Making It Work In The New Year…Or “How To Alpine”

First off let’s tackle the basics. It was another fantastic day at Alpine Meadows, especially for those of us that went to sleep early on New Year’s Eve. We managed to bang out 9 laps on Summit this morning before there was any sort of line. Again, just about everything was skiing well off piste. As we continued into the afternoon, the temperatures did warm up and some areas got a bit heavy and chunky. That could be an issue for some areas tomorrow morning.

There’s still some weather systems on tap for Sunday night into Monday, and again from Wednesday into Thursday. Unfortunately if you have been riding the hype train and hearing about big storms on the way, you might be disappointed. Each model run has been scaling back on estimates for how much snow we can expect from these systems. As of this afternoon, it looks like both of these systems have the potential to bring 8-18 inches of snow each…if the pattern doesn’t continue to deteriorate. They will refresh our surfaces and get us incrementally closer to more terrain.

Making It Work

Honestly, it’s probably better that we don’t get into a huge storm cycle just yet. In a way, it’s the limited available terrain and lack of huge powder days that have kept skier numbers down. We are roughly 1/4 of the way through the season, and we have not yet filled even the upper lots at Alpine Meadows. Taking a fairly educated guess, the weekend skier count has probably only been about half of a really busy day. While I know the mountain can absorb a lot more skiers, it’s going to take a lot of cooperation to make it work when it comes to base facilities.

It is a huge privilege to be able to get out and get on a chairlift to ski and ride during a pandemic. I am so grateful that the management team at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows has been able to pivot to make it all work for us. There is absolutely not a doubt in my mind that they are taking a beating when it comes to revenue from food and beverage sales, lessons and day ticket sales. They’ve invested in not just equipment and supplies, but also manpower to meet the state guidelines for operation of outdoor recreation facilities, dining and beverage services and other areas. They have constantly adjusted and fine tuned operations to make sure that both guests and staff can have a safe experience.

As guests, we have a responsibility to help make it work too. I’ve been at Alpine Meadows every day since opening day, and I see where management is struggling to make it work. So we’ve got some tips about “How to Alpine”:

On the hill

• You need to wear an appropriate mask, just about the entire time you’re at Alpine Meadows. Find one that works for you, even when skiing and riding or walking up to the lift. Then you won’t need reminders.
• Keep your goggles just a bit tighter than what you have done in the past. This is critical to preventing fogging.
• Give people space. Six feet is actually a bit more than your tips plus the tails in front of you. If another group is going through the gate, give them time to get through, rather than sliding up next to them in the gate.
• Stay away from the corral until your party is organized. Don’t bunch up at the entrance while you wait, forcing other people to ski through your group. Don’t ski into the corral and then expect others to pass by you while you wait.
• If you’re having a snack or a beverage, find a spot off the trail to stop, rather than taking your mask off in a lift line or on a shared chairlift.

In the lodge

• The interior areas of the lodge are not open for hanging out or getting warm. This includes the day locker area, the ticket office area or the main lodge upstairs. It’s not up for discussion.
• The seasonal locker rooms are only for those people that currently have a season lease. Limit your time to 15 minutes. Food and beverages are not allowed in the locker rooms…and yes, I got busted for that, as I should have been.
• The breezeway at Alpine Meadows is being treated as an “indoor space”. Tables and seating have been minimized so people don’t eat or hang out in that area. While I can appreciate the creativity of using the ski racks for a standup table, that can’t fly either.
• The best place to warm up and dry out is in your personal vehicle. Yes, that is difficult if you are a late arrival and are parked far away. It’s even more difficult if you have arrived via a shuttle from Squaw Valley or a remote parking lot. Plan accordingly.

The Sun Deck, the Chalet, and “snow beach” chairs

• The tables on the Alpine Meadows Lodge Sun Deck are currently signed with about 50% of them being closed. Those closures are required to maintain adequate spacing between different parties. Ignoring the signs or moving the signs so you can sit with your entire crew is not okay.
• There’s nowhere near enough tables to meet the needs of all of the people that want to sit down on a busy day. This is a problem even in a normal season. It’s not okay to assume that a table is yours for the day because you park your stuff, or grandma, at a table. Eat your food and move on, because someone else is looking for a spot to eat.
• It’s definitely not okay to use a table to get some work done for the office, watch a movie, or catch a football game while the kids are out skiing. Your car has seats that are much more comfortable, and heat, as a bonus. Leave tables for eating.
• This is also not the year to bring your cooler and leftovers from home for lunch. Finding food is fast and easy at the Meadows Cafe or down at Treats. Support your mountain, because they are here offering us the best experience they can, which is far better than a shutdown.
• Learn about pocket bacon. Find a nice spot to eat it, away from other people.
• Bringing your own alcoholic beverages to consume on the Sun Deck or Chalet is not okay. It’s a licensing issue. Try that at your local bar and see how they feel…when they reopen.
• The snow beach chairs at the Lodge and Chalet are limited in numbers. They start the day spaced out. Putting them into large groups is not okay. Parking yourself in one for hours at a time prevents other guests from having a spot to rest for a bit.

Have realistic expectations

It’s no secret that the mountain is working with a more minimal staff than usual this year. You see evidence of that just about every day. Managers of various departments are out on the hill filling in just about every day, right on up to SVAM COO Ron Cohen. Today, the top station of Yellow lift was staffed by ski patrollers. Why are things so short?

• Due to the ongoing pandemic, travel restrictions mean that resorts are not able to use international workers at the same level as previous years.
• The local housing market is tighter than it has ever been. Houses that previously were rentals were bought by recent transplants from all over and are no longer rented. The increased demand for housing also has caused an increase in rents. The same is true for the Reno area. Rents have skyrocketed there too, so that it no longer a great commute option for workers.
• So even if we did get 10 feet of snow in the next week, unless the storm brings more people to run lifts, and places for them to live, the ability to expand terrain may not happen as quickly as it has in the past.
• Also noteworthy is that the Sierra, as well as Colorado, is saddled with some instability in the snow pack. Colorado has already seen multiple avalanche deaths. Over the last week, there were several avalanche incidents in the greater Tahoe area. The cause is several weak layers in the snow pack, due to faceting between storms, rain crusts, or in this case, both. While resort areas do avalanche control, some areas are still going to be touchy as we build more snowpack on top of those weaker layers. Patrol will need to spend some time really assessing the situation and doing whatever control work they feel is necessary to mitigate the risk.

There’s a lot to think about in this report. In general, the readership at Unofficial Alpine are veterans of the mountain, and already “get it”. What’s important is that we help other people “get it” too. It will only take one outbreak amongst guests or employees to bring the whole season to a screeching halt.

Please share this piece far and wide. Our current readership is running at about a thousand sets of eyes per day. It would be great to get even more people to see it.