It was a chilly morning, even though the sun was shining out of a clear blue sky. Some of my fellow skiers were complaining that they were underdressed for the cool air, that included winds blowing from the northeast.
It was another morning of high speed groomed runs for the first hour. Off piste was not something one would have looked forward to this morning. Very firm conditions exist on most slopes that do not face south.
We did give Sherwood a try between 10 and 10:30. Surface conditions on the areas that had been groomed overnight were beginning to soften, but the general consensus among my group was that it was between terrible and “better than I expected”. I will assume that conditions at Sherwood got better as the morning progressed given the direct sun that was shining on the slope. I noted that the High Traverse was open and even watched a couple of people hiking that direction early in the morning. I cannot imagine the surface condition would have been desirable.
However I was surprised to see that the low traverse around the back side of Ward Peak was open. This trail to the backside of Alpine leading to the base of Sherwood is very often extremely icy and not an easy, or safe, way to access the back bowls. One slip and a person can slide a long way in the direction of Auburn. I have not taken this traverse this year so perhaps it is not as frightening on an icy day as I remember, but extreme caution and expert ability would be required on a day like today for this trail.
New this week at Alpine Meadows! Two very large umbrellas were installed on the Alpine Meadows Lodge deck this week. These super large umbrellas weigh 3000 pounds. Please do not attempt to move them closer to your table.
New today on the slopes of Alpine Meadows! Mark Fisher skiing in his new jacket. No, Cotopaxi, the name on his jacket, is not referring to a spitting Llama. It is a volcano located in Ecuador. Sometimes I wonder about the people I share a chair with on a regular basis.
Editor’s note: At least I wasn’t too cold to ski today like some other people! Cotopaxi is a good company with the “Do Good” and “Gear For Good” motto. I was fortunate to find a warmer puffy on sale for those really cold days like today.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Andy….you really SHOULD worry about the people you ride with…
Yeah, like last year, my son’s been guiding Cotopaxi (the summit is the most distant point from the earth’s center) as well as other Ecuadorian and Mexican volcanoes and Everest in spring. Nice color coordinated outfit.
Mark – that new jacket is not only super cool, it is a classic! You look great in it too!
We were out until 2pm and nothing really softened. It only softened in the sense that there were increasingly large amounts of sugar on the runs. That hike over to CB’s resulted in comically poor conditions. You never know til you go… As for the three skiers that followed us over Upper Saddle, sorry!