It was a “choose your own adventure” kind of day at Alpine Meadows. While the sky was bright and blue with not a cloud in sight, a chilly northeast wind, blowing at 45 to 60 mph, kept the front side of the mountain feeling like winter. Meanwhile, over on Sherwood there was only a breath of wind, warm temperatures and corn-ish snow. We took advantage of both seasons.
During our morning Summit laps, the cold temperatures kept the snow winter-like from Rock Garden upwards. The corduroy was firm and fast, but very edgeable. Lower on the mountain, groomed runs were much more firm, except where it had been tilled. Fortunately due to low mounts of traffic, not too many marbles or golf balls got churned up. Off piste snow that had been in the sun yesterday was unpleasant on the frontside. The exception was the north facing slopes. Nice winter snow was found in North Peril, Palisades and Mid-Yellow.
It took a bit of convincing to get my buddies to go check out Sherwood, but I hadn’t been there in about 10 days and thought it was time to check it out around 10:15. Amazingly, the Sherwood groomer run does still go, although it is getting awfully narrow in the mid section. There’s been yet more creative snow farming to keep things covered and snow fences installed to catch more from each new storm.
But I did not come here today to talk about the groomed run. The most fun part of the day was taking various sneaker lines around the area of Sherwood Face. It’s far more rocky than 10 days ago, but many lines do still go. The moguls have mellowed out somewhat due to some filling in and lighter traffic. Then there was the low angle untouched hot pow leading back to the High T runouts. I could have stayed there all day…except it started getting pretty sticky about 11:45. Rock skis, yep.
Notable today is that the mountain began some reduced operations, with Alpine Bowl, Yellow and Kangaroo off the schedule. You certainly can’t blame mountain managers for making that choice. It’s been pretty much a private resort experience the last two days. As J1’s start leaving soon, it’s a pretty sure bet we will continue to see reductions. Unless something radical happens in the weather, we’re rounding third base.
Another Weekend Storm
Yeah, there is yet another storm on tap for the weekend. BA titled his forecast “Biggest Storm Of The Season?” and that certainly got people’s attention. He mentioned the possibility of feet of snow. It really would not take all of that much to declare a storm as “biggest of the season”.
The GFS has been the driest of the models on this one. The Euro and Canadian have been much more bullish. The last two days, the GFS is coming a bit more in line with the idea of a storm. Over years of looking at forecasts, I have tended to become more of a “one model” guy, using primarily the GFS as it is free and available in many locations. I also feel like it’s reasonably accurate. I have found that in looking at multiple models, it’s too easy to cherry pick and see what we want to see.
The problem with the upcoming storm is the placement of the high pressure ridge off the coast. Earlier this week, this storm looked like an inside slider at best. An inside slider is still possible, or a direct northern flow is possible, both of which are drier solutions. It could come in slightly off shore and bring in a bit more moisture. The latest models runs seem to take it barely off shore, while a low in Arizona wraps in some addition moisture from the east. In a nut shell it looks wetter, but further south. If I had to make a bet, I would estimate a foot by Monday for North Tahoe resorts. It’s still too early to make a good call. Snow is possible.
Wednesday Update
This post was getting so long that I neglected to mention the teleconnections, as BA did yesterday. The PNA index is trending very negative (good) and some of the ensembles show the AO trending negative (also good). The MJO is still in the COD, or Circle of Doom, which means it’s doing almost nothing. The MJO becomes less important as we move into spring though. The morning run of the GFS still looks for about a foot of snow, with better chances towards Mammoth.
Apparently There Is No Rush Order For The Gondola
Alterra Mountain Company released it’s list of capital improvement projects it plans to undertake before next season. Here’s the unedited version from AP:
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, California
The Gold Coast Lodge at the top of the Gold Coast Funitel lift at Squaw Valley will see a major renovation, overhauling dining areas and dramatically reshaping guest flow through the three-level skier services facility. The deck of the Chalet at Alpine Meadows will be expanded for more outdoor seating at the charming mid-mountain restaurant.
Both mountains will begin an extensive upgrade of snowmaking capabilities, boosting early season terrain openings and snow quality in crucial high traffic zones.
No gondola yet? Gee, I am so sad.
