As advertised, the next winter wave did arrive overnight, bringing much colder temperatures and high winds to Alpine Meadows. That resulted in some pretty frozen and firm conditions this morning, accompanied by the bonus of flat light. Snow was also falling, but not at a fast enough rate to make it a great ski day just yet.
I spun about 9 laps this morning, mostly enjoying a widely groomed and smooth Yellow, sans race course. Then it was time for a lodge warm up and a coffee. Since those two things are not available together this season, I called it early, like many others. I think I’ll add more layers for tomorrow.
Overall, the GFS, Canadian and Euro models are all in agreement that we will see between 1-2 feet of snow by Thursday. It just won’t all arrive in one big blast. This storm is just not all that organized.
Instead it just trickles in, until the main wave arrives on Tuesday afternoon. By Tuesday, there should be enough new snow to make most off piste terrain enjoyable again. By Wednesday, it looks like it could be a good powder day. Snow continues to fall through Wednesday, preventing things from getting cooked too quickly.
Snow levels are also supposed to remain low throughout the week, ranging from 3-4k feet. That is significantly low for a spring storm and should result in a nice little return to winter conditions.
After that, we stay in a “dirty ridge” position into early next week. That could result in multiple weak systems that threaten to bring off and on snow showers. It’s a refresh that I know many people have been waiting for, so I would expect a busy weekend ahead. That said, I would expect that Wednesday will also be busier than average. See you out there.