North Lake Tahoe

Relay Peak: Mount Rose Backcountry

Relay Peak, which is named after the relay station near its summit, offers great snow conditions almost any day of the season. With steep pitches, glades, and terrain variety from steeps to bowls, make Relay Peak one of the perfect backcountry zones for skiing downhill. To reach Relay Peak, you can park in one of the pullouts off of the Mt. Rose highway just south of the meadows, there are two areas on the side of the road and each will work nicely. Another option is to park on the side of the road in the Mt. Rose meadow parking zone however be advise that you will be contending with snowmobiles on the same approach. The lower two parking turnouts are also used to access Incline Peak, and adjacent to Incline lake.

Trailhead

To access the skin track to the summit, there are three basic options, the first is to park in one of the lower parking turnouts and pass by Incline Lake, continuing up the drainage of Third Creek until you are under Relay’s southeast face and ridgeline. From under this face, continue up the drainage to the south of Relay’s east ridge and up to the top. The second option is to park at the meadows area and skin up through the woods of Tamarack’s southern aspects until you get to a flat road that is used by snowmobiles, snowshoers and hikers that literally winds its way around the Tamarack peak right to the top of Relay (its a summer road for accessing the relay station). The third option is to park at Mount Rose Summit and take this very same road all the way across Tamarack and up to the top of Relay Peak. This will be a long 3 mile approach but limits several hundred feet of elevation gain. The second option is the recommended option with the easiest and shortest approach to the summit, albeit some snowmobile traffic.

Descent Options

The most obvious ski terrain is Relay’s expansive east bowl. This bowl makes for great skiing and is fairly short and very lappable with few nice chute options. One of the negatives to the east bowl is that it is no secret stash and is frequented by snowmobilers and their tracks clogging up your fresh lines.The southern faces of Relay feature some very skiable glades with good spacing for powder skiing. The north-facing routes are a little more secluded and require a hoof back up at the end of the run. The north bowl right from the summit is a very popular descent as it accesses some well known and rowdy terrain known as The Bronco Chutes, some of North Tahoe’s most impressive and famous descents.