Watching the Winter Olympics in Russia makes me wonder if they will ever grace Reno/Tahoe in my lifetime. It has been over 50 years since Squaw Valley hosted the Olympics and I wasn’t alive to see that.  Tahoe certainly has the snow, even in this drought.  The storm from early February would have been a saving grace for the Olympics that are staged in February.  I hear of Sochi being in the 60s and I compare it to Reno as we have been basking in 60 degree temperatures as of late.  Sochi’s Olympics events are being held as low as 2,000 ft, far lower than the lowest Tahoe elevation of slightly over 6,000 and if you ask me, less awe inspiring.  Sochi’s highest elevation for their downhill skiing is also considerably lower than many of Tahoe’s peaks.

I also contemplate the enormous cost that Russia is spending to put on the Olympics.  I keep hearing a figure in excess of $40 billion and that sounds ridiculous.  The last Olympics in the United States, in Salt Lake City, cost under $5 billion and that included the huge cost of building a light rail that was funded by the government.  So not only would I like the pride of Tahoe hosting a Winter Olympics, but I would also like the federal government to build a rail system to alleviate the traffic, or at least widen highway 89 to Squaw Valley.