mountain, near Rossland, has had abundant snow although even it has been unusually warm for this time of year.

Montana

You'll escape the monsoon rains at Big Mountain ski resort near Whitefish, Mont., although it faces snow-mixed-with-rain this weekend. But at least it has a healthy 67-inch snow base. Get there on Amtrak from Seattle to nearby Whitefish. Put together your own train/ski trip ( 800-USA-RAIL or www.amtrak.com; for the ski area phone 800-858-3930 or see www.bigmtn.com ) Or Ski-Pak has three-night packages for about $400 per person including round-trip train from Seattle, hotel and two days of lift tickets (800-446-4688 or www.skipak.com).

Utah

It's been balmy in Utah — with temperatures above freezing in ski resorts near Salt Lake City this week — but the snow base is ample and the five-day forecast is for partial clouds — not rain.

Check out the big Utah resorts by phoning 800-SKI-UTAH or see www.skiutah.com where you'll find Web cams, weather forecasts and links to individual resorts, plus "hot deals" on ski/hotel packages. One of the big ski resorts, Park City, is a 45-minute drive from the Salt Lake City airport (rent a car or take a shuttle ) and has an enviable mid-mountain snow base of about 117 inches — plus the Sundance Film Festival.

Idaho:

In normally chilly Sun Valley, it was in the 40s midweek — but sunny with a decent snow base. Phone 800-786-8259 or see www.sunvalley.com It's about a 12-to-14-hour drive from Seattle — or fly to Boise and rent a car or take a shuttle from the airport.

In Idaho's Panhandle, the Schweitzer ski area faces periods of rain until the weekend, when it's supposed to clear. Mixed rain and snow is forecast for the new Tamarack resort, a two-hour drive north of Boise.

Nevada/California

The dozen-plus ski resorts that ring Lake Tahoe on the Nevada/California border have been almost buried in snow in recent weeks; Heavenly resort has a base of 168 inches.

Some resorts are an easy drive from Reno; stay there in a casino-hotel and drive to the slopes or stay up at one of the ski areas. Flights to Reno are low-priced; check Southwest Airlines or get an air/hotel package through travel agents or airlines. For resort information, contact the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority: 530-544-5050or www.bluelaketahoe.com

Colorado

Last, but not least, if you have the time and money to chase the powder, there's always Colorado. Aspen got five feet of snow in storms that ended last week. Phone 303-825-7669 (for snow conditions) or see www.coloradoski.comfor links to individual resorts, Web cams and more.

US Snowboard Team

Jet Lag: No Problem for Gorgone

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (Dec. 20) - The U.S. Snowboard Team's women continued their domination of the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix at Breckenridge Monday with Michelle Gorgone (Sudbury, MA) grabbing the parallel giant slalom crown. After a weekend of freestyle high marking, the racers demonstrated the versatility of the Team and the gulf between a halfpipe event and PGS.

The board is ridden sideways, but it may be the only similarity between the disciplines. The training, the stance, the clothing, even the language - those things are a world apart. The P in PGS stands for Parallel, and that means Head to Head to you and me. Or in super laymen's terms - you can tell who won because they crossed the line first. No clock watching necessary - the winner is immediately clear to all. Exciting!

The disciplined racers were on the stage today, and they did deliver. Most stepped off a plane from Europe and were dealing with jet lag and the windy conditions. Gorgone and Lisa Kosglow (Boulder, CO) were the one, two punch any coach would gloat over. Said Gorgone, "I want to go to bed right now. I'm jet lagged; I've been up since 5AM."

Lisa Kosglow denied any disadvantage due to jet lag by declaring, "All the top riders" were dealing with the same challenging schedule. Such sportsmanship! Kosglow added, "Quite honestly, I'm ecstatic with the way today went after a less than stellar trip to Europe. It's true anything can happen." Stacia Hookum (Edwards, CO) claimed 4th- just off the podium but no less sweet.

