It’s hard to remember now because of our bone-dry January, but in December, black ice covered the roads in and out of the Lake Tahoe area, barely visible under the inches of fresh powder. The evergreen trees stuck out against the white, with their leaves buried under mounds of snow. In fact, the devastating winter storm that took place from Dec. 23 to Dec. 30 became the snowiest Christmas in Tahoe in 51 years. 

Several students recalled the difficulties it caused made it challenging to find time to ski, snowboard and get to their reservations in time. 

Freshman Diya Iyer’s family had planned to travel to Tahoe for winter break and stay near South Lake Tahoe. They started their drive to Tahoe when the storm was brewing, and almost had to turn back.

“That first day was pretty bad,” she said. “They closed down the ski resort, and we ended up getting snowed in. We did go sledding, though, which was fun.”

Along with getting snowed in for most of their stay, Iyer’s family had trouble getting on the roads, which made grocery shopping difficult. They faced many challenges trying to leave, such as installing chains and navigating an unfamiliar neighborhood.

“Chains were a huge deal, because we had to buy them multiple times,” Iyer said. “Two of them broke, and we had to fix that on the road. It was quite the experience.” 

Because of the number of car accidents and snow plows on the usual route, the Iyers chose to drive south to Bakersfield, turning the usual three- or four-hour drive home into a  grueling 14-hour slog.

Although Iyer never got to ski, she was still able to sled and spend time with her family on Christmas. And while the whiteout dashed many of their plans, it also gave them a unique Christmas experience that they will never forget. 

Sophomore Ella Asher was another student who planned to go to Tahoe and ski for a week with her family before returning home for Christmas.

“We didn’t see the storm warning until the middle of the week when we were already in Tahoe, but we didn’t think it would be that bad,” Asher said. 

Asher’s family was planning to leave Tahoe on the day when the storm was at its peak, but those plans were quickly derailed.

Due to the snowstorm, there was well over a foot of fresh powder in most areas throughout Tahoe. Asher’s family attempted to make a U-turn back to their ski resort, but the icy, unplowed roads caused them to get stuck in a bank of fresh snow.

 After installing chains and getting help from locals, her family was able to get out of the bank in a  couple of hours. Asher said it was stressful and unexpected, but she was really grateful to get help from the people around them. They then decided to drive up to Reno, where they stayed in a hotel for two days.

In the meantime, their holiday plans of returning home and spending time with their family and friends were completely obliterated due to the snowstorm. 

“The experience was challenging, but being able to get through it made Christmas more special for our family,” Asher said. “I was disappointed about missing out on our usual Christmas celebrations and seeing family and friends, but the sense of community I felt after being helped out of the snowbank by complete strangers helped make this disaster a fond memory.”