FAQ — Alta Vista: Winter Advisories
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(1) Weather Related Inconveniences: As is the case with many vacation rental properties located in the High Sierra mountains, weather conditions may be adverse for arrival, during your stay, and/or departure. Alta Vista is located on a road that is on a regular snow removal route of the Town of Truckee.* See important specifics* below. In addition, our property has essentially level street access, and we provide a private driveway snow removal service at minimum once per day, if snow accumulation exceeds 4 inches. Typically, only very minor -- if any at all -- accumulation of snow at the garage doors cannot be covered by that service and is all that you might have to clear yourself -- shovels are in the garage. Commensurate with the 7300 ft. elevation of Alta Vista, heavy snow and snow drifts can occur, and -- as would apply for all winter sport resorts -- we advise our renters to use a 4-WD** or, better yet, an AWD vehicle and to plan to arrive early, if very heavy snowfall is in the forecast. Chains are usually not necessary if you come with a 4-WD** or AWD vehicle with reasonably good tires.
(2) Liability: THE OWNERS OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES PROVIDE THIS SNOW CONDITION-RELATED INFORMATION AS A COURTESY AND WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSSES TO RENTERS DUE TO SNOW CONDITIONS AND POTENTIAL INACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION. You agree to assume responsibility for transportation to and from the property. Inconvenience, or even inability to get to or from Alta Vista, caused by weather, disruption of utilities, or road conditions do not invalidate the Rental Agreement, nor will they be cause for any financial compensation or any other concessions. Specifically, owner assumes no responsibility if you cannot arrive at, or depart from, the rental property at the agreed-upon timing.
(3) Garage doors: The garage door openers require that all snow is quantitatively removed below the garage door along the entire width of the door. Only a minor accumulation of snow or ice at any point along the threshold will cause the door to back-up again upon the attempt to close it. Also, if it were to close but not entirely, due to a bit of snow or ice underneath, snow would drift into the garage during snow storms. We cannot over-emphasize this important advisory.***
Also, each garage door has a switch (at about foot level) which makes the door back up if a light signal is interrupted. The sender of the red light for that switch is at the right side of each door, when viewed from inside. During periods of snowing or snow drifting, snow may accumulate in that (about 1/2" DIA) sensor and simulate an interruption of the signal that would keep the door from closing. Carefully remove that snow.
(4) Slush from cars in garage: Vehicles tend to accumulate snow and slush underneath the fenders which will melt and fall off when parked in the garage and create a mess. We ask that you occasionally remove that slush with a broom, for reasons of cleanliness and, more importantly, to prevent excess water from the melt of that slush to seep into crevices in the garage floor and, eventually, create a dry-rot problem underneath. We are not asking for excessive cleaning of the garage, just for some common-sense care-taking which you would also do in your own home under the circumstances.
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Screen shot of Tahoe Donner road clearing status by the Town of Truckee (on 12/25/2021 at 11 AM, showing that a plow is on the way up-hill on Skislope Way; also showing that much of Northwoods Blvd downhill to exit Tahoe Donner is read-lined, signifying stopped/extremely sluggish traffic. NOTE THAT THIS MAP ALSO SHOWS DETAILED, VERY HELPFUL TRAFFIC STATUS on major routes within TD, Truckee, and Interstate 80.
Notes (updated 12/25/21):
* Truckee snow removal crews follow a prioritized plan for clearing streets of snow. To view snow removal equipment activity, go to https://www.511portal.com/truckee. Click on the legend icon (lower right of map). Find “Plow Route Status. From there you should find current information where the snow plow is, and when you can expect it to pass by Alta Vista (14710 Skislope Way). (See sample screen shot, indicating that a plow is on Skislope Way — green route — and plowing is expected to be completed within 4 hours).
IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, CALL 9-1-1. PLOW CREWS WILL PROVIDE TOP PRIORITY ASSISTANCE TO ANY RESCUE UNIT RESPONDING TO EMERGENCIES. (A previously scheduled doctor's appointment does not constitute a "medical emergency").
You are required to not park any vehicles on the path of the snow plows. Practically this means that between November 1 and April 30 YOU MAY ONLY PARK YOUR VEHICLE INSIDE OUR GARAGE (which has 3 parking spaces).
** Without wanting to insult your intelligence (but speaking from actual experience ...), if you have a 4-WD vehicle, you must know how to engage the 4-WD mechanism, or you will remain in the default 2-WD mode and may have a hard time moving on the snow-covered roads of Tahoe-Donner ... Only AWD vehicles have 4-WD engaged all the time.
*** It is conceivable that, upon arrival of renters, snow previously accumulated under the door had melted and subsequently froze, making it impossible to open the garage doors from outside using the key pads. It is then necessary to enter the house through the front door and carefully loosen the ice under the door, before re-trying to activate the opener. Using undue force will do little good but may cause expensive damage. Renters are responsible for repairs to equipment damaged by carelessness.
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6/20/20 -- updated 12/25/21