Abnormal California storms have made this winter season a rollercoaster ride of unpredictable weather patterns, leaving competitive skiers who ventured out to the snow-covered mountains of Tahoe with many testing experiences in their season. Starting just after New Year’s and throughout February and March, storms plummeted grave mounds of snow in the high-altitude region.

The amount of snow from the storms was delightful for winter fun. However, accessing and enjoying it posed challenges for many, including Gwenn Ricordel, a sophomore who participates in competitive skiing for a Northstar Race Team. Ricordel shares her troublesome experience getting to and from her home in Tahoe and being unable to practice and compete. 

“Around [late February-early March], I didn’t go [to Tahoe] for a month straight because we couldn’t even get out. I train every Saturday and Sunday, so it negatively affected me. I had three races postponed that ended up being canceled forever,” Ricordel said.

One distinct challenge commuters faced was a long drive. Skiers and many others wished to enjoy the snow, accompanied by dangerous driving conditions from the storms resulting in heavy traffic.

“There were so many people going up, and then we’re stuck in traffic. Everyone on my race team [joked saying] we should just have a lane on the freeway that says, ‘for race team people,’ so we can go straight there,” Ricordel said.

Furthermore, the uncertainty of the impact of the storms affecting road conditions and possibly causing practice and competition cancellations made Ricordel’s season harder to enjoy.

“No one knows [if you’ll be able to ski]. You [think], ‘Do I want to spend six hours in the car if I don’t know if I’ll train the next day? What’s the point?'” Ricordel said. 

Gray Kilmenko, a sophomore who competes for a ski team in Palisades Tahoe, has also experienced a difficult season due to the weather. He shares that getting in needed practice has been challenging, especially with the arduous drive to Tahoe compared to his teammates who mostly live there. 

“It’s harder [getting to Tahoe]. [My teammates] have more time to get ready and compete. And I just have to work harder [to compete with them],” Kilmenko said. “It takes some time to adjust to being in Tahoe and skiing there, and [it’s even harder] if you don’t have as many days and experiences there.”

Devon Reiders, a junior on the same Northstar Race team as Ricordel, expressed similar views and attitudes to Ricordel and Kilmenko regarding the hardship of competing with her shortened time in the mountains and missing out on meaningful experiences in and out of Tahoe. 

“It’s tough not being able to see my friends every weekend because of skiing and then going up, and sometimes [not having] the time or the training course,” Reiders said.

Despite Mother Nature’s wintry wrath filling Tahoe’s mountains with enjoyable snow for skiing, accessing it was hard due to complex barriers. Despite the challenges, skiers who had to commute long distances have shown perseverance.