Truckee & Tahoe Donner Real Estate Blog

Driving down Northwoods Boulevard this morning heading into town, the crest was brilliant white against the blue dome we all love some much here…it was a cold morning, in the 20’s when I woke up, though warming up fast. After pretty much 8 months of winter, everyone knew this was the end and it was apparent by what I witnessed driving around town today..you either had those ready for summer or die hards holing onto winter. There were golfers at Coyote Moon, road bikers, snowmobiles and dirt bikes on trailers, skis and boards on racks heading to Squaw or Boreal who were both open for the weekend, mtn bikers, kayaks, boats and even though I didn’t witness it, paddle board races were scheduled on Donner Lake.

Memorial Day Weekend – the traditional kick-off to a wonderful Truckee summer is almost upon us! Now if the snow/rain would just stop!

Don’t miss the 18th Annual Truckee Home and Building Show at the high school. Exhibits open from 10-5 – $6 admission benefits

our local schools. Meet all sorts of building professionals, get ideas for your project, get advice and answers and references!

The Lions Club of  Truckee and Little League are having their annual Rummage Sale on Memorial Day Weekend also. Sat. and Sunday

at the PUD parking lot. All proceeds go to Truckee Little League. Come out and support our locals next weekend! Hopefully the

weather will be beautiful – and lots of bargain homes to look at if you are in the market. Rates are low, inventory is high and summer

selling season is upon us! Come on in to Pacific Crest Properties and let one of our fantastic agents help you out!  – Keri Paulson

Ski ski ski.  With the recent storms, the skiing is great (so I hear!) so get out there and make the most of it.  Often Easter is spent on the patios of lakefront restaurants or biking the newly melted trails, but this year with predicted storms, many will be bringing their egg hunts inside to celebrate by the fire with cups of cocoa!  Below you will find a list of ski resort close dates…enjoy!

April 11
*Boreal (no night rides after April 3)

*Diamond Peak Ski Resort

*Homewood

*Tahoe Donner Cross Country and Downhill

*Roay Gorge Cross Coutnry

*Tahoe Cross Country (if conditions remain good, until April 18th)

April 18th

*Alpine Meadows (open weekends until May 16th, weather permitting)

*Mt. Rose

*Northstar

April 25th

*Kirkwood

*Heavenly

*Sugar Bowl (limited operating until May)

May 9

*Squaw Valley

Colby Jitloff (age 3) skiing

Passes are out!  Squaw has released, yet again, an amazing deal on winter passes.  Starting at $369, you can ski with black out days holidays and most Saturdays.  For many locals who work mid week and prefer to avoid the slopes during busy days, this deal can’t be passed up.  If you are a weekend warrior, there are 3 other levels ranging up to the full package at $1599.  If Alpine is your spot, you can now purchase a pass for $339 (similar restrictions) and Mt. Rose for $433.  Below is a more detailed breakdown of some local resorts and their pricing…don’t miss out, some of these rates are offered for a limited time!

Alpine-$339-$699

Alpine/Homewood combo-$459

Boreal-$129-$239 (only available through April 4)

Diamond Peak-$363-$454 (plus ski free the rest of this season)

Heavenly-$339-$599

Homewood-not yet available

Kirkwood-not yet available

Mt. Rose-$433 (plus ski free the rest of this season)

Northstar-$259-$699

Northstar/Sierra at Tahoe Combo-$359-$699

Sierra at Tahoe-$199-$279

Squaw Valley-$369-$1599

Sugar Bowl-not yet available

Tahoe Donner-not yet available

Last week many locals were cruising around town in shorts and flip flops, pulling bikes out of their garages and pumping up tires, gearing up to hit the nearest dry trail.  This week the snowblowers are back, boots out of closets and skis on car racks.  This occurance is very typical, but every year it’s seems to be a SURPRISE!!  It’s not so much the ramifications of having to move snow once again, it’s the mental shift from one season to another…and then back again…

My son Colby couldn’t be more thrilled to pull out his shovel and watch the tractors pass, but most “big kids” would give anything to rewind time and experience the bliss of last weeks warm temps and visions of summer bbqs.

It won’t be long until we’re back to spring and the good news is that this time of year the snow never last long.  It seems to melt at record rates and we’ll all be so much happier when this snow turns to water and our lakes and rivers are that much higher come summertime.

Enjoy the day, play in the snow and see the seasons through the eyes of a child!

Good food, good friends and good music-all for a GREAT cause!!  Pacific Crest Properties was fortunate enough March 14th to host Stone Soup, a community program geared to aid local hunger and bring the community together. This was Stone Soup’s second year and after feeding around 130 people (not including the “to go” containers) it is proving to be a successful venture.

Partnered with Project MANA and other local charities, this weekly event (Jan-March) began after seeing a need for further resources in the community during these tough economic times.  The organizers of this event are trying to avoid the “soup kitchen” stigma, expressing that if you aren’t in need, you are urged to come and donate for the cause.  All you have to do is bring your own bowl and spoon and you can enjoy some good eats and great company.

Unfortunately the last event for 2010 was March 14th, so you’ll just have to wait until next year to take part in this great program.  One thing’s for sure…you know where you can find me Sunday evenings starting January 2011!!

Visit Project MANA to learn more and see what ways you can help feed local hunger.

Yesterday, February 27th, we lost power throughout Tahoe Donner from about 8:45 until almost noon.  I was on the floor and ready for a walk-in when everything beeped and flickered several times and then silence for three hours.  I did a lot of cleaning, sorting, and everything I could think of that didn’t involve using up the battery on my laptop.  The phones worked for about 90 minutes and then the battery back up died out.  Anyone who called in just thought we weren’t answering the phone which I hope seemed out of character because we PRIDE ourselves on a human answering the phone in our office during the normal business hours. And then, everything lit up and linked up and we were off and running for the rest of the day.  I was back on the Multiple Listing Service so that I could make an appointment to show property at 2 pm.  Life is good in Truckee!!

Good news for everyone…President’s Weekend and Valentine’s Day was very busy in our office.  Were people looking because of a great ski season or were they shopping for a really cool Valentine’s Day present?  I have a couple of great listings that didn’t get an offer so if any buyers out there need to put a big bow around a house, give me a call!

So, it’s been a while since our last Pacific Crest Blog post, I decided the best place to resurrect it would be from the sunny, white sand shores of Kauai.  While the Sierra has been under a Winter Storm Warning, we too, have had our own NOAA warning; High Surf that is!  Staying on the South side of the island in Poipu, the waves have just been a pleasant white noise to paradise.  The North side however, up in the Hanalei area, Jessica and I were witness to waves approaching 40 feet!  Fun stuff.

Today, we are going to go snorkeling again, up near Salt Pond Park and after that may go sit in the sand at Barking Sand Beach.

As much fun as we are having here, it will still be nice to come home to some decent size storms that have decided to come back to the Truckee area.

Happy New Year and welcome to 2010!

Cheers,
Chris

Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner of the Astana Cycling Team are taking part in the 49th annual Nevada City Classic this Sunday June 21st.  The Nevada City Classic is one of the premiere sporting events in the Sierra foothills, the largest and oldest bike race on the West Coast, and the second-oldest race in the nation.