In the men's event, Peter Thorndike (Meredith, MA) was the top U.S. finisher at 4th. Breathing down his neck was Chris Klug (Aspen, CO) in 5th. In fact, the U.S. Men's team took 8 of the top 14 spots.

Hopefully most are off to a relaxing holiday with family and friends- they've earned it.

Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix
Breckenridge, CO
Parallel Giant Slalom
Women
1. Michelle Gorgone, Sudbury, Mass.
2. Lisa Klosglow, Boulder, Colo.
3. Claudia Riegler, Austria
4. Stacia Hookum, Edwards, Colo.
5. Ursula Fingerlos, Austria
-
10. Lynn Ott, Bend, Ore
14. Andi Stump, USA
15. Ashley Nice, USA
16. Serina Eden, USA

Men
1. Nicolas Huet, France
2. Urs Eiselin, Switzerland
3. Jasey Jay Anderson, Canada
4. Peter Thorndike, Meredith, NH
5. Chris Klug, Aspen, Colo.
6. Ryan McDonald, Entiat, Wash.
-
8. Tyler Jewell, Sudbury, Mass.
9. Adam Smith, Tangent, Ore.
10. Jeff Greenwood, Boulder, Colo.
11. Justin Reiter, Steamboat Springs, Colo.
12. Joshua Wylie, USA
13. David Manthei, USA
14. Eric Warren, Bennington, Vt.
-
16. Zachary Kay, USA.

Visitors Storm Slopes

Many South Lake Tahoe businesses came off a slow and stormy Christmas and New Year's holidays only to see a spike in visitors over the three-day weekend capping Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

While more workers get the end-of-year holidays off, those who managed to get time off this weekend to commemorate the slain civil rights leader thought of Tahoe, according to several merchants, lodge owners and ski areas.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort, touting the "deepest snow on the planet," finally got a weekend to show off the conditions. Severe weather closed off the resort from its customer base during critical days in the past few weeks.

Spokeswoman Tracy Miller reported Monday the resort had near-record numbers Saturday and Sunday, averaging about 7,500 skiers and boarders.

"Had they not come back, we would have wondered. So it really was just the weather," Miller said. "It feels like home again."

The ski area even got creative with its parking, turning Kirkwood Meadows Drive into a single-lane road because motorists were parked on both sides of the loop road.

Sierra-at-Tahoe had record attendance Saturday of 7,789.

In town, Heavenly Mountain Resort management declined to provide numbers for the public company over the weekend - but Vice President of Marketing John Wagnon said he's pleased with the outcome.

"We were really happy the way the weekend went," he said.

Vehicles were lined up all along Pioneer Trail and Ski Run Boulevard to get up to the California Base Lodge.

"We feel confident with the amount of snow we have, now we should be in good shape business wise. But you never know for sure," he said. "And we have the momentum of the marketplace."

And many ski-area visitors headed up Ski Run appeared to rent or buy equipment, judging from Rainbow Mountain's performance.

"It was a good weekend compared to the last three. It helped us get back in the game," manager Paul Nanzig said, adding the strong weekend helped to make up for losses over Christmas and New Year's. "And still, we have another three-day weekend coming up next month."

Merchants at Heavenly Village had been itching for visitors.

Alicia Miles-KossmanAmanda Fehd 1/17/05 who is she with said this past weekend made up for slower times a few weeks ago, demonstrating just how tied South Lake Tahoe is to the weather.

"It was better. There was more traffic," she said.

Jim Foff of Fantasy Inn said Monday he's also excited about future weekend business. He predicts next weekend may be slower, but he expects a good showing from the weekend of Super Bowl.

For this past weekend, he viewed the "no vacancy" signs as a good sign people were in town to enjoy the snow without blizzard conditions.

"What really hurt was the first weekend of January," he said. "But this week brought us back to normal."

He was full Saturday and Sunday night.

Visitors appeared to come and go in staggered shifts - with some leaving Sunday and others taking off Monday.

Station House Inn was completely booked Saturday and at least 70 percent full on Friday and Sunday.

The Holiday Inn Express was full Friday and Saturday and close to declaring no vacancy Sunday.

