It feels like another spring January in Tahoe. Warm weather, as temperatures hit 48 degrees at the base of Alpine Meadows this afternoon. Skiing remains very good with many areas still fairly smooth from the last wind event. Beautiful groomed runs in the morning, including Wolverine Bowl for the first time this season. I enjoyed the area between the Summit Bull Wheel and Sun Spot again today. The smooth surface was still chalk-like in texture as were the north facing slopes of D5, D6, D7, and D8.
We inched our way into Shuttle Cornice (skiers right of Expert Short) which is a little tricky at the top. Once you are off the cornice the snow skis nicely. There are rocks and tree tops hiding on the backs of moguls in many areas so slow turns with eyes open are the best and safest.
How warm was it in Tahoe City? I am not sure what the temperature was at 2pm when I walked along the lake to get my mail, but I did see a brave person dive into the lake at Commons Beach and take a swim. There were some onlookers shaking their heads, but he actually stayed in the shallow water for awhile.
The fact that Gentian Gully was open, it has been for a couple of days, left little doubt that it had to be skied today. Entry from the top of Scott is sketchy along the ridge as bushes are popping through near the patrol shack and I must assume rocks as well. Once we dove into the upper area of Gentian and passed the first large moguls that always seem to build where the first turns need to be made, it felt like home. Trees to turn around and pass through were plentiful. The snow surface was soft winter pack some natural and some skier packed from the previous couple of days. Lower down the consistency changed and became more firm and a little icy.
When we stopped at the location of the Gentian Gully sign we all were considering a second run. Once we were standing at the base of Subway Chair our conviction was not as enthusiastic.
