I was a little late hitting the slopes this morning, but it turned out to be a good call. Snow was soft on the more firm groomed runs by the time I made my first run. There was a layer of new snow from the small storm we had yesterday on the off piste sections of the mountain. It looked rough from a distance, but up close it was not as tough to ski as I thought I might have encountered. Underneath the newer layer it was actually relatively soft.
We encountered these conditions on Medium Yellow (slope under High Yellow Face), Pygmy Forest (under Alpine Bowl Chair), and in Gentian Gully. I have skied better and I have skied worse. It was not bad today off piste, but it was not epic. I will say that Standard Run, which has not been groomed, most likely do to the number of bushes, rocks, and dirt showing in a places, was in poor condition. I tried a portion of it and then headed back to Bobby’s. The issue was with deep sun cups which made the surface a darn rough ride.
Many of you know that I am not a fan of the new gondola that is coming our way, I am resigned to the fact that it is going to be constructed this year. Even so, my heart sank a good deal when I saw a huge truck pull off Highway 89 heading up to Alpine Meadows parking lot unload its cargo of gondola parts.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Andy. Just to let people know
There is significant undercutting under the concrete foundation of tower 7 for super Squaw lift. A spring storm could make it worse. Perhaps the gondola construction crews can reset this tower thus summer? We Squaw people are looking forward to easy access to alpine next season, and I suspect you too will like skiing headwall Laps on bluebird days. Can you let maintenance crews know about this potential life safety issue at tower 7. I can’t call Andy W anymore. Thank you.
Maybe there is a Unofficial Squaw blog that you can notify? ;P
For a Squaw Skier you should know that Andy W does not work or live in Squaw Valley any more. He has not been there for a very long time. Write a note to Ron Cohen. He is a good guy and will be concerned about unsafe lifts.
“super Squaw lift” ???
Yay, andy used my suggested title for the day. He has a great memory!
Andy, I’ve skied Alpine (and squaw) since 1965. I am so sad about the gondola. Too bad. I had no idea how much the Squaw Alpine “merger” would harm Alpine.