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The Final Countdown

First off, I am going to recommend that before you start reading this post, start the video below before reading. You don’t need to watch the video, it will just act as an appropriate soundtrack while you read.

Here we go…

It’s now official. The last day of operations at Alpine Meadows for the 20-21 season will be Sunday, May 9th. Don’t act all surprised, as we have been saying this is probably the case for the last week or so. As sad as that is, the 163 days we have enjoyed so far have been far more than many were expecting. Between the potential for COVID shutdowns and a pathetic snow season, many just gave up on the season totally. If you care, the Valley With No Name will stay open one week longer, until the 16th, with that caveat “conditions permitting”. Here’s the official tweet:

It’s actually pretty crazy how fast the snow is going. Yesterday, we were chatting on the chair about how some of those mounds in the middle of some of the groomed runs were actually hiding bands of rocks. We expected those rocks to be appearing any day. We saw our first example right away at the top of Sunspot, which is no longer going to get groomed.

Similar rocky areas sprouted overnight on the skier’s left side of Rock Garden, on the skiers right side of Wolverine, on the transition to Charity and lower down on Charity. What we’re saying is, it’s probably time to start using rock skis.

How was skiing today? Well, you don’t know until you go. There was only one other car in the public parking lot when I arrived this morning. I assume that many people saw the warm temperatures and said “fuhgettaboutit”. But those air temperatures are taken several, if not many, feet above the snow surface. There was a good snowpack freeze on the lower half of the mountain overnight, leading to delightfully firm, but edgeable, snow until about 10:15. Up top, things were slightly warmer, but still quite nice.

Every day is different. By the time the Palisades area thawed this morning, Terry’s Return was a hot sticky mess. So the run of the day continued to be D8 at the top of the mountain and Charity at the bottom of the mountain. Later in the morning, Sympathy Face and Rolls and Knolls still offered fun as long as you avoid heavily sun cupped areas.

The runouts from Wolverine and back to Summit started getting reallllly sloooowww at about 11:20. That’s actually about 20 minutes later than yesterday. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit cooler…so that brings hope.

There’s only 4 days left to enjoy Alpine Meadows!

6 thoughts on “The Final Countdown”

  1. justbob aka the "real Bob"

    I feel very fortunate we were able to have a very full season in spite of the Covid and the low amount of snowfall. Considering these things there is nothing to complain about. Looking forward to a more normal ski season next season.

    1. Bobo the really truly Bobble of Bobs

      Ok justbob aka UnBob…..you may not have noticed but you had a sizable typo. It’s spelled “really not Bob” ….you’re welcome…

  2. Fantastic report as always, Mark – I will try to go up Friday. If you see a sucky skier with red/orange pants and grey jacket, that’s me! It will be day 25 of the season, for me, not so much in the hundreds, haha.

    At what time was skiing pretty much done for the day today? Around 1?

    1. Honestly today I felt like 11:30 seemed like a good stopping point, unless they installed a temporary ropetow on D8

  3. Thanks as always Mark. I’m jealous of your 162+ days and counting. Refresh the locker, the pass, and slap on some storage wax until opening day.

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