Some people may have thought that today was going to be another lackluster day of skiing at Alpine Meadows, since temperatures struggled to drop lower than the upper 40’s overnight. But some combination of radiational cooling and evaporative cooling of the snow surface got us back into the corn cycle on many areas of the mountain.
We had nice firm snow just about everywhere this morning, with only the sunny areas starting off on the soft side. Sunspot, Alpine Bowl and Terry’s Return all get a lot of early morning sun, making them soft right at 9AM. They might have been perfect right around 8AM. But the difference today was that the snow has turned to corn or almost corn, so even though the snow was soft, it was not as clumpy or sticky as the last few days.
Once you dropped below Rock Garden, both Dance Floor and Charity offered firm snow that softened just enough to set an edge and hold up for more than a few runs. I’ve missed that feeling of skiing fast and being able to set a good edge.
The even better part of the day was that some of the off piste terrain has also really consolidated and corned up. The Tower 19 area offered some perfect corn turns this morning, as did the Pygmy Forest and Palisades area. D8 was still great today, as was most of D7 and North Peril.
This bodes well for the rest of the week, where temperatures will remain the same or slightly cooler. Skiing will continue to be fun in the mornings, leaving you open for a dual sport day or tri-sport day. Enjoy that snow while you still can!
Off piste was the cherry on top today. Even Peter’s Peril at Noon!! Another day that reminds why you just gotta go because the Spring will spring a surprise on you!!