Palisades Tahoe Skiers Are Calling This The "Best Line On The Fingers" Of All-Time

Did professional skier and Tahoe local Noah Gaffney ski the best line on Palisades Tahoe’s “The Fingers” of all-time?

Many skiers across the Lake Tahoe region are saying so.

Gaffney, no stranger to winning The Fingers race on a classic Palisades’ powder day, raced off KT-22 with little to no hesitation to stomp a perfect line on “Middle Knuckle”, one of the gnarliest airs on The Fingers.

The video was filmed on Friday, February 20, 2026, after Palisades Tahoe recorded more than 100 inches of snowfall over six days. Conditions were perfect for Gaffney to lay down an all-timer, and he did just that.

Tap or click below to watch Gaffney’s top-to-bottom run on KT-22. Skip ahead to the 1:19 mark of the video for the Middle Knuckle air. Keep reading for more.

The 2026 POWDER Photo Annual is here! Look for a print copy on a newsstand near you, or click here to have a copy shipped directly to your front door.

Whether you think Gaffney’s line down Middle Knuckle is “the best ever” or not, it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t the fastest. If it helps, Gaffney skied the entire 1,800 feet of vertical on KT-22 in less than two minutes. That’s fast, in case you needed clarification.

Gaffney showed off his impressive knowledge of KT-22’s terrain by speeding down The Nose and into The Fingers like it was a walk in the park. Then, without hesitation, he slashed a long and beautiful “McConkey turn” to initiate the air off Middle Knuckle.

I was unfortunately stuck behind my computer while Gaffney was laying down his incredible line, but multiple witnesses told me it was the best line they’d ever seen on the Palisades. The crowd apparently reacted, too, with “the loudest KT-22 cheer I’ve ever heard,” according to one source.

To put Gaffney’s incredible line into perspective, I’ve illustrated a rough line using Palisades Tahoe’s trail map below.

The powder party is nearly over at Palisades Tahoe, at least for now. The storm dumped more than 100 inches of snow, but heavy winds, lots of skier traffic, and an impending rain even later this week should put a damper on this past week’s incredible conditions.

No matter, Tahoe is no stranger to a bit of rain. With a mid-mountain base of 91 inches (as of Monday, February 23rd), Tahoe skiers can breathe a sigh of relief. We’ll be skiing into May, but it might get a little wet and wild between now and then.

Here’s hoping it snows again and that Noah Gaffney has another mind-boggling line down The Fingers planned. You know we’ll be watching.

Related: What’s Your DIN Setting? (Poll)