Skiing Today Sponsored By Quikrete

Yeah, today was not that powder day we were looking for – but it’s just the sort of storm that was needed to lay down some concrete on the mountain. We already knew it was going to be a little heavy today, but when the snow levels started shooting up sometime around midnight, it added a whole new level of density to the snow pack. Today was likely an orthopedists dream.

We did go out and do some turns today, and they were pretty brutally soggy. The first two laps on Meadow were done in a steady rain, with the usual stops for beginner traffic. You had to laugh in the lift line when kids are crying and saying “Daddy, can’t we just go home?” But after two laps we retreated for a warm up before tackling the misnamed “Hot Wheels”. Our ride on Hot Wheels today rounded out to just about twenty minutes, due to low cable speeds and high winds. One ride was enough.

There was quite a bit of entertainment on Hot Wheels as only the left side was groomed. It was comical watching people shoot out into the “fresh powder” only to find that the snow was the consistency of Quikrete. Many of these people ended up unable to turn and on a straight track to the inevitable crash and burn.

We did one more warm up and early lunch until Roundhouse opened just before noon. We already knew the off piste skiing was treacherous, and given that only minimal grooming was done on Rock Garden, Dance Floor and Weasel – our goal was to complete two more runs to make it 5 for the day. Although the rain had become a little less intense, we still ended up like soggy dogs after playing in the rain.

We’re not complaining at all. It’s amazing that the mountain opened today at all. Three resorts along the crest did close today: Kirkwood, Sierra-At-Tahoe and Sugar Bowl*. Thanks to those that made it happen at Alpine Meadows.

*Sugar Bowl report was via SnowBrains. More fact checking may have been needed!

The evidence of avalanche control work was visible all over the mountain if you looked for it. There were bomb holes all over the slopes above the parking lot, and most of those led to some productive slides. Reportedly the entire Upper Beaver bowl slid pretty much to rock, running all of the way over the dam, and down to the top of Kangaroo. We also saw several smaller slides due to simple ski cutting along Sympathy Face and in Gunner’s Crotch and other lower mountain locations.

What needs to happen now is grooming, and a lot of it. No one should be fooled into thinking that powder is being destroyed, because it is truly cement out there kids. Tomorrow we hope to title our post “Groomers Gone Wild”. We would love the opportunity to ride some nice corduroy with fewer obstacles than we have seen in years. More true powder should return on Thursday…