From Peaks to Pines: Our Heavenly Escape

We left to go to the Hartford airport at around 2 AM and got there just in time for our flight at 6 AM. We took off to our first layover in Chicago, ate breakfast there, then lifted off for Denver. In Denver, we went straight to our next gate to land at our final destination: the Reno/Tahoe Airport, where we had a little lunch inside an atmospheric bar and grill. Once we collected our luggage, we took off in our rental car for the hour-long trip to South Lake Tahoe, CA. We saw beautiful mountains as we climbed the elevation from the foothills outside of Carson City. We reached our hotel around early dinner time, settled in, and unpacked until we were ready to go out for our first dinner — Burgers. We went to “Burger Me!” in downtown Tahoe, where there were great burgers and onion rings!

The next day we started our beautiful excursion up Heavenly Mountain. We went up the lift and found ourselves immersed in a snowy landscape. We got off the lift and thought there would be another lift to take us further up, but instead we found that we had to go down a hill to get to the next chair-lift. So we skied and snowboarded our way down to the next lift. The lift to get up further was named Powderbowl Express, and was the biggest lift on the mountain fitting 6 people on one seat. The Powderbowl lift went up to a higher peak with more trails, but as if you didn’t think you could get any higher, there was a longer and lower descent this time leading down to another 2 lifts, and a little restaurant called Sky Deck with access to bathrooms. Both lifts led to the highest peaks of the mountain. Sky Express is a little higher than Canyon Express, but the only way to get to Nevada from where we were was to go on Sky Express. Sky Express led to the summit where we then had to go down the Skyline Trail, a long, windy, flat path that led to the other side of the mountain where there were new sights, different from before. On the California side, we could see the beautiful Lake Tahoe and snowy white caps surrounding it. The lake was so bright blue while going down, the mountain felt freeing and refreshing, and every couple seconds I had to stop to capture the new scenery.

The next day, we continued with our skiing excursion but we made plans to go down to the gondola with access to downtown South Lake Tahoe. With incredible views and a 20 minute ride, the gondola provided another vantage point of beautiful sights to see. We went down to grab a quick lunch at “Basecamp Pizza Company,” in this beautiful little village area, which was very atmospheric. But before that and before we were about to go down to get lunch, we lost our brother on the way. He mistakenly got lost when going down a different trail and went to an entirely different part of the mountain, not close to the gondola at all. He was right behind us a minute before and next thing we knew, he was already on the other side of the mountain. We didn’t know where he was and neither did he. Apparently, he went all the way back to the bottom of the summit and then back up Sky Express again to try to get back to the gondola, but he ended up all the way over to the other side of the mountain in Nevada. We decided he was a lost cause and went on with our lunch plans, leaving our brother behind until we got back up the mountain and found him later that afternoon. Safe to say that if you ever go trying to find the gondola, be on the lookout. Later that day, we hung out back at the lodge and relaxed for a while after finally ending our day with going out to eat at this Mexican restaurant with live outside music, called “Azul,” back by the same plaza as the pizza company we went to on our second day.

The final and last ski day we thought we were done with exploring the whole entire mountain, but found even more trails and paths that we hadn’t explored in the previous two days. One of the many memorable parts of the mountain for me, though, was the double black diamond dense forest on the Nevada side called Mott Canyon. Hidden away from all the rest of the mountain and not even looking like a real trail, Mott Canyon was one of my favorite excursions of the whole trip because of the beautiful wooded forest with intertwined trails throughout. The beauty was surreal and the paths were very unmaintained. But the accomplishment of getting down the mountain made it all worth it. It was definitely for experts as many times I felt unable to continue, but even when stuck, I was determined to get to the end. Once we finally got down to the base of Mott Canyon, we realized that very few went down the canyon at all. The lift to get back up was the smallest lift on the whole entire mountain. Only being able to fit two people, it felt so tiny and quaint while going up to the top. 

We finished our day by moseying back over to the gondola, where this time, no one was left behind and our brother finally got to experience the ride. We had our last lunch at “Gunbarrel Tavern and Eatery,” sitting outside, right under the gondolas, passing overhead. Watching them glide by while listening to live music was the perfect way to soak in the final moments of the trip before heading back to Reno. It was a challenging, beautiful, and unforgettable adventure that surely felt heavenly.