Last week CalTrans finished work that eliminated another handful of parking locations in the Tahoe area, including the prized spots accessing Jake’s Peak, Bliss Peak, plus the Desolation Wilderness to the west. Mike Schwartz, owner of The Back Country, sounded forth the battle cry and the Facebook connected Tahoe community buried the bureaucrats behind this devious plan with a barrage of complaints.

The good news is the bureaucrats backed down a bit and offered to keep open and plow the parking lot for DL Bliss state park this next winter. It has traditionally been closed from November to May.

According to Thomas Brannon, Deputy Director of CalTrans District 3,

I’m happy to say that at the location where most attention was focused, a pullout right of station 460 in our water quality improvement project, we made a plan change to pave a full 25 foot distance from the roadway (versus the 15 foot originally planned) in order to provide more parking opportunities to the public. My thanks go out to our project management, design, and construction staff for their fast assessment and on the fly engineering skills. I also want to thank Shannon at TRPA for very fast turnaround on review and approval of the proposal.

Obviously, parking at Tahoe is a bigger issue than this individual project can solve. Competing uses of limited space will continue to be debated in the future but I’m glad that we are able to provide a good compromise at this location.

TRPA’s Plan

Some parking spots became targets for elimination to reduce sediment running in to the lake. According to the TRPA, the California State Route 89 Water Quality Improvement Project, begun in 2009, called for “…paving turnouts along the highway but also reducing their size, eliminating former dirt parking areas to reduce soil erosion, protect vegetation, and improve water quality. Located on state and federal land, these areas were never intended for public parking.”

The result was rocks and curbs that block cars in once common parking locations. As KH from the Tahoe Backcountry Alliance FB page noted, “I … was shocked by all of the rockwork that restricts much of the parking past Meeks Bay. It’s not just winter parking. Why are they decreasing areas even for summer tourists to pull over and breath some fresh air? ”

Bureaucratic Bias

What is telling is how CalTrans spokesman Steve Nelson phrased it,

From our standpoint no parking spots were affected because none of these spots were official parking spots.

On the contrary, the parking locations for Bliss Peak were recent paved additions that were clearly intended as official parking spots, but even these have been taken away.

Overcoming Parking Problems

Rob Rowen, president of Snowlands, and a member of the SnoPark citizen committee said, “This current issue is part of a larger trend…we had a “perfect storm” in the last ten years whereby backcountry winter alpine recreation is rapidly growing in popularity, and winter parking is becoming more limited due to sediment concerns, general congestion and greater intolerance (on the part of traffic and law enforcement officials) for cars parked in unofficial parking areas.”

This reveals such a consistent pattern it fails be defensible as accidental. Backcountry skiers just wanna have fun and the ‘crats continually exercise their power of control by eliminating parking and the fun it provides.

Speaking for Snowlands, Rowen said,

“…the solution is increased access through more paved and plowed winter parking areas.”

The problem is getting people to work towards these goals on a long term basis as volunteers. By comparison, the bureaucrats controlling access are paid, and prone to monetary influence.

As Mike Schwartz makes clear in his letter, “TRPA allows projects and activities to go forward on a daily basis that have some negative effect on the environment and Lake Clarity; jet Skiing, power boats, golf courses, and constant construction of properties that people don’t live in.”

Thus, when high rollers come in and want to build, accommodations are made but when individuals are involved, it seems exceptions, understanding, and mercy are lacking.

The paid status of TRPA members and others like them makes them quite powerful in the long run because they can outlast fly by night advocates who inevitably lose steam when progress is force to crawl through approval committees. Thus, while Tahoe skiers didn’t lose everything, we have certainly lost a lot and it is ground that will not be regained with an avalanche of phone calls over the period of one week.

I don’t know about you but I don’t just want the ten spots back they already took, or the crumbs they conceded in return; I’d like to see 20 or more trailheads, each with enough space for 20 cars each.

