The cost of transportation in winter is scarcely more than in summer.  The sledge trip from either Truckee or Carson City to the Lake is $2.50, an amount only $1.00 in excess of the regular fare by rail.  Board will cost no more than in summer.

TRUCKEE

Closely associated with Lake Tahoe as a center for winter sports is Truckee, the natural point of departure for the Lake.  Here a winter carnival is held annually for the entertainment of outsiders.  Among the chief sports are ski-racing and jumping and tobogganing.  The toboggan course is two thousand feet long and has a fall of one-hundred fifty feet.  A device is employed for drawing the toboggans back to the starting point.  The hotel facilities are ample.  Toboggans and ski can be rented for use here or at the Lake.  Clothing and other winter outfits can be procured.  Canadian snow-shoes, however, must be obtained in San Francisco.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

LAKE TAHOE AS A SUMMER RESIDENCE

One of the most marked differences that the traveler observes between the noted lakes of Europe and Lake Tahoe is the comparative dearth of homes, summer villas, bungalows, residences, on the latter.  This is natural.  California and Nevada are new countries.  They have scarcely had time to “find themselves” fully as yet.  It took a thousand years to people the shores of the European lakes as we find them to-day, and in due time Tahoe will assuredly come to its own in this regard.  Indeed as John LeConte well wrote a number of years ago: 

The shores of Lake Tahoe afford the most beautiful sites for summer residences.  When the states of California and Nevada become more populous, the delicious summer climate of this elevated region, the exquisite beauty of the surrounding scenery, and the admirable facilities afforded for fishing and other aquatic sports, will dot the shores of this mountain Lake with the cottages of those who are able to combine health with pleasure.  But it must be remembered that the prolonged severity of the winter climate, and especially the great depth of snowfall, render these elevated situations unfit for permanent residences.  According to the observations of Dr. G.M.  Bourne, during the winter of 1873-74, the aggregate snowfall near the shores of the Lake amounted to more than thirty-four feet.  In fact, frequently there are not more than four months in the year in which the ground of the margin of the Lake is entirely free from snow.  And the vast gorges which furrow the sides of the surrounding amphitheater of lofty mountain peaks are perpetually snow-clad.  Hence, it is unreasonable to assume that many persons besides the wealthy will be able to enjoy the luxury of private residences here, which can be occupied only during the summer months of the year.  Nevertheless, when the refinement and taste incident to the development