Amazingly Good For Peak Holiday Season

Today was good. We could just end the report right here. Of the thousands of turns we made today, we only remember only a handful of slick spots and one or two times where we were alarmed by crowded slopes. It’s something we have always said – when the whole mountain is open it does a great job of absorbing a crowd. Interestingly enough, the parking lots were not full today, and only 9 of 11 chairs were running. It probably has something to do with Christmas being on a Wednesday, making it difficult for people to tie it into a weekend. No teams today? Yes, that surely helped as well.

Some parts of the mountain did ski better than others. Southern exposures that saw a lot of sun last weekend continue to be a little scratchy. The entire front side of the mountain is skiing like a dream. The main groomers tended to be a bit busy at peak hours, so we made it our plan to avoid them as much as possible today. We hit just about every main zone off of Summit this morning and all of them were still offering soft cut up powder and small bumps.

High Traverse was ready to go right at opening this morning and reports were variable. My friend Bob said “The views were a 10 but the skiing was a 6” Andy chimed in and felt the skiing was an 8. Another acquaintance, a pro skier type of guy, said of Estelle, “It was the best skiing of my season”. There’s so many different exposures available on the hikes, it’s not surprising that each skier found different experiences. The beauty of Alpine Meadows lays in the fact that there are so many different angles and exposures, you can almost always find something good.

No Matter What You Call It, It’s A Game Changer

We’ve now gone through a number of powder days and “busy days” since the new Treeline Cirque lift opened this season. If you’ve been reading my posts on Unofficial Alpine, you know I am not a fan of the name of the lift, but I am a huge fan of the lift itself. It’s been a game changer as to how we ski Alpine Meadows and we think that the changes are all worthwhile.

We’ve heard the complaints. It’s certainly a misnomer to continue calling a certain run “Hidden Knolls, as they are now far from hidden. The entire zone from the Treeline Cirque run, around Arts Knob all of the way to Shuttle Cornice is no longer a powder haven. It’s now one of the busier areas on the mountain. Sherwood and Lakeview are no longer remote lifts that remain nearly empty until 10 am. Gone are the days where Hot Wheels was the top of the mountain, and you could ski a storm day with 15 other people, because nobody else would show up.

But in my book, the positives outweigh the negatives. Adding a 3rd high speed lift to the front side of the mountain dissipates traffic so quickly on busy days. The intense pressure on Summit and Roundhouse has been relieved, and probably Scott too. The lines at those lifts have been much shorter and traffic reduced in the areas they serve. That means that although skiers arrive at Lakeview and Sherwood sooner, all areas of the mountain benefit by spreading people out over more terrain. Powder stashes last longer, moguls grow slower, and you can better enjoy skiing without the need to keep you head on a swivel every moment. It’s making the mountain a far better place during the busiest of days.

So to me, that lift that we call Hotter Wheels, Turbo Weasel, Weasel On Speed or just 3.25, is one of my most favorite Christmas presents yet. Thank you Alpine Meadows!