Spring Break Recap: Red Rock Canyon, Lake Tahoe, Iron Mountain

I am finally settling back into the real world after a most excellent spring break trip. It was hard coming back East because everything out there is so beautiful and fun.

Red Rock Canyon, NV: Landed in Vegas on a Friday night and promptly broke my phone and lost a bunch of money at the roulette table. That is a typical Vegas night for yer pal Steve. These unfortunately events were totally redeemed over the next two days as we explored the mind-blowing area that is known as Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, just west of Las Vegas. Our first of two day trips was mainly a hike/climb/scramble up and down the hardened sandstone dunes of Calico Hills. Not surprisingly, the rocks all had a reddish color to them. Tons of boulders and peaks to climb that led to great views of the city to the east and mountains further west. There were some descents where I would look back after and think I was crazy for attempting them. Not much else to say besides it was a full day of generous views and physical exertion in one of the more beautiful places I have seen in the southwest.

Day 2 at Red Rocks – Justin and I went on a trail run on the other side of the scenic loop and it was your classic southwestern landscape: yucca plants set against a breathtaking backdrop of peaks. We planned to do an out-and-back run but Justin took a spill and busted up his knee so we hiked back; but not before we found a cool spot with a waterfall. The hike back was nice as I got to take in all the scenery one more time before catching the plane to the airport in Reno en route to Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe, CA: We met up with JJ at the airport and then drove to the cabin in Truckee, CA. The cabin was very nice and we got a great deal on it. We had a full crew of Justin’s classmates, 11 of us total. The first of our three days of skiing was at Squaw Valley USA. This was my first time skiing out west and it can’t be compared to skiing on the east coast. It can take 4x longer to reach the base of the mountain, much less crowded, and spectacular views. The first day was cloudy and freezing but we still had a great time. I kept it to greens and blues because I am still a relatively inexperienced skier, keeping in mind my goal to handle some black diamond terrain by the end of the third day.

Alpine Meadows on the second day. Conditions were much nicer here, the sun was out and we had a great view of the lake from the top. It had snowed all night so I got to ski on fresh powder for the first time. What a difference from the hard as rock ice you find in the Poconos. I was mostly going on runs by myself the second day, exploring the vast terrain Alpine Meadows offers and getting more comfortable with the trails. Later in the day I met up with Justin and JJ and they convinced me to take a black diamond, I think it was called Hot Wheels Chute. Think a long, natural half-pipe with 45-degree angle turns one after the other. Needless to say I was slamming my body all over the place but on the second try I was handling it with little problem. After this full day I didn’t think our half-day coming up could compare, but I was wrong.

We liked Alpine Meadows so much we returned for our third and final day – we only had a few hours since we had a plane to catch to San Diego. Wasting no time, my boys convinced me to pole around the backside of the mountain which was very tough. Our goal was a bowl that consisted of roughly three feet of untouched powder and what was surely black diamond terrain. Justin captured a hilarious video of my drop in (about 4 feet vertical drop) into the bowl. I botched the landing, rolled backward quite a bit and definitely lost my camera there. Oh well. The descent from here was perfect, deep deep powder and no one else in sight. I am so glad that those guys convinced me to go into the backcountry with them. After three beautiful days of skiing on massive peaks, I think I will be a little bored next time I hit the slopes in the Poconos.

Iron Mountain: We spent four days in San Diego which was an epic drunkfest of legendary proportions and not too mention one of the most fun trips I have ever been on. Most of what went down on this trip doesn’t fit into the context of this blog so I will just give a quick recap of our hike up Iron Mountain which is west of San Diego. Justin, Tony, JJ, Scott and myself tackled this cool ~3.2 mile trek up in about eighty minutes. The trail traversed the mountainside for what I believe was about 1000+ feet of elevation gain. The view up top was pretty cool but the visibility wasn’t the greatest this day. We were just able to make out the San Diego skyline and possibly the Pacific. Everyone was hurting from the night of drinking before but once you get on a mountain, you can kind of put that aside. Or at least try to. For the sake of the weak-stomached I will not provide details, but I really had to get back to the bottom of the mountain. Result: mondo, epic, tubular trail run! I got back to the bottom in about 22 minutes and I am sure most people I came across on the trail thought I was out of my mind.

This was one of the most fun weeks of my life. Every time I go on a trip out west I find myself falling more and more in love with it. The openness, the views, the wildlife, the adventures, and the endurance and strength required to reach these things. With this adventure in the rearview, it’s time to start planning the summer trip out to the Pacific Northwest. Here we go…

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock Canyon

Squaw Valley USA

Squaw Valley USA

Alpine Meadows

Alpine Meadows

Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain

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