The first wave of the storm has pretty much passed and it delivered just about as expected. The remote sensor at the base of Alpine Meadows is showing 10 inches of new accumulation, bringing that natural pack to 20 inches. I would expect that the upper mountain received at least a foot or more.
Currently temperatures are on the rise and the upper mountain cams at Squaw are looking more wet than snowy. That’s okay as having some cement for building a base is a good thing at this time of year. More showers are forecast for the next 12 hours, but it looks like the bulk of that action will be in the Southern Sierra. That brings great joy to my friends in the Mammoth area.
Word on the street is that a lift at Alpine Meadows will be spinning for the race program, possibly as early as today. There’s also been some faint rumors that we could see a public opening earlier than the advertised November 25th opening. I’ve seen “this Friday” mentioned by a few folk. No confirmations to those rumors. The marketing department is curiously quiet at this moment. (Marketing finally checked in later in the the day with a report of 16″ of new snow up top, but no other news.)
The mid-range and longer range forecasts have flipped. As of now, this is the last storm in the series as a ridge builds in over most of the western US. That will send storms to the east for the foreseeable future. Looking at the upcoming week, temperatures should remain low enough each night for snowmaking crews to keep blowing. Getting the season started without a bunch of media hype and powder days could be a good thing.
Lastly, in other news, the URL SkiAlpine.com has stopped working again. It’s the link I have always used instead of SquawAlpine.com. I hope it gets fixed soon.
squaw.com still works 🙂
Does snow matter at this point? Hate to even mention it, but with all Tahoe basin counties just moved to COVID-monitoring purple, will Placer/Nevada/El Dorado Counties require even more stringent restrictions, possibly closure? On March 14, the actions were taken by Alterra, not a govt org, but this year the “covid-isolation-fatigue-monitization” is apparently a higher priority than public health concerns. Truly am not a fear-monger but I am also not a science, math, or fact denier. Is it safe to plan on a lift-served ski year, or should people tap out and utilize the Ikon bailout clauses this year. I soooooo want to play on snow and enjoy lift line and chair ride conversations with my friends old & new, enjoy my home mountain, and not even think about this crap. I’m not alone in these thoughts I’m sure, so to anyone feeling excited yet hesitant, stay strong, stay healthy, and stay 6′ apart.
You will notice that I have been running PSA’s at the bottom of our new posts on the COVID subject, even though it has cost us some subscribers. I had better add one to this post now that you mention it.
https://www.squawalpine.com/what-to-expect-winter-2020-21
Does anyone know more about the ‘fleet of high-demand electrostatic sanitizing sprayers’?
Hmmm, no lifts open…how ’bout one last bike ride around Donner Lake today???
Only if you bought me some fenders…
Hey Mark. Good post. Love your stuff and so delighted UA is back. Ted