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Steve Newell / Tahoe Daily Tribune / Mail carrier Steve Bobeda searches for a mailbox in the snowbank.
Steve Bobeda has slipped and fallen. One of his fingers has frostbite, and he's banged his hands quite a few times.
But for the 11-year U.S. Postal Service carrier, it's all worth it.
Bobeda likes challenges and exudes a sense of curiosity and exploration about his route.
"I know more about people than their neighbors," he said, while loading his truck Tuesday.
Packing up for deliveries at the main branch, Bobeda was expecting his route to take more time than usual. After all, South Lake Tahoe streets have undergone a series of storms in the last couple of weeks that brought more than 8 feet of snow.
A route that would take two hours in summer months now takes about five. Plus, there's been a backlog of mail from the weather-related closure of the Reno/Tahoe International Airport.
Bobeda is all too familiar with the effects of weather. He's been stuck in the snow twice, having to call the tow truck to get his rig out.T
His Jeep - which resembles a CJ5 - is a two-wheel drive with an automatic transmission. Bobeda relies heavily on the chains installed on the back wheels.
But for the 11-year U.S. Postal Service carrier, it's all worth it.
Bobeda likes challenges and exudes a sense of curiosity and exploration about his route.
"I know more about people than their neighbors," he said, while loading his truck Tuesday.
Packing up for deliveries at the main branch, Bobeda was expecting his route to take more time than usual. After all, South Lake Tahoe streets have undergone a series of storms in the last couple of weeks that brought more than 8 feet of snow.
A route that would take two hours in summer months now takes about five. Plus, there's been a backlog of mail from the weather-related closure of the Reno/Tahoe International Airport.
Bobeda is all too familiar with the effects of weather. He's been stuck in the snow twice, having to call the tow truck to get his rig out.T
His Jeep - which resembles a CJ5 - is a two-wheel drive with an automatic transmission. Bobeda relies heavily on the chains installed on the back wheels.
He knew the offshoot roads up in the Cold Creek area Tuesday would be unplowed and single lane.
He had the Jeep idling - hoping it would withstand tough Tahoe roads. The carriers buy their Jeeps and use a maintenance budget to keep them running. This season it has already consumed $5,000 for a new transmission.
Bobeda shrugged off the "through rain, sleet, ice" pledge the U.S. Postal Service has kept as its motto for years.
"I loved the snow until I had to deliver in it," he said. "And it's not worth killing yourself over."
But he's not kidding anyone. Through the years, Bobeda has demonstrated with his actions the enthusiasm he has for making his rounds.
He said he's carried a woman on his route of 337 stops into the house because she fell and broke her hip. There was another who failed to collect her mail for a week. He called the sheriff's department, which discovered she was OK. A deaf man said he couldn't breathe, so he stayed with him until the paramedics arrived.
The heart of the job came out on Tuesday.
His first stop was the El Dorado County Courthouse, where he gets bragging rights over being able to pull up to almost the door.
"This is the old-fashioned way," he said, patting the carrier bag. He whizzed through the buildings with deliveries.
He had the Jeep idling - hoping it would withstand tough Tahoe roads. The carriers buy their Jeeps and use a maintenance budget to keep them running. This season it has already consumed $5,000 for a new transmission.
Bobeda shrugged off the "through rain, sleet, ice" pledge the U.S. Postal Service has kept as its motto for years.
"I loved the snow until I had to deliver in it," he said. "And it's not worth killing yourself over."
But he's not kidding anyone. Through the years, Bobeda has demonstrated with his actions the enthusiasm he has for making his rounds.
He said he's carried a woman on his route of 337 stops into the house because she fell and broke her hip. There was another who failed to collect her mail for a week. He called the sheriff's department, which discovered she was OK. A deaf man said he couldn't breathe, so he stayed with him until the paramedics arrived.
The heart of the job came out on Tuesday.
His first stop was the El Dorado County Courthouse, where he gets bragging rights over being able to pull up to almost the door.