With more access to more slopes maybe Jakes wouldn’t be so crowded. If there’s one thing worse than an obnoxious motorhead it’s an arrogant backcountry skier who thinks he owns the slope we’re both skinning for. In the end its the bungling bureaucrats I’m most annoyed with but as this example suggests, under the heat of public scrutiny, even they can be human. Hats off to Mike Schwartz for crying “foul!” Now the trick is how to keep the pressure on. 😉

Pressure Points

Please contact the following people and share your concerns about backcountry skiing access in Tahoe.

• State Assemblyman Frank Bigelow
• State Senator Ted Gaines: senator.gaines@senate.ca.gov
• Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
  Shannon Friedman – Senior Planner TRPA: sfriedman@trpa.org • 775-589-5205
  Joanne Marchetta – TRPA Executive Director: jmarchetta@trpa.org
• El Dorado County
  Sue Novasel – County Supervisor: bosfive@edcgov.us • 800-491-6642
  Judi McCallum – Assistant to Supervisor: 530.621.6577
  Laurel Brent-Bumb – Chief Executive Officer: chamber@eldoradocounty.org
• Placer County
  Jennifer Montgomery – Supervisor: JMontgomery@placer.ca.gov
• Thomas L. Brannon – Caltrans District 3 Deputy District Director: tom.brannon@dot.ca.gov • 916.826.6052
• Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association (TNT/TMA)
  530-582-4964 • info@laketahoetransit.com
  Jaime Wright – Executive Director: 530-582-4931 • Jaime@laketahoetransit.com
  Julia Tohlen – Program Manager: 530-582-4964 • Julia@laketahoetransit.com
• USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
  Jeff Marsolais – Forest Supervisor for the LTBMU: jmarsolais@fs.fed.us

Related Posts:
Reno Gazette Journal

State of the Backcountry report

Tahoe Weekly: You Can’t Park Here (anymore).

Mike Schwartz’ Letter: The Spark that lit the fuse (Pg. 2)

© 2015
 

Mike’s Letter: The Spark that lit the fuse

09/22/2015

Winter parking around Desolation Wilderness

If you enjoy or help manage Lake Tahoe, please support immediate action to improve access to our public lands for skiing the west shore of Lake Tahoe and Desolation Wilderness. By Improving, I mean giving it back. It’s always been there, only TRPA has been approving projects without including public comments to remove the final and most important parking opportunities near Bliss State Park on hwy 89.

Last week Tahoe lost about 5 small parking spots that held about 50 cars on a daily basis to the north and south of the entrance to this CA State Park. Skiers don’t enter the park, but rather skied uphill on public land.

All TRPA says is that the asphalt coverage balance needed to be changed. Small but essential asphalt patches were removed last week in the middle of the night, and boulders and rock drainage rows were installed. Desolation Wilderness is a unique national treasure, for which TRPA would certainly never remove summer trailhead parking! There would be some simple solution to build it to code or find another working parking location.

Winter parking for backcountry skiing and snowshoeing is just as important as parking for summer hiking. Locals and tourists have been skiing the Desolation and West Shore Peaks since before chairlifts came to Lake Tahoe. The grandfather clause concept should be enough to keep these access points alive.

How can just a few land managers who don’t backcountry ski or understand it, decide on their own without any input from the public that it should all suddenly end? How hard is it to just pave the flat areas where BC skiers park? There aren’t many, and they are small.

In half of the 6 peaks in question there are already new and modern parking lots in place. Only they are closed with a gate for the winter by local land managers! Pyramid Peak, Bayview Trailhead at Emerald Bay, and Bliss Park headquarters all have perfect empty parking lots closed to the public.

Can TRPA just work it out with CA State Parks already? Then Caltrans issues don’t matter.

Does Cal Trans really want BC skiers out of there? The plow drivers never complained about us one time to my knowledge in all these years.

I believe these are all standalone reasons to support an immediate plan change, which choose to bring back decade’s old parking for Desolation Wilderness skiers. It would be easy. The earth moving and asphalt equipment is still on site. The project is scheduled to end in a month. The cost would be lowest if we act today. We would all like to know where the TRPA Coverage Balance required ADDING asphalt, at the expense of Backcountry Skiers who must LOSE asphalt to park on. Private homeowner interest? Big business interest? Or just mathematics of arbitrary sq ft required to improve lake clarity in one specific area?

