With less than ideal snow conditions at the Heavenly Resort a few weeks back, we decided to replace one of our snowboarding days with a snowmobile tour. My brother-in-law had never ridden a snowmobile before, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Chip

We had some difficulty finding a place that was open with the early season conditions, but eventually found Lake Tahoe Adventures.

Follow The Leader

The tour group for the day was very large, so they split us into three or four smaller groups of around ten riders. The experienced riders were placed at the back of the group, and since I had ridden a snowmobile before we were among the more experienced.

Hope Valley

Our tour was throughout the picturesque Hope Valley staring at 7,200 feet, just south of Lake Tahoe. The trail climbs rapidly, quickly heading deep into the back-country.

My Sled

Due to early season conditions, we didn’t veer from the trail and with some timid riders up front our speeds were fairly slow, especially at the start of the trip.

Chip

We took a ten minute break half way through the two-hour tour. After the break we were able to speed up and I think I may have hit 40 m.p.h. at one point. Since I was second from the rear, I could slow down a bit to let the group get ahead of me and then punch it to see how fast I could go.

Bright Lights!

Though the trip wasn’t as exciting as the other snowmobile tour that I took in the past, this was still a good time and I would definitely go back to Lake Tahoe Adventures in the future, but I’d make sure the more advanced tours were offered.

South Lake Tahoe on Dwellable