Forget downhill, shredding, backslides and "yard sales" and look up this winter season as snowkiting is the hottest trend to hit Lake Tahoe and Truckee.
If you're wondering if the up-and-coming winter sport is anything like kiteboarding, you are on the right track. First, a parachute/kite is fastened to your back and a snowboard to your feet, and then just let nature take it's course! Once the wind catches hold, you (and your gear) go jamming across the snow, pick a direction: downhill, cross country and even up hill, bringing whole new meaning to the term "ski lift."
Sounds like fun, right? So why not head up here to Royal Gorge Resort and get a 90-min. lesson from snowkite tour champion Tyler Brown and his staff who will teach you all the basics of snowkiting, wind, mountain terrain and more. Are you not a beginner? They also provide adventure tours in the backcountry for more advanced snowkiters. Find details at www.sierrasnowkite.com and of course, make reservations with us at Donner Lake Village!
If hovering, flying and racing via kite doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, what about staying firmly on the ground in a 12-person Bombardier snowcat mobile? While the venue is still waiting for final approvals from the U.S. Forest Service, come January 2016, winter adventure-seekers can look forward to an exciting snowcat backcountry tour on the tip top of Ellis Peak at Homewood Ski Resort, at an elevation much higher than the resort's typical ski levels and limits.
After all the action, make your way back down the mountain on your snowboard or skis for a pit stop at the base of the Old Homewood Express lift.
Snowcat tours are expected to launch in mid-January with all-day packages starting at $399 per person, including lift access. Find details at SkiHomewood.com/Snowcat.