ASI - Sugar Bowl to Squaw Valley High Route

Skiing Ability Level:

Ski Technical Difficulty:

Mountain Skill Rating:

Physical Condition:

Client/Guide Ratio: 5:1

Includes:
One ride ticket at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, use of avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel, all group camping gear: tents, stove, fuel cook kit and 1 mountain dinner.

Operating under Special Use Permit, Tahoe National Forest.

Sugar Bowl to Squaw Valley High Route 2 Day

This famous North Tahoe tour provides the opportunity to learn and practice our unique High and Light ski camping system. The one that enables us to start our six-day spring tours with under thirty-pound packs. We begin this great route with a lift-ride to the summit of Mt. Lincoln at Sugar Bowl. It's truly a classic tour and a chance to refine a myriad of state-of-the-art skills en route. We strongly recommend this experience to anyone aspiring to join us on our spectacular spring ski adventures.

Previous touring experience with climbing skins is required, such as the skills covered in our Intro to Backcountry Skiing course.

Skills covered include:

Ultra light, yet super comfortable ski camping system
Excellent packing technique
Use of transceivers, probes and shovels
Touring tips with climbing skins
Avalanche hazard recognition
Appropriate travel techniques
Campsite selection and construction
Skiing with a light overnight pack

Cost: $325

Dates:

Feb 19-20, 2011 (Sat-Sun - President's Weekend)
Mar 12-13, 2011 (Sat-Sun)
Mar 26-27, 2011 (Sat-Sun)
Apr 2-3, 2011 (Sat-Sun)

Prerequisites
At least strong intermediate skiing skills able to handle a variety of snow conditions. At least 2 days of prior backcountry skiing with climbing skins. Very good physical condition.

THEN
The route was skied long before there were any developed ski areas at Squaw Valley or even Sugar Bowl and Sugar Bowl is the oldest ski area in California. A hut system began to be built by the Sierra Club beginning at North Tahoe with the intention of continuing all the way south, along the Sierra Crest to Mt. Whitney with a marked ski trail the entire way. The abandoned project was known as Sierra Skyways. You can see a few historic trail markers along the Sugar Bowl to Squaw Valley portion of the route.

We began skiing the route as teenagers. Young Vadasz skied it with a group from the Sierra Club ski touring section in 1970. Soon after, light nordic touring gear began to become popular with a huge growth in the sport of cross country skiing. First we skied the easiest, most conservative route. The challenge for us soon became to take the light, wooden touring skis that were originally designed for rolling Norwegian terrain higher and higher onto the crest of the rugged Sierra.

We choose to ski Sugar Bowl to Squaw Valley as a mini "High Route", trying to keep the line as elegantly high as possible. The equipment limited the enjoyment of good downhill skiing in anything less than perfect snow conditions. So, it became natural to challenge ourselves maintaining the highest possible line, what we called xc ski mountaineering.

As the gear slowly began to improve with metal edges and more supportive boots, we began to experience higher quality skiing. We were now doing the route regularly and enjoying our turns along the way. As the years went on, ASI Guide Peter Leh, who has guided the route more than anyone, slowly began linking sections of the route with yet greater ski descents and pleasant, gradual ascents. Peter's link-ups proved to become more and more popular as the gear continued to improve.

NOW
The gear we have available today, including both telemark and alpine touring is allowing us to ski uphill and downhill even more easily, and truly enjoy much, much more great skiing en route. This, teamed up with an extremely sophisticated light-weight, yet super comfortable ski camping system allows effortless travel with a pack weight light enough to really enjoy the ski descents.

The tour that once was simply the line of least resistence evolved to the highest crest-top line to now a masterpice link-up of great descents with excellent touring, all in a spectacular and scenic setting. Today's version of "High Route Skiing" is now better than ever! Multi-day trips with super sophisticated ski and ski camping gear make for great skiing.

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