There is no way that this hwy 89 road project should have been approved by TRPA. Removing backcountry skier parking will hurt the local economy, reduce popular and historic recreation, and add dangerous haphazard parking conditions for those that won’t take no for an answer. This public user group was not even included in any conversation. The lake isn’t going to be clearer either.

Would land managers rather backcountry skiers all buy big diesel trucks and snowmobiles? Because that’s exactly the path these folks often choose next when you just can’t get close enough on your own. Again we are not talking about “cross country skiing”. Backcountry skiing refers to a much larger user group who climb with skins on their skis, and generally wants to get to the top of a steep slope or mountain peak. The terrain needs to go uphill fairly close to their vehicle or you start looking for a snowmobile.

1. Historic, Popular, harmless, and healthy recreation opportunities need to be protected! During every minute of every snow covered day, a car was parked in every possible parking spot below Bliss Peak, Jake’s Peak, and Mt. Tallac…..for DECADES. Doesn’t that say it all? It was competitive to get a spot. People shoveled out parking spots. How can anyone at a public agency discount this public need? In fact, backcountry skiers were not even included in the hwy 89 improvement plan. That is a crime.
2. Backcountry skiers are not just the kids in Tahoma, as I suspect used to be the stereotype 20 years ago. Today about HALF of all skiers purchase Backcountry Ski Touring equipment. They are doctors, lawyers, school teachers, firemen, and span every age bracket. They come from all over the world on vacation. They own second homes and come from the Bay Area. They drive 2 hours from Reno. And of course they live around the lake. They are affluent, own 4×4 cars and expensive gear. Most of them will continue to backcountry ski in another area instead, like Mammoth Lakes, Mt. Shasta, and further. That’s how far you would have to drive for a comparable experience. Again, TRPA continues to approve parking deletion projects that prevent access to Desolation Wilderness below all of the logical starting points. Pyramid Peak, Ralston Peak, Mt. Tallac, and now Jake’s Peak and Bliss Peak. Next it will be Emerald Bay. That’s it folks, you can’t ski into Desolation Wilderness anymore. And worse, you can’t ski these road side peaks which are attainable by your average person who needs to get to work or the family in a few hours.
3. The hardcore backcountry skiers who will continue skiing around Desolation Wilderness will now park in more problematic ways. What did TRPA and Cal Trans really thing would happen after erasing the parking? Many people will just show up and park sideways. They will leave pissed off and like the rest of us, certainly hate TRPA and Cal Trans going forward. I feel like paving more around my house and building some new trails! Why not! Why would we have any respect for local land managers who feel its fine to just end backcountry skiing here? That’s why we live here! And BC Skiing is why thousands of tourists come here every week!
4. We all come to ski these peaks on the edge of Desolation Wilderness, because the right mix of variables exist, in a way that is VERY RARE. We are talking about non-motorized uphill climbing, and skiing downhill without chairlifts. This is a huge sport with millions of participants.

   Desolation wilderness offers relatively safe snow pack conditions with ample snowfall to actually cover the dead trees and boulders. The slopes are steep enough to glide down. The forest is mature to protect the slopes form some of the wind and sun, which provides for better and safer snow conditions. And you start going uphill right from the highway. No snowmobiles necessary. Desolation Wilderness peaks offer beauty that ski areas only wished they had. You can see the entire lake while skiing down them, not just a distance glimpse like you get from Squaw or Alpine.

   Most marketing ads for Lake Tahoe are shot above Emerald Bay on Jake’s Peak. The most popular winter marketing ads used every year are pictures of the entire east side of Desolation Wilderness. Bliss, Jake’s, Maggie’s Peaks, Dicks’, Jack’s, Mt. Tallac, Echo Peak, and Pyramid Peak. Hey, stop taking a picture of it if you can’t even park and go there!!!!!

   The experience of skiing these peaks is absolutely the most rewarding, breath taking, and exciting thing you will get to do at Lake Tahoe. A large majority of locals decided to plant roots in Tahoe after they discovered skiing the peaks around Desolation Wilderness.

   Tourists DEFINITELY come back again after a little ski adventure in this area. Sorry, they used to come back. It’s practically all gone now.

