Not The Powder Day You Were Looking For…

Judging by the traffic on Highway 89 this morning, I was not the only person expecting it to be a decent powder day at Alpine Meadows. 7 inches of new snow showed at the base, and overnight temperatures were lower. The inch of snow I removed from my driveway this morning was light as a feather. Hopes were high.

Confusion reigned supreme in the parking lot this morning, as snow removal was a bit behind schedule. Complicating matters further, it was a high school race day, and apparently, those kids no longer arrive by charter bus. The excitement was palpable as people lined up early, dividing up into clans at Summit, Roundhouse or Hotter Wheels.

Then came the let down, as I made a quick arc down Rock Garden and headed toward Yellow. That’s when I found that super dense and/or wind- affected snowpack. It was that kind of snow where you feel like you’re riding on rails, and you hope those rails don’t lead you into a tree. Fortunately, I was able to make a big arc and escape back to the groomed run via Upper Weasel 2.

I took this as a sign to go higher, so off to Summit we went, while the line was reasonably short. My hopes were tempered as I watched skiers and boarders struggling in the new snow, even in Wolverine Bowl. I also noticed a big crown above Wolverine where patrol had managed to release a whole lot of wind loaded snow. Alpine Bowl did ski incrementally better than the lower mountain. By the time we returned to the base, the Summit line exceeded my personal COVID safety guidelines.

After touring the mountain, I found that the Sherwood groomer actually offered some really ripping wind buff turns. Other areas improved as it got a bit more skied in. So no, this was not the powder day you expected. But as the day wore on, I’m sure it was still a good ski day for many.

There’s currently no significant systems showing up on the GFS in the next two weeks. Things will remain cold tomorrow, but the weekend will bring some springlike temperatures. It takes a few days of that kind of weather to get to spring snow. Wax is going to be critical for the weekend as it’s likely going to get sticky.

As I was leaving today, I noticed the tweet that Alpine Meadows parking lots were full. Wow, that seemed odd for a non-holiday mid-week day. As it turns out only the upper lots were full, including Chalet Road. The White Wolf lot nor the Deer Park overflow lots were in use today. Although I saw complaints online about that, I totally get it. It’s quite the production to run the shuttles from those areas in a regular year. With COVID limitations this season, it’s a headache for patrons and staff alike. I’m not sure there has ever been a need for overflow parking on a non-holiday Wednesday.

The Weekend Crowd Forecast

Last weekend was pretty ugly in terms of crowds in the Sierra. The question on everybody’s mind is whether or not to expect the same for this weekend. Some of my friends have already declared they will not ski on weekends anymore this season. I’ve been taking mental notes as people have thrown out differing ideas:

• People who were shut out last weekend will come back this weekend to claim their ski runs and find that powder they missed last weekend.
• People who were here last weekend have vowed to never come back to Tahoe.
• Because of SuperSpreader Sunday, many people will stay home this weekend, or only come up for the day Saturday.
• Some schools have a three day weekend so it will be crowded (This is not the Presidents’ Weekend blackout days)
• Some schools start their Ski-Skate week so it’s going to be really crowded the next 10 days.
• Schools have cancelled Ski-Skate week so nobody will be here.
• Lakeview will open, and everyone will want to ski Munchkins.

Right now I am betting on a busy Saturday and substantially less busy Sunday…