I invited my husband Nick Visconti to share his thoughts on the insanity that has been our winter these past few months. A former professional snowboarder, X Games medalist and my favorite human, I figured there was no one better to shed some light on just how buried we really were...
It’s been a Hell Of A Winter. There have been Hell Yeah moments, and Hell No moments. The winter began with palpable precipitation in December (rain)... and a lot of it. The spirit of Tahoe gradually became pessimistic day-by-day through the month as sales goals minimized, traffic thinned and holiday crowds were meager. Many businesses make 20-30% of their revenue in this 6-week span alone. More tragic than the loss of potential revenue was the loss of belief in the coming snowpack. But then...
Everything changed with #januburied. Over 25 feet of snow fell in January and with each foot came the straining of backs and the widening of smiles. Laura and I will never forget the first storm when all our neighbors began their snow removal with 100cc snow blowers. By the end of the week, everyone had pulled their shovels out as we had run out of gasoline in town. Enter: days on end of power outages, spoiled food, and even a town council meeting to declare a State Of Emergency. Cray.
Following was the real Hell No moments: the tragic accidents, the inhumane traffic, the countless hours of mind numbing darkness (particularly during the outages), the inability for businesses to function, and the avalanches. As if to spite all the naysayers, Old Man Winter besieged the Sierras by surprise. But there were the Hell Yeah moments too: powder days on Northstar’s Lookout Mountain, the positive publicity, the testing of personal fortitude, the terrain that hasn’t been accessible in a decade, the tall tales at the pub after, the still moments of winter marveling, the snow days (for kids) and the days playing hooky (for parents).
Tahoe people are brawny; we can handle all the elements — in fact we invite them.
When Laura and I decided to move to Lake Tahoe, we gave ourselves a four season commitment. We’d tell one another, “It’ll be a time to enjoy and experience everything before we choose to do this life for years to come.” Everyone has a thing up here, and near the end of August Laura decided hers would be Kayaking. With the lakes overflowing, the river rapids running wild and the long hours of sunlight to come she’ll have no shortage of boat time. As for me, I’ve recently become obsessed with expanding my horizons; what's right beyond those trees and what’s right over that ridge. I’ll let you know as soon as I go explore — but don’t take my word for it, come enjoy nature and the bounty of what Tahoe has to offer this summer. For us and all those in Northern California, it’s going to be a Hell Of A Summer.
Please note: I am a paid ambassador with Northstar California Resort this winter season. All opinions expressed are my own.