It was actually Day 2 at Alpine Meadows, even though many had marked their calendars with today as “Opening Day”. Those people showed up today, making the slopes significantly more crowded and creating lines that were a bit long. This was not unexpected.
I found myself more surprised at the lack of people arriving early at Alpine. It was pleasantly quiet in the parking lot when I arrived shortly after 8am. I picked up a Blondie and a cup of coffee from Treats and came back to the car to relax a bit. Our locker was not crowded and neither were the slopes during the first hour. Then people just kept coming and coming.
The first two hours on the slopes were quite nice. The temperatures were warmer than yesterday, giving the snow a forgiving cream cheesy texture. This was a good thing, as that meant that off piste skiing was still accessible.
The bumps on Werner’s and Yellow were small and playful this morning, but will continue to grow over the next couple of days. Yesterday’s afternoon crowd did a good job of skiing in the snow in many areas, making it easier to see rocks and other obstacles. Consequently, some of my favorite turns today were around the Ladies Slalom area, due to the lack of people.
Sometime around 11am, the crowds were beginning to peak. The runouts leading to Roundhouse and Super Weasel began to get a little claustrophobic. The lines for all three of the open chairs extended well beyond their defined queues, leaving people in blobs, jockeying for position. I don’t do well with that kind of chaos.
Hopefully we see something different tomorrow with more lanes or longer lanes to keep things from being chaotic.
Looking at the webcams this afternoon, things have mellowed out substantially. It usually does. Maybe someday I will be able to reset my rhythm to do something else in the morning and go skiing in the afternoon. This time of the year though, the shadows are long and the light gets flat early in the afternoon.
There’s still no sign of any new snow in the forecast. Let’s not talk about that. Thank you snow making team!
Also…thanks to Marissa for that awesome sourdough loaf present today!
Masks people, masks please!
First off, total kudos to the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows organization for publicizing their strong stance on masks. I also appreciate that I saw several Alpine Meadows managers on the mountain today reminding people about masks on the mountain. I’m not sure it’s enough though. Yesterday, I only counted two people with mask issues. Today, I ran out of fingers and toes for counting mask issues.
In particular, those blobs of people trying to work their way into the lift line is where I noticed many people that had a mask around their neck or under their nose. We can all make it easier on the staff by just doing the right thing, and reminding our friends and family to do so as well. It’s our only hope to keep this lift served ski season alive.
I could relate to a lot of what you said. When we were skiing the lines weren’t so long. Everyone I saw had a mask. I’m sure some were not worn correctly. Where I noticed a problem was our locker room. I will probably just use the locker room for my skis. I plan to put my boots on outside or near the door and just store my boot bag on the rack. I really want to get this down to 5-10 minutes. In our section people were standing around to visit with friends. I think this year is more of a grab your gear and go, at least for me. I want the locker room to remain safe so we all have the option to use it.