Lake Tahoe 2009 | Angel City Flyers, Inc.

Lake Tahoe 2009

Last winter Seosamh became inspired and suggested we organize a fly-out for Angel City Flyers to Lake Tahoe for a bit of skiing. We checked with the students and found them all eager to participate as it would be a great way to build practical experience while working towards their ratings. Every plane on our ramp was to attend and the instructions were simple: plan the route as you wish, meet at 7:30 in the morning at Angel City Flyers for a weather briefing and last minute instructions then rendezvous at South Lake Tahoe (KTVL) airport sometime that afternoon. Some students chose to fly VFR direct, some chose to fly north along the Owens Valley, others chose to file IFR along the San Joaquin valley and still others decided to airport-hop along the way to gain experience.

TVL Chart

The time to depart arrived and the weather looked perfect. A storm had courteously delivered four feet of snow in the days preceding our trip and the airport was supposed to be clear for our arrival. Snow was forecast to begin during our stay but clear the day of our departure so if all went according to plan we should have optimal conditions for both the flying and the skiing. (We were guardedly optimistic.)

It was better than we could have hoped!

The flying was perfect – great temperatures and no storms. Our Diamond Stars could fly as high as needed as the ceilings were over 15,000 feet so no danger of ice along our route. I was flying with an IFR student who chose to approach from the Sacramento area then fly the GPS 18 approach over the lake. As we crossed the mountains from the west the clouds were a little lower than expected. We flew through a thin cloud layer during the descent but were in the clear by 2000 ft agl for one of the most scenic approaches I have flown yet. The airport itself was covered in snow but the runway was clear and dry. No ice on the ground so the taxi was easy and we parked in front of the FBO and waited for the others to arrive.

KTVL in Snow

Within an hour the last of our flight had touched down and a couple of cabs to took us into town. We stayed in a casino downtown which was within walking distance of a great restaurant on the lake. The next morning we walked to the gondola at Heavenly for a beautiful day of skiing. The snow was perfect: light, dry and lots of coverage. It had snowed the night before but there were no lines so we had fresh tracks on every run!

We had some digging to do the next day, but but the snow was light and there was no ice. The folks at Mountain West FBO were a great help – very friendly and cheerfully cleared paths for our wheels. We decided to return via the eastern side of the Sierras for a bit of mountain flying experience and the flight home was beautiful. A few more clouds to contend with and a bit of turbulence, but nothing troublesome.

Our fly-out to Tahoe was truly an adventure. Perfect flying conditions, the threat of winter weather, the rewards of a beautiful day of skiing and the picturesque Sierra Nevada mountains would each individually make for a great trip but when combined created a truly unforgettable experience.

Only one question: when can we go again?

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Souvenirs