I finally broke my streak of consecutive days of skiing, ending yesterday at 31 days in a row. As it turns out, sometimes your body has a way of telling you to take a break. After a short morning of firm conditions yesterday, I found myself with frequent sniffles in the afternoon, and a full blown cold by bed time. Andy was tied down by work obligations, so we have no first hand report to offer. I can tell you that the selection of jigsaw puzzles available in Truckee is fairly low right now.
So letting my imagination run wild, I pictured Alpine Bowl something like this, but much wider and not quite so icy. To see the full video, head to Jerry Of The Day on Instagram or Twitter.
In fact, this would be a good opportunity to suggest that if you have some first hand reporting today, we would love to add your comments.
One thing is for sure is that it was busy, as parking lots have been filling by mid-day. We also saw some wait times of 5-10 minutes on the SquAlpine app today. You can be certain that it was tilled groomers early in the morning and scraped groomers by noon. Off piste was likely coral reef in the morning, but may have softened in some areas by noon. Feel free to add your comments.
Looking ahead at the weekend…we have another non-storm event tonight into tomorrow morning. The models and forecasters are showing the potential for an inch or two of snow, and winds into the 50’s. Since the TV weather stations mentioned snow in the Sierra for tomorrow, that will guarantee an additional influx of people, plus it’s Saturday. Even two inches of snow will not be enough to significantly impact conditions other than the first few laps.
Again, for Saturday and Sunday, the Backcountry Demo days are scheduled. According to the Sierra Sun article, it’s the 14th year for the event, and a claim to be the largest backcountry demo event. It’s free with a pass or lift ticket. You must leave an ID and credit card as a deposit. I forgot, did we say this event draws a big crowd? So skiing is not on my agenda tomorrow either…hopefully Sunday.
Mid-Range Outlook Improving
The models have been pretty consistent in bringing in a pattern change toward mid-month. Over the next week, we may continue to see some small systems pass to our north, providing little relief. But by the 11th or 12th, things get interesting, with the kind of system that would give the mountain a decent refresh. That storm is now within a 10 day window, which means it’s out of Fantasyland – but it’s still in the “anything can happen” range. If the models are still seeing that one on Monday, it becomes at least a bit more certain.
It’s always a mistake to look at one model run and assume that is the correct solution. There are several models to look at, and most create 4 runs per day. But the one run above has shown the same sort of storm for two days running. This is better than it showing a donut hole of white over California. We’ll keep looking at the models…and hopefully returning to skiing soon.
Yeah, today and yesterday were dangerously crowded. Yesterday’s snow conditions were super icy, and didn’t get much better throughout the day. Today, the snow was better (still firm in the morning, and grooming was gravelly) but crowds were similar. The best snow seemed to be on Lakeview and Sherwood, but 15 minute lift lines weren’t worth it. Ski patrol said there were 40 accidents they were called to yesterday—surprised there weren’t more!
I have to say your first four words gave me a pause…”I finally broke my” … My mind raced through your limbs that haven’t been broken yet and then the next word “streak” broke though the catastrophe fog and I breathed again… Love, Mom
Ditto as yesterday!
Of course you know there is a thing called Nordic skiing, and at the areas, Taco City, Tahoe Donner, Squaw meadow (not much but convenient to me), Northstar, Royal Gorge, Kirkwood et al. crowds are never an issue. “Real skiers” do it all. College racers used to have to compete in four disciplines: slalom, GS, Nordic and jumping, And on stormy or flat light days, no problems. Not to mention the best workout around, like running but also upper body. And no ugly lifts, snow making dispensers and all the mechanical sounds.
Yep, in a former lifetime, when we lived in Sierra County, we did a ton of cross-country and backcountry around Yuba Pass and Gold Lake Rd. As a kid, I remember some quiet trips up Pole Creek Road. Not so quiet there anymore 😉
Yes, Alpine Bowl looked a lot like the Jerry of the Day video. We took a left at the top of ABC instead and had a great spring-conditions run down to Sherwood at about noon. Outer Limits was nice in the afternoon. Finished the day with a fast lap down Wolverine just before 4pm where the snow was firm and the light was a flat but the crowds were absent.
High T was surprisingly delightful at noon yesterday- enough to take a 2nd lso even though we were hungry for lunch.
Today was blizzardy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. The extra 2 inches were nice but didn’t make off piste areas appealing over icy bumps.
It has been crowded and scary on Weasel and the run out to summit and roundhouse. But it’s been much worse in the past.
I agree.