We’re skiing…and that matters

We are six days into the year 2021, and the new year decided to give 2020 a run for its money. The news of a hostile takeover of the Capitol building in Washington DC started pinging on my phone yesterday shortly after lunch. It’s not often that I choose to stop skiing to go home and flip on the news. Yesterday will be one of those days that people ask “Where were you when…” I will remember riding the Alpine Bowl Chair and pulling out my phone, thinking I was just checking on the final results for the Georgia Senate races.

So this morning, I took great pleasure in turning off the television news, putting on skis, riding the Summit lift and sliding on snow. Coming over the crest at the top of D8 and seeing that Sunspot had been groomed for the first time of the season just made my smile wider. Making those first turns down one of my favorite runs at Alpine Meadows made me completely forget the events of the last 24 hours.

For the second run, we talked about how the wind had turned from the southwest to the northeast overnight, bringing a super smooth coat of wind buff from Sunspot all of the way over to Alpine Bowl. Dropping in at Tower 19 resulted in even smoother turns, except for that first scratchy one at the top. If I were the type of skier to let out whoops when I ski, I might have done so at that moment.

Not everything was great this morning. Areas under the Alpine Bowl Chair that were just fabulous yesterday had warmed up yesterday afternoon, and then refrozen this morning. In the other direction, toward Sweet Spot and South Peril, there was too much sun yesterday, leaving a very scratchy surface this morning.

Lower on the mountain, around Yellow chair, those sun exposed areas fared a little better. Warmer daytime temperatures left a more chalky surface on Yellow, Hot Yellow and Chicken Leg. While in that area, I also noted that Ladies Slalom also was groomed for the first time last night.

We took a lap up Scott and happened to end up in a large blob of people, all heading to Ridge and Bobby’s. Wanting to avoid the mob, I made the early exit to Standard Run. I should know better. Ice, brush, rocks…it was all there. I can’t say I skied it as much as side-slipped it to Summer Road. Next time, I’ll just wait for the mob to clear.

About that Last Chance For Snow This Week

We’re down to a 30% chance for less than an inch of snow overnight. It is what it is. One thing I can proudly say is that at no time over the last 4 months have I ever predicted anything other than what would likely be a dry season. We really are there, standing at only 98 inches of cumulative snowfall at the top of the mountain so far this season, which is not very close to even average.

One of my ski buddies said earlier this week, “That’s fine, as long as it stays cold.” Yeah, that is not happening either. After this last system falls apart overnight, a mega high pressure system looks to build in for at least the next two weeks. Temperatures at Alpine Meadows are forecast to be into the 50’s by next week. So start resetting your expectations for more spring-like conditions, and more dual sport days.

The problem is that this time of year, the angle of the sun is a bit low still, and there’s not quite enough daytime heat to generate great corn. We also don’t have a lot of great south facing terrain with Sherwood and Lakeview closed. That said, I look forward to some spring-ish snow development on Ridge, Bobby’s and Sweet Spot as temperatures creep up over the week. I’m just happy to be sliding on snow.

I know people that haven’t even started their season yet, waiting for it to get better. Not me, today was day 45 for me. I’m enjoying it every minute I can.