It snowed last night, or should I say I think it did. There was an inch of slush on my front steps this morning. At the upper level of Alpine 6″ of new snow was reported, less on the lower slopes. The new snow was soft and quite nice where if had fallen on top of newly groomed slopes, however it was dense (and wind driven?) on other slopes.
Off piste was not for those with weak knees. It was another day where plenty of effort was required. A snow board would have been a better choice off piste. It was the type of snow that can send one ski careening off in a direction that is not where its mate is headed.
Our high winds died down to zero, at least on Roundhouse and Scott. At the opening bell the upper mountain was hidden in a cloud and winds were blowing briskly on Roundhouse. Later however, the sky rejected all of the morning gray color and turned completely blue. It was warm, 39 degrees at the base in the afternoon, and sunny. We skied Bobby’s Run at 11:30 which had been groomed the night before. After a few skiers had made turns on the soft snow it clumped up into what was described as an undercooked mash potato consistency.
We stopped in one spot on the mountain and spotted this tree trunk with snow hanging onto its bark. This tree also had horizontal marks etched into its trunk as if someone had cut into it with a chainsaw. The marks went from near ground level to 20 feet up the trunk.
We had fun, as usual, but it was not what I would call a powder morning.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Weather or Not?
Part two of the report comes from Mark, who agreed to take a look at the upcoming weather and whether or not it will be worth skiing over the next few days. That said, I’ll be skiing the next few days, because I do so nearly every day. But will it be worth a trip from Sacramento or the Bay area? Only you can decide that, after we give a bit of guidance.
The models have been trending a bit drier over the last few runs. A ridge keeps trying to build in over the Pacific over the next few days, but as we have seen frequently this winter, it will be a “dirty ridge”, with storms passing relatively close to our north. That means we won’t see all sunny skies, and we may see a shower or two. But right now, the latest runs of the GFS have eliminated any significant precipitation accumulation until Saturday night. Once that storm does arrive, the last model run is showing the potential for about an inch of water. That could translate into 10 inches or so of snow if snow levels cooperate. Snow levels will be above pass level, around 8000 feet, as that storm moves in. BA suggested in his morning report that snow levels will drop to lake level later on Sunday. Myself, I am not seeing that happen. The associated low stays pretty far north and we won’t see much cold air until the very tail end of the storm, which could be Monday morning. So Sunday could be a good day to hit Costco to prep for your Super Bowl party.
Update: As of Thursday morning, snow levels are trending downward earlier than before, so we could see snow at the base level by the time the mountain opens for Sunday. See the additional graphics below
Another similar storm, but hopefully colder, could brush by in the early part of next week. Things dry out after that. Personally I prefer that over rainy, foggy Oregon weather. By the first week of February, the ridge builds in strong enough that we should get some freeze & thaw cycles that get us to the pseudo-corn season.
BA’s report showed that Alpine Meadows is currently at 96% of our season-to-date average, so it’s likely that we will fall behind on that, but it’s too early to declare a drought just yet. Just think of it as June-uary, a couple of weeks late.