We’re 12 days into the Alpine Meadows ski season, and the last time we saw any significant natural snowfall was 18 days ago. I’ve got to say the skiing and riding is holding up quite well. It’s still puts a smile on my face, although you may not see it hidden behind my face mask.
Most of the ski team programs started at Alpine Meadows today, and many expected that it would be a big challenge to accommodate all of those kids. But, from what I saw this morning, it all came together and worked. I heard that some of the younger kids programs were delayed for a week, and that probably helped the situation. It’s alway great to see a new generation of skiers and riders getting the bug (not the COVID bug).
I skied from 9 til about noon today and saw no lift lines that were as long as over the Thanksgiving holiday. Lines occasionally exceeded the 3 lane corral capacity, but things seem to flow pretty quickly. Crowds tended to shift around as people sought the chair with the shortest line. It was all a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
The skiing and riding is similar to what it has been all week. The few runs that are being groomed are great for about 45 minutes, then it’s sugar on ice. Some people like that, some don’t. I’m still preferring the off piste and ungroomed terrain. The moguls are growing a bit taller in some places, and a few more obstacles are appearing in places. But overall the snow is holding up well. Charity still offers winter-like snow, while Ladies Slalom and Yellow have turned to more of a spring corn. The addition of a few rocks on these runs keeps you looking ahead a few turns, just like you should be doing.
There’s still snow in the forecast
After a pretty beautiful spring-like week, things are starting to change. Over the next two days, expect to see a lot of wind. It’s the kind of wind that will challenge your love for skiing and will possibly result in some wind holds. Monday could be a blow out. Here’s the forecast for Alpine Meadows:
The impact on us as skiers and riders is one thing. Those same high winds will likely throw many people into the darkness, with yet another power shutoff in the works for PG&E customers. Those areas of the state that have not seen much rain yet will also have some severe fire weather concerns. Let’s hope for the best until things settle down a bit midweek.
The inside sliders around the 10th seemed to have disappeared for now, as it looks like the ridge will flatten just a bit. The midday runs of the GFS are showing a more typical winter storm moving in around December 15th. That’s 10 days away, which is is on the border of Fantasy Land. It’s still out there and definitely not a sure bet yet. Most forecasters have been signaling a change for mid-December. Maybe this is the start.
Riding a Fine Line
The Greater Sacramento region is so far avoiding crossing the threshold that would trigger a regional stay at home order. As of today, the region has a 21.4% ICU availability, which is significantly above the 15% threshold. The Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions will be under a stay at home order beginning tomorrow. While ski areas are allowed to operate under the order, modifications will be made to some operations. I waiting to see the specifics of how Mammoth Mountain is going to handle it.
Hopefully we can somehow manage to keep things contained enough in our region to avoid the stay at home order. Looking around the mountain today, things looked pretty lax again. There was no shortage of people with buffs off their face in lift lines or gathering in groups at the tops of lifts and around the base area. It doesn’t seem like everyone has gotten the message yet.
I’m ending with a quick shoutout to Tracy Chang, VP of Digital Marketing at SVAM. Thanks to Tracy and the developers of the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows app for your help in sorting out my issues with the app. It’s nice to see that I have now rejoined the leaderboard. As far as ski area apps go, it’s one of the better ones out there.
I like the SVAM app, but the apple watch version doesn’t recognize AM. I went up without my phone one day and it wouldn’t recognize that I was in the resort. So I’m off the top of the leaderboard. GRRR.
I went over the hill today for a clinic. Dang they’ve got some serious bottlenecks on some of the runs. Mountain run is always a bit nuts, but you need to be very careful now. Going down to Squaw Creek is interesting too. I feel bad for the intermediate skiers and those with kids trying to get down safely. There are some steep, crowded, bumpy, icy bits. A few pebbles and stones starting to appear too.
Teams started there today too. Lots of kids all over the place, but generally I’d call it organized chaos. Not really a sh!t show, but I’m staying on our side of the ridge for the time being. And probably not doing a lot of weekend skiing unless I’m doing it to teach someone.
I use the Apple watch version at Alpine without an issue. They just released a new version of the app today, so you might download that, uninstall from your watch, then reinstall.
“things looked pretty lax again”
Alpine needs to be proactive in enforcing the minimal requirements for operation as set out earlier this week by the CA Department of Health. Namely face coverings and physical distancing. When I saw 5 guys without masks passing beers back and forth among one another in the packed Hot Weasel line this morning that was it for me.
Agreed…today seemed like a free for all.
Thanks so much for the shoutout, Mark. But really we are just grateful for You being such a dedicated skier and app user and letting us know when there are issues so we can work with our developers to get them resolved before other folks experience it too. Hope everyone keeps using the Squaw Alpine app to track their ski days! And if anyone experiences issues, feel free to email me directly at tchang@squawalpine.com.
Also thank you for reminding people how important it is we all keep following the mask & distancing policies so we can all enjoy the longest ski season possible!