"This is the old-fashioned way," he said, patting the carrier bag. He whizzed through the buildings with deliveries.
From there, he whipped up Marlette Drive from Johnson Boulevard. He drove one side of the street before turning around to deliver on the other.
A resident had cleared a small path to the mailbox.
"See, that doesn't help me," he said, stepping into the snow with his Columbia winter boots. "If I back up from here, and someone hits me, my job is toast."
One resident tried an old-fashioned bribe to get his mail even though the area around his box wasn't clear.
"I've been bought," he yelled. In the mailbox, there was a box of chocolates and a note insisting a loader would be out to clear the snow.
While some people carved immaculate driveup paths to their boxes, others appeared to not care. Many mailboxes were completely buried.
He gets more of a workout in the winter than the summer - jumping out of the vehicle at least 90 percent of the time and digging out boxes. That quickly consumes the 2.3 seconds at each house he's given by the Postal Service for delivery.
Still, Bobeda used his hands to dig for them, then a scraper and brush on Columbine Trail. At one house, he climbed up a snowbank and disappeared in the snow.
"And she works for the postal service," he said, pointing to one house.
A resident had cleared a small path to the mailbox.
"See, that doesn't help me," he said, stepping into the snow with his Columbia winter boots. "If I back up from here, and someone hits me, my job is toast."
One resident tried an old-fashioned bribe to get his mail even though the area around his box wasn't clear.
"I've been bought," he yelled. In the mailbox, there was a box of chocolates and a note insisting a loader would be out to clear the snow.
While some people carved immaculate driveup paths to their boxes, others appeared to not care. Many mailboxes were completely buried.
He gets more of a workout in the winter than the summer - jumping out of the vehicle at least 90 percent of the time and digging out boxes. That quickly consumes the 2.3 seconds at each house he's given by the Postal Service for delivery.
Still, Bobeda used his hands to dig for them, then a scraper and brush on Columbine Trail. At one house, he climbed up a snowbank and disappeared in the snow.
"And she works for the postal service," he said, pointing to one house.
Several people came out of their houses to receive their mail.
"Believe it or not, there's a mailbox there. This guy flat refuses to do it," he said of a house on the 2400 block of Cougar Trail. The resident received a stepped-up notice telling him he'd have to go to the post office to get his mail.
At the Sierra House area at 1 p.m., he figured he had completed about half his route.
"I'm usually done about now," he said. "And this is a small route."
His wife, Donna, delivers mail off Pioneer Trail in the El Dorado County region.
"Sometimes she doesn't get home until 6 p.m.," he said.
There are 15 South Lake Tahoe routes. During last Saturday's winter deluge, only three got mail - the Barton area, Highway 50 and Stateline.
Although Bobeda has given residents slack through the heavy snowstorms, carriers will often drop off friendly reminders that those receiving mail must clear a 30-foot arc around a mailbox. It helps the carrier drive in.
In Carson City, 40 percent of residents got their mail on Saturday. Full operation resumed on Monday.
"Believe it or not, there's a mailbox there. This guy flat refuses to do it," he said of a house on the 2400 block of Cougar Trail. The resident received a stepped-up notice telling him he'd have to go to the post office to get his mail.
At the Sierra House area at 1 p.m., he figured he had completed about half his route.
"I'm usually done about now," he said. "And this is a small route."
His wife, Donna, delivers mail off Pioneer Trail in the El Dorado County region.
"Sometimes she doesn't get home until 6 p.m.," he said.
There are 15 South Lake Tahoe routes. During last Saturday's winter deluge, only three got mail - the Barton area, Highway 50 and Stateline.
Although Bobeda has given residents slack through the heavy snowstorms, carriers will often drop off friendly reminders that those receiving mail must clear a 30-foot arc around a mailbox. It helps the carrier drive in.
In Carson City, 40 percent of residents got their mail on Saturday. Full operation resumed on Monday.
