There’s a couple of things to get straight, right off the bat. We don’t know for certain whether the season is actually over or not yet, as Alterra has not played their hand yet. Not everyone would agree that this was a good season. How could you, knowing that we ended with about 45% of our average snowpack, and you could count deep powder days on one hand, even after a table saw accident. But I would like you to look back and remember some of the great things that happened since Alpine Meadows opened last November. You might start to agree with me that things were not so bad.
• Although we didn’t end up with a lot of snow, the season started pretty strong. We had some big storms in November, and they came in pretty wet. That meant that we bypassed much of the Kangaroo only and White Ribbon Of Doom season. By the first week of December, most of the mountain was skiable. Contrast that to 2014-15, when we were still skiing the WROD into January, thanks only to snow making.
• Temperatures remained cold up until March began. That preserved our base much better than previous drought years, and allowed for a slower transition to firm hardpack conditions.
• The grooming at Alpine Meadows was superior this year. One thing we heard over and over was about the investment in grooming cats that include LIDAR. That technology allows operators to measure the depth of the snow through the mountain, allowing them to better push snow around the mountain to keep coverage consistent. We also heard comments from the top that every grooming machine was being utilized as much as possible. Both of these things showed in quality, consistent skiing, day after day. We’d be remiss to not say that cat operators played a big part in that too! Not only did we see the Squaw regulars at Alpine frequently this year, my friends coming from other mountains frequently noted how much better it was than their home mountains.
• The commitment to run as many lifts as possible each day was also a win for everybody. Sure, it took a while for the mountain to staff up to make that happen. We appreciated that we never had to worry about a day where some lifts might be off the schedule, in particular midweek. It seemed like ABC ran more days this season than the last couple of seasons combined…but that is just a wag.
• We got a new lift. Treeline Cirque (aka Hotter Wheels, Turbo Weasel, Weasel On Speed or Chair 3.25) is the first new chairlift built at Alpine Meadows since 2004. It’s a game changer in a great way. Sure Arts Knob and Sherwood Cliffs are no longer hidden. The benefits far outweigh the consequences. (Added to this list late)
• The lack of powder days meant there was less overall frustration with overcrowding, mega traffic jams and the powder stampedes. Nobody will ever miss the running of the bullies at Alpine Meadows. The reality is, when oversold passes are a part of the business model, and powder days have become powder hours, it’s easy for many to just not care about powder anymore.
• We saw the return of the real Alpine Meadows logo at Alpine Meadows. It started last spring with some merchandise in Estelle Sports, and it grew from there. Alpine Meadows deserves it’s own identity. Owning two mountains that offer different experiences is always better than trying to homogenize both into one box. What will really bring a smile to peoples faces is when Alterra sees fit to replace the Alpine Meadows logo on the sign at the bottom of the road, at the bottom of Lot 4 and on the front of the lodge.
• Lastly, many people seem to be happy about the return of UnofficialAlpine.com. I’ve enjoyed writing again and so far, it’s been a very low stress thing. We hope to keep it that way.
We put together a selection of favorite photos from this season together for the gallery below. We would love to add your favorite photo as well. You can email your favorite photo from this season at Alpine Meadows and we will add it to the gallery. In your email let us know if you want photo credit by first name, full name or pseudonym. For the first 15 submissions, we’ll send you a super special edition Unofficial Alpine sticker, if you include your mailing address with your email.
Yes, it was one of our favorite seasons…maybe, just maybe, we’ll get in a few more lift served days somewhere before the snow melts.
Your Photos
Tip: Click on any on any photo to get to slideshow mode. Look for the link in the lower right corner to see full size.
P.S. We know the season isn’t really over, as there’s people out there doing a lot of backcountry skiing. I may even do some myself, especially when things get corny again. We’re choosing not to highlight that very purposefully. We don’t want to attract more people to the area during this time of “stay at home” guidance.
Thanks for the positive thoughts. Grooming was super – nice to know about the tech. Also, super to see the logo again. I like your p.s. too – maybe get you out there on the corn if the planets align. Don’t hesitate to hmu for touring.
Thank you for you all that you do. I truly appreciate your love of The Mountain known as Alpine Meadows and your daily take on what Mother Nature, with some teasing by the groomers, gives us each day of the season.
Andy and Mark;
Love your daily comments. I skied at AM since 1971 – started in the National Patrol then merged into the Doctors’ Patrol. Have fond memories of being “checked out” by Berny Kingery on Scott shoot in near zero visibility fog. Retired from patrolling in 2006 and moved to Oregon but part of me will always be at AM. I miss very much my cabin on Forrest Trail, the coziest place I ever had.
Hey Mark, I generally agree with most of what you wrote, not that care a rat’s ass — is that the correct expression? — with resort lift skiing. I do take some exception to your favorable assessment of this season in comparison to 2015. C’mon man. My understanding is that according to tree ring studies nothing like the drought of 2011-15 had existed in 1200 years. And you’re citing that as a standard of comparison! Each of those four seasons got worse, saw less snow, culminating in one of the alltime losers, 2015.
When I referred to 2014, I really meant the 2014-15 ski season. As a whole, those four years were a very dry spell from the overall water standpoint. But as skiers, most of us just look at individual seasons and snowpack, or lack thereof. The two years that really stand out in my lifetime are 1976-77 and 2014-15.
Thanks for your positive views on a challenging season.
Mark, great summary of a season that could have been dicey but turned out ok in the end. And thank you for resuming Unofficial. It’s nice to have a place to share experiences of a place we all love.
Just a thought any one wondering about a break on the IKON pass for next year
That’s an interesting question Casey. I would guess there are people that did not get as many days on their passes this year as they expected, as they kept waiting for the big storms.