5. TRPA allows projects and activities to go forward on a daily basis that have some negative effect on the environment and Lake Clarity. Jet Skiing, power boats, Golf Courses, and constant construction of properties that people don’t live in. I almost passed out today at the TRPA meeting when I saw the East West Partners proposal to blow up Brockway Summit with hundreds of luxury homes. They also have a proposal for a privately owned, for-profit campground up there asking for 800,000 sq ft of coverage allowance. TRPA is supposed to protect recreation, not sell it to out of state developers. MEANWHILE TRPA JUST GOT RID OF A TINY FRACTION OF THAT COVERAGE AND EFFECTIVELY KICKED BACKCOUNTRY SKIERS OUT OF TAHOE!
6. TRPA is supposed to approve projects that don’t negatively affect the local economy. How does ending the sport of backcountry skiing help all those struggling west shore and south shore businesses? Most every skier drives down the west shore from the Y in Tahoe City and beyond, planning on purchasing breakfast and lunch along the way. They also buy equipment, gas, and even lodging.
7. Does removing parking used by wintertime skiers really save Lake Tahoe Clarity? I doubt it. We are parking on snow. If the parking lot is dirt, there isn’t much snow to ski in the first place. We lost Mt. Tallac, the prize of Lake Tahoe and nationally famous for backcountry skiing. TRPA discovered that people parked at the end of Spring Creek Road, where no erosion or damage was actually being caused. And they locked us out, after at least 50 years of 20-30 cars parking daily in this flat, snow covered location. I met with TRPA and USFS back tehn, and they said tough luck. Figure out how to ski it from somewhere else. So 20% of us just ski it from 2 miles further out and 80% of the skiers stopped going there. Only now it is obvious that our hwy 89 dirt pullout parking next to the entrance of Spring Creek Road will soon be blocked by the next TRPA approved Cal Trans Project. No value is being placed on backcountry skiing. I assume the same thing will happen at Emerald Bay, where backcountry skiers and snowshoers park on flat, snow covered dirt. We park here to follow the buried summer trail route, which is the most safe, direct, and easiest route into Desolation Wilderness. It’s true for the summer, and it’s true for the winter. This parking opportunity must be preserved for both user groups.
8. Backcountry skiers already purchase California Snow park permits. No one would complain about a higher price if more locations are added. Most skiers don’t buy them because they currently only help you ski in one or two worthy locations; Castle Peak near Donner Pass, and Carson Pass. Desolation Wilderness holds the best peaks to ski. New Snow Parks don’t have to be expensive, elaborate, or equipped with bathrooms. This user group is happy with simple parking solutions.
9. Another solution would be for backcountry skiers to purchase a California State Parks Pass and use their parking lots or build a few more small parking lots. Only that seems very unlikely. CA State Parks has shown to have no interest in supporting winter access near or through their parks for backcountry skiing. In fact there are 2 perfectly sized flat, paved, and plowed parking lots right next to the locations we just lost at Bliss and Jake’s Peak! CA State Parks could generate some more revenue if they would allow skiers to park there. And TRPA can remove the Jake’s Peak highway parking with no issue.
10. I just wanted to address backcountry skiers blocking snow removal or causing traffic jams, which they do not. There are a few old signs in El Dorado County that say “no parking when snow removal conditions exist”. This makes perfect sense to me. It says that when plowing has been done, you can park there unless it’s still dumping snow. Backcountry skiers were NOT getting towed for blocking snow removal. This user group is well aware of essential requirement that the car is still there when they get back! A friend who manages Cal Trans Plow Drivers in this Desolation Wilderness zone says in 36 years, he has not heard of a single car accident involving backcountry skiers pulling in and out of these locations. Emerald Bay is not a busy place during the winter. In fact it’s closed when snow starts falling for real, and backcountry skiing gets busy. We are usually the only people on the highway and in the Desolation Wilderness area road ways during the winter! Why kick us out of there?
11. This one goes to 11. It would be great to stop the absolutely unnecessary ticketing madness which has driven skiers away from parking at the dead end for Rubicon Peak. Rubicon (next to Jake’s Peak) is the most classic Tahoe Backcountry Ski Experience of all. It offers THE best snow coverage, quality, and safety. El Dorado Sherrif have always been antagonistic towards this user group, ticketing us at every chance between Emerald Bay and Jake’s Peak, unwilling to even smile when we say hello. There is a new man in this position, Sherriff Underhill who I understand is much more aware or backcountry skiing being a respectable and important Lake Tahoe activity.

