The Carmichael family has just returned from a fantastic ski week hosted by Clan Carmichael USA President Arthur Carmichael. Arthur organized a fun weekend of snowboarding, skiing, sledding and tobogganing based around his Lodge at Lake Tahoe. And boy did the snow fall! In fact there was so much snow Arthur actually got stuck but we all got there in the end! Three generations of the Carmichael family from Scotland attended this event and it was a great opportunity to ski and party with Carmichaels from all over the US.

The weekend started on Friday with a get together at Carmichael Lodge on the banks of Lake Tahoe. Arthur and his family served a wonderful meal. The wine, whisky and conversation flowed late into the night as everyone caught up.

Saturday was the first day after the storm and the Carmichael’s from Scotland were keen to get out there and enjoy the fresh powder. Alpine Meadows was the chosen ski resort. Mike Carmichael and his family were up early and headed up to the slopes closely followed by the Carmichaels from Scotland. The snow was immense and a great day was had by all. We even managed to find an incredible double black diamond run called ‘Art’s Knob’ which Richard and Andrew tackled with intrepidation. At lunchtime the non skiers in the Clan group arrived up at the day lodge at Alpine Meadows to soak in the ski and snowboarding atmosphere. Arthur headed back to the Lodge to collect Terri who had been putting Fraser (3rd generation potential Carmichael Chief) to bed. This was incredibly kind of him as this was the only day that the Carmichael’s from Scotland were going to be able to all ski together. Thank you Art! Jean and Jeaney looked after Fraser while the Scottish contingent skied and enjoyed the spectacular snow. After a long hard day of great snow and slopes we all headed back to the Lodge for showers and festivities.

That evening after Arthur’s customary 5pm cocktails the important business of the Clan Carmichael USA meeting began. This was a relaxed affair in front of a roaring fire place with Richard, Patricia and Andrew all present. Chief Richard wore his kilt for the occasion specially brought over in his ski bag! The discussion was fast paced and covered off much Clan Carmichael USA business including an interesting debate about the use of social networking sites and how we best approach this as a Clan.

Mike Carmichael cooked a delicious Beef Fillet on the BBQ that evening and braved the freezing temperatures to do so. It was cooked to perfection! We kept his glass well topped up to keep him going! This was a great evening which allowed everyone to catch up in a relaxed atmosphere.

The next day (Sunday) was another awesome ski day and Terri and Andrew decided to head to nearby Homewood to catch the morning snow. Richard and Patricia and Fraser stayed at Carmichael Lodge to say goodbye to those that were departing and indulge in Art's world famous 'Orange Julep' breakfast. Everyone gathered at the Lodge and there was again much feasting followed by some snow play and tobogganing. Some of the group departed around lunchtime on Sunday to head back to various parts of the US however around 10 of the group decided to go to the nearby Sunnyside Restaurant for a delicious final meal that evening. After the meal goodbyes were said and the weekend was officially over.

The Carmichaels from Scotland stayed on at Tahoe for another week and had some amazing ski days. In the short time we were there we managed to ski Northstar, Squaw Valley, Homewood, Alpine Meadows and Diamond Peak. Lake Tahoe is truly a wonderful playground for snow lovers and we would like to thank Arthur and his family for organizing such a wonderful get together and having us to stay at both his home in San Jose and at Tahoe.

It was agreed by all that attended that more events such as this should be planned for the future to bring Clan members together to have fun and inspire the next generation to become interesting in the Clan. We very much hope that we will see you at next meeting wherever it may be. More photos and commentary will be posted as it becomes available.

Tout Jour Prest

The Carmichaels