Tahoe Storms Overrated

Amanda Fehd
January 12, 2005

Contrary to the barrage of national media reports, the latest winter storms are, historically, no big deal.

Let's set the record straight: Although the past two back-to-back storms created mountains of snow in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the official data shows it wasn't a precedent-setting amount.

"From what we've seen at the Sierra Storm Lab at Donner Summit, no records have been broken," said Gina Beninato, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Reno.

The National Weather Service does not have an official snow measurement station in South Lake Tahoe, so no official amounts were tracked here. However, Simon Smith, a weather spotter for the National Weather Service says the Dec. 28 to Jan. 11 amount adds up to 106.5 inches of snow, or 8.88 feet.

The storm that began Thursday and officially ended Tuesday brought the South Shore 51.5 inches or 4.3 feet of snow. The storm that began on Dec. 28 and ended Jan. 3 brought 55 inches, or nearly 4.6 feet. The record for a single storm was Jan. 10 to Jan. 17 of 1952, when South Lake Tahoe received 12.8 feet, or 153.6 inches of snow, records show.

"They (the national news media) are mixing it up, in my opinion, to create a better story," Simon said. "No records were broken in South Lake Tahoe."

The record for continuous snowfall in the region is 180 inches in 1981-82 at Donner Summit, where the Central Sierra Snowlab - which measures snow throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin - is located. These storms have produced 155 inches of accumulation at Donner Summit since Dec. 27, 2004.

Mark McLaughlin, a Tahoe weather historian and author, concurred that much of what was said was hype.

"No Sierra snowfall records are in danger of being broken," said McLaughlin. His Web site, www.thestormking.com, lists records and major weather events of the Sierra.

"This is only two snow storms up here, and while exceptional, they aren't record breakers," McLaughlin said. "The fact that they were back to back puts them in an interesting category, but it's still not breaking records. It's wonderful, I love it, and it's a good start."

No records have been broken any way you look at it: for continuous snowfall, for one storm, for the most in a 24-hour, 36-hour, or 72-hour period, or for a 15-day period, most in a month or most in one season.

Gary Barbato, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Reno, suspects the confusion has come from the difficulty in getting consistent snow measurements. Snow depth can change rapidly from warming temperatures, rain or compaction. If the snow is measured every 24 hours, every six hours, or every hour, recorded depth levels will be different.

Some ski resorts do measure every hour but may not record decreases, Barbato said.

Moderator Needed for LMS Forums

I am looking for someone with a great deal of adventure / extreme sports experience to moderate the forums at LiquidMoonSports.com. Your responsbilities would be to post your experiences, adventures, trips, rides, etc. on the blog and forums, while also moderating the discussions on the forums.

Once the site starts getting more traffic, I expect it to become a natural meeting place for many, thus the need for an experienced hand to keep things rockin.

Drop me a line at info@liquidmoonsports.com, if you are interested.

Thanks

Brent

Liquid Moon Sports Under New Ownership

My name is Brent Kleinheksel. I bought LiquidMoonSports.com from Dave Mesicek in late 2004. While he didn't give me a lot of history on the site, it appears that he's owned it for sometime, perhaps even owned a retail outlook at one point? If anybody knows the real scoop and wishes to post a comment on the history of the company, that would be great.

I am 32 and live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I am very active in sports and the outdoors. I've been self-employed for many years and currently run a multitude of ecommerce sites while also owning a resort on the shore of Lake Michigan and attempting to build out a small, premium vineyard and winery in North Carolina.

I hope to carry much of the same high quality products that Dave carried, while also adding a wide variety of new products. My girlfirend and sister are avid skiers, so I hope to leverage the site and their experience to develop my own skills, while also learning more about rock climbing, sailing and mountain biking.

So, I am not in Tahoe, nor am I a rabib participant in extreme sports, but I do pick up on things pretty quickly, so here I come!

Please check out the site for new developments! There are many new features that will be unveiled in the comning weeks including this blog, a forum, many new products and much more!

Brent