Staying Safe on the Slopes in a Pandemic

Eben, Maris and Anaya posing with snow fox at Northstar California Resort.

We promised to share our experience at Northstar California Resort, as the season evolved. Here is our candid take: Snowboarding in a pandemic is for the purists. It’s a no-frills experience, carefully charted to avoid crowds and contact. With safety the top priority, we’ve had to find a new rhythm and make new traditions.

We took this season slowly, getting a few turns in before the Winter Holidays, before feeling out the crowds day-by-day to see what felt safe to us. In the end, we’ve settled on a weekday afternoon schedule, getting a few hours of “P.E.” in-between sessions of Zoom school and work. Most days, the weekends feel a little too packed for us, though we sometimes venture out on a late Sunday afternoon, when the crowds tend to thin a bit. A few hours of snow time is about right for our family, which includes a 6-year-old, 12-year-old, and Mom who are learning how to snowboard, and a Dad who prefers zipping down the backside, through the trees. We take turns with the kids, taking frequent breaks for snacks, drinks and snow play.

Breaks are a challenge this year, as the restaurants and lodges offer only take-out, with a designated inside zone for 15-minute “warming,” no food allowed. That means even our breaks are outside, which is tricky on colder, wetter days. It’s difficult to find seating at the outdoor tables, so often our snack breaks are quick and to the point. Nourish and go.  Summit Smokehouse at the top of the Comstock lift has a nice deck for splurging on snacks and drinks with a view. When it’s not too crowded, we take the Big Easy lift up to the Ritz Carlton, order drinks at the outside bar, and sit around the fire to warm up and swap stories about our day. There are no lockers available this year, so we’ve taken to hanging a bag full of hot drinks and snacks on the snowboard/ski racks in front of the lodge.  

Après -ski also looks different this year. In normal years, Northstar Village has a fun ice-skating, fire pit, and s’mores scene from about 4 pm to 8 pm., but not this year. All of that is shut down for the season. Our strategy has been hit it hard for a few hours, and then go home and make hot drinks and a nice meal. Sometimes, we’ll order a take-out pizza at Whitecaps Pizza and eat it by the lake or grab mulled wine in paper cups from Jason’s Beachside Grille and walk along the beach at sunset.  But, more often, our après -ski looks like our usual home life—dinner and a game or movie before lights out.

Like everyone else, we are ready for life to get back to “normal,” whatever that may look like. In the meantime, we are grateful for the opportunity to get some turns in and play in the snow. As more and more people get vaccinated and kids start going back to school, spending Spring Break in Tahoe feels more and more like a safe option for people. Here’s our advice for making the most of it:

1. Make your reservations early, especially for weekends. Saturdays and holidays often sell out.

2. Consider renting a cabin or condo with your “pod” to avoid trying to feed everyone from a hotel room.

3. Pack a weather-proof bag with snacks, lunch, water and hot drinks, and hang it outside in a central location where everyone can find it when they’re ready for a break.

4. Plan for longer lift lines, as lifts can only accommodate pods or spaced singles. We invested in Bluetooth audio for our family’s helmets to make the longer waits more bearable.

5. Pack a waterproof picnic blanket to lay out on the snow if the weather is nice and there are no tables available.

6. Bring beach toys for the littlest kids to play with during breaks.

7. Splurge on a drink or treat at the lodge if it’s in the budget, and consider tipping a little more than usual to thank the resort staff, who are struggling to make ends meet without the usual volume at the restaurants and bars.

8. If your kids look forward to ice skating like mine do, check out the Truckee Ice Skating rink, reservations required.

What does your winter look like this year? Share your experience in the Comments.

To visit Happy Cabin during your trip to North Lake Tahoe / Tahoe Vista / Kings Beach, click here.