Conquering Palisades Tahoe's 'Three Ps' on Snowblades for Closing Day

Palisades Tahoe, California hosted its final day of the Winter '23/'24 season on Memorial Day, May 27th, 2024.

The season was 183 days long and produced slightly above-average snowfall to the tune of 423 inches. For some, it was a pleasant chaser to the borderline-apocalyptic record setting season of '22/'23.

There's still lots of snow up high on Palisades Tahoe's Siberia, Shirley, and Granite Chief chairs, but as an unknown 'Debbie Downer' once said, 'All good things must come to an end.'

Winter '23/'24 was my first full season as a Palisades skier, and I simply couldn't let the occasion of Closing Day pass without doing something big. Not big in the typical Palisades sense of huck-a-cliff-that-would-make-my-mom-cry, but big nonetheless.

Popularized by Palisades Tahoe Jedi and accomplished filmmaker Scott Gaffney , the 'Three P's' present as much of a cardiovascular challenge as they do on the snow itself.

The challenge consists of hiking and skiing three of Palisades Tahoe's most prominent features in the same day- Mainline Pocket, Granite Chief Peak, and The Palisades (Pocket, Peak, and Palisades for short).

It's one thing to accomplish the feat on a regular pair of skis, but my buddy Pete Schleifer and I had the brilliant idea to attempt it on snowblades, of all things.

Check out the video below to follow along as we chase an unimportant, yet enticing goal.

VIDEO: Palisades Tahoe 'Three Ps' On Snowblades

In hindsight, the most difficult part of this challenge was trying to stay cool. As you can see, I made the unwise decision to wear all black, but at least I looked cool, right?

Regardless, I can confidently say that nailing the Three Ps on blades was one of the most memorable days of my season. I'm still smiling about it days later.

I will never forget Winter '23/'24 at Palisades Tahoe. In total, I skied 46 of 63 days of my season at the resort, and accomplished more than I thought I was capable of .

I had the goal of reaching 100 days on snow this season, but a freak knee injury in December threw a wrench in those plans. No matter. It just means I have my work cut out for me next year.

To all the folks who have welcomed me at Palisades this season- thank you. Thank you for making a kid from Delaware feel like he finally found his home, and his people.

See you back out there in November when the snow starts to fall again. It can't come soon enough.

Related: The First Family of Jackson Hole's S&S Couloir

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