Kayaking Lake Tahoe — not just a summer sport
By Rachel Levin, New York Times
Bumping along a freshly plowed road in Lake Tahoe, I felt oddly unburdened. No skis were locked on top of my car, no clunky boots rattled in the trunk. After more than a decade of ski trips to the region, I kept feeling as if I were missing something. Sure, it was sunny, but also a biting 17 degrees — and I was going kayaking.
“You’re going what?” asked my friend when she heard I wasn’t joining her for another powder day at Squaw Valley. “Seriously?”
A less congested Lake Tahoe in the winter. Photo/Max Whittaker/New York Times
Seriously. It was the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day — the most crowded week of the season at one of America’s most visited ski destinations. Thanks to a record-setting December snowfall, the actual skiing had been phenomenal. But I was sick of struggling to find a parking spot, tired of waiting in all those lift lines that were as congested as the bumper-to-bumper traffic that led to them.
Of course, Tahoe offers more than just downhill skiing: snowshoeing and cross-country are the go-to alternative snow sports for most crowd-dodgers. But kayaking? In the dead of winter? Not so much. Not even on the largest alpine lake in the United States, and the second deepest in the country. A lake that never freezes over, where the surface appears so placid and the snowcapped scene so screen-saver-serene that it makes you want to leap off the chairlift into the hallowed blue water. For most, though, the primary function of Lake Tahoe in winter is as a breathtaking backdrop.
Boating of all kinds on Lake Tahoe in winter is one of the most wonderful experiences there is here. However, you must be very aware of the consequences of an accident or incident that could result with you ending up soaking wet or worse, in the water. You won’t last long in the water. Consider this carefully before venturing into the frigid waters of Lake Tahoe. Also, be aware that there are no rescue services available during winter. Almost fourty years ago, some friends and I water skied and snow skied on the same day, New Years, in Homewood. Lake was like glass.
I go out year round,(OPEN WATER SLIP, YEAR ROUND),keep the boat in good working condition,and if you got a big enough cruiser make sure the trolling motor got plenty extra fuel,keep the stabbin cabin warm with the generator, double check the weather,keep some good wines,supply of goodies,aboard.It’s very beautiful out there ,surround by the white castles of Sierra Peaks.
Very seldom do you see anyone else..that’s one the beauty’s of it,can use the high power telescope to see people getting off the chairs sky,Canyon,lifts doing doobies from out there.
The lake trout are more at ease without all the boat traffic, there’s nothing better tasting than Tahoe deep water lake trout in the smoker,truly the food of the “Gods”.See you there.