Mike Schwartz – Tahoe City

These are the following historic and important trailheads. They all worked fine for decades and are flat, quite locations. Want to do it right? Include them all. Desolation Wilderness and West Shore Lake Tahoe backcountry skier parking should be adopted and protected. See Google Earth Image

1. Pyramid Peak – parking lot closed in winter at Horsetail Falls. No highway parking allowed. Just open the gate please and don’t bother plowing. This lot is at 6000’ and has south exposure. It never has any snow.
2. Ralston Peak – Skiers Park on a local quiet street and it works fine.
3. Angora Peak and Desolation access – Fallen Leaf Lake road is locked by a gate in winter for home owners. Why? This trailhead at the fire station is great access into Desolation Wilderness in winter, just like summer. Many nearby peaks can be skied, and it’s the lowest angle journey to Aloha Lakes and the center of Desolation. Please open the gate. It’s all plowed to the end near the abandoned Fire Station.
4. Mt. Tallac Trailhead – Closed by TRPA. Some skiers Park on hwy 89 and tough it out, which might be lost just like Jake’s and Bliss Peak parking right now. Build a parking lot at the end of Spring Creek Road! The last two houses are abandoned USFS owned tear downs anyway. Tallac is the best thing about Lake Tahoe! This path up the East Ridge is the safest and most direct route up the mountain. 5. Maggie’s Peaks and Desolation Access – currently skiers park on asphalt plowed by CalTrans. It works fine and up to 10 cars park there daily. There is a large modern parking lot across the street which is gated, but not necessary if skiers can keep the current location on the proper side of the highway. Lots of tourists park with skiers and walk uphill a little for a great view.
5. Eagle Lake Trailhead – Closed Trailhead Parking lot but Cal Trans has plowed enough generally at the highway to park there. This is the best location to ski in to Dick’s Lake, which is a popular overnight trip. Faster skiers go in to Dick’s Peak and great surrounding terrain for one day tours.
6. South side Jake’s Peak at Avy Gate – Cal Trans plow drivers always tell us that we are fine parking at this turn around spot as long as their machines can turn around. No problem, plenty of room. Yet El Dorado Sherrif has historically ticketed skiers. This is very popular access to some of the best views on earth had while skiing. This is also an option for when the north Jake’s parking area is full. And finally it’s where you want to start if south facing slopes are best.
7. North & East Side Jake’s Peak – This was just wiped out, and is the most important of all. It is closest to town, offers the most reliable steep powder conditions, and is mostly tree covered leading to lower avalanche hazard days. Solution is to either pave the old dirt parking spots (which were just ruined by TRPA and Cal Trans this month), or convince CA State Parks to let BC Skiers use their paved and plowed parking lots. This is a no brainer. Pick either.
8. Bliss Peak – There were 2 large paved parking areas usually full on any winter day. Bliss Peak offered lower angle tree skiing with the most unlikely avalanche danger of any peak in the area. The view from the top was of course great like the rest of them, and the climb was easy. Last week both paved parking areas were removed and ruined so CalTrans can’t plow them anymore. That asphalt could easily go back.
9. Rubicon Peak – Since the first backcountry skiing occurred in Lake Tahoe, this has always been the go to for relative safe, untracked, and high quality winter powder. The view from the top is unmatched for a fairly easy climb. The dead end high up in the neighborhood had cars parked everywhere and a better parking area could be built, but it worked fine for many decades. Then the El Dorado Sherriff started ticketing people for no reason, even with just one car on a sunny day. No homeowners could see the cars. Skiers can’t climb the peak from hwy 89 because the forest is too thick. This peak should just be like Ralston Peak. Leave us alone and post signs that say “no parking when snow removal conditions exist”. Or build a snow park if you have to.

© 2015