Heading Into Uncharted Territory

Just as predicted, the Greater Sacramento region will be entering a “regional stay at home order”, which takes effect at 11:59 tonight. The region includes Alpine Meadows and all of Lake Tahoe, at least on the California side. The order will remain in effect for a minimum of three weeks. How will it change things at Alpine Meadows? The answer is not all that much.

Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows has tweeted and otherwise released the following details:

• Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows will remain open for skiing and riding
• All lodging reservations in the Squaw Valley village will be cancelled and no new reservations will be made for the next three weeks, which takes us pretty much to the end of the holiday period.
• Food services will continue only as wrapped “take out” food only. No indoor or outdoor seated dining areas will be provided.
• Lodges will continue to remain off limits with the exception of access to restrooms, locker and rentals.
• Retail stores will be limited to 20% capacity

Alpine Meadows has been doing these things since opening on November 24th already. There are just a few changes that we could see starting tomorrow. You may have already noticed that lunch trays were quietly removed this week. More effort will be made to reduce seating on the Sun Deck. Although 50% of the tables have closure signs, that has not been effective in stopping people from using them. Some additional steps are necessary to stop people from crowding on the deck. I would think shrink wrap might do it. Although the Governor’s order stated that food and beverages cannot be sold at outdoor recreation areas, the interpretation will continue that food and beverage operations are separate from ski area operations. You will still be able to get food, and a beer, at Alpine Meadows.

The larger question will be how the “stay at home” order will be treated when it comes to people coming from other areas to ski and ride over the holidays. Theoretically lodging and short term rentals are supposed to not be open except for essential business visitors. We all know how well that worked out last spring!

There’s also that part about Lake Tahoe being a part of two states. While there may be some level of compliance on the California side of the lake, things are not so clear on the Nevada side. Note this controversial post made this week by Visit Heavenly Village Lake Tahoe. They seem to be of the opinion that there is no COVID pandemic in Nevada. I also chuckled seeing a post on the TGR Forum suggesting that the Boomtown Hotel, just 5 miles from the California border on Highway 80, may see record setting bookings for the upcoming holiday.

It’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. I would guess the amount of snow produced by the upcoming systems will be a factor.

How’s the skiing holding up?

There’s not much to report differently about the ski conditions. The three areas that continue to shine are the Weasel groomer, the bumps on Dance Floor, and the Tiegel mini park. Snow makers have continued to add a few more inches of snow onto Dance Floor nightly, as temperatures permit. The bumps had a lovely velvety texture today…or most of them.

I totally appreciate efforts of the snowmaking team. It’s not easy getting a perfect product from each and every gun, especially as the temperatures start rising in the morning. 98% of Dance Floor was great and we hope those that created these bomb holes hurt nothing but their pride. Here’s to hoping we get another little refresh tonight. The snowmaking team has also been active in blowing snow at Subway this week. They are heroes!

Most other areas of the mountain are getting pretty hazardous. I manage to find a rock or two on just about every run on Werners, Charity, Yellow and Ladies Slalom. The off-piste areas surrounding those runs are even more challenging. We definitely need more snow.

How is that forecast for more snow?

There are storms in the forecast, but nothing big enough to hang your hat on just yet. According to BA at OpenSnow.com, we could see the first wave moving in as early as tomorrow evening, or possibly as late as Saturday morning. His forecast calls for somewhere between an inch and 7 inches of snow at the north end of Tahoe over the weekend. That will not be enough to open new terrain, but it will refresh what is already open.

There’s a big question about snow levels, which are trending toward 8000 feet for Sunday. That’s not ideal for us as skiers that want snow, but it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye for those that just want to see an end to dry conditions downslope. It definitely should make all of us think what we are doing to fight climate change.

As we said in the last post, this is not a one and done situation. More storms are in the pipeline. The last run of the GFS shows as much as 3 inches of precipitation over the next 10 days, and it’s the driest of the models. It’s a bit early to forecast snow levels for later storms just yet.

So we will have to wait and just what happens for this new phase of the COVID experience when combined with a holiday ski season, as well as how much snow we’ll get out of the upcoming systems. Get out there, mask up, and enjoy some skiing and riding…because we can. I’m grateful for that.