I know, I missed the super early opening day at Olympic Valley last weekend, and my chance to have lift served skiing in October. Kudos to the employees that pulled together and made it happen last weekend for those that were in Tahoe. I’ve done lift served skiing in October several times at Mount Rose and Boreal, even as early as on my birthday. So the fact that I was enjoying the colorful rocks of the desert Southwest last week was perfectly acceptable to me. Here’s our last evening, somewhere out in the middle of Nevada:
Will I ski next weekend, and what about the opening date for Alpine Meadows? That’s where that marketing phrase “weather and conditions permitting” comes into play. That October 24-25th storm was indeed one for the record books, dropping an impressive amount of rain and wind, then snow. But one storm does not make a season, especially when the weather returns to “normal” for early November. Temperatures in the 50’s, with barely freezing temperatures overnight, does not lead to sustainable skiing in November.
Update: Palisades Tahoe just announced that due to the warm conditions and lack of new snowfall, Olympic Valley will not be open for skiing and riding for the upcoming weekend. There’s really no surprise there. I drove by Boreal just now and it looks like they are toast too. Limited skiing and riding is still open at Mammoth.
The Weather
From all reports, ski conditions deteriorated pretty rapidly between Friday and Sunday last weekend. Pundits wondered whether or not Shirley Lake would even make it until Sunday. Today’s little storm won’t be much of a help, with snow levels forecast at 8600 feet. There’s more of the same in the forecast for Thursday. It’s great to have these storms so that we don’t return to fire weather conditions, but they won’t be adding much to the snow pack. Within the 16 day ensemble run, there is a storm out around the 10th that looks like it could generate some snow potential. Then there are a whole bunch of drizzly days that don’t bring much snow, and and make it difficult or impossible to make snow. This is bad news when it comes to keeping those ski areas that opened early in an open state. Weather…not quite what you might want.
Update: As of Tuesday morning, the model ensembles are picking up on the idea of a bigger storm around next Tuesday. The Euro is especially bold in predicting another strong AR event. At one week out, we’re getting into the “actually possible” phase. Afterwards, the pattern continues to be a bit more progressive. This is a good trend for the weather.
The Conditions
One place where minimal snowfall may help is over at Alpine Meadows, where the Big Fill is progressing ever so slowly. We’re not talking about the gondola project, nor do I care whether or not that is finished. The Big Fill involves leveling out everything between the Sun Deck, Roundhouse, Summit, and eventually, the gondola station. Things are beginning to take shape and that makes it a little bit easier to see the plan. Before any dirt can be moved, the Great Wall needed to be constructed. It’s this Great Wall that would prevent Alpine Meadows from opening. Exiting the breezeway, you would run into the Great Wall. Making an end run around the lodge would land you in the gondola construction zone.
The Great Wall serves as the new perimeter foundation for the Sundeck. The current Sun Deck will be extended out to the Great Wall. That means less dirt will be required for the big fill, beside the fact that you couldn’t just push all of that dirt up against the current wooden wall. Once that extension is done, there’s still the matter of building steps to connect the breezeway to the newly extended deck. Yeah, that hasn’t been done yet either.
I would not expect Alpine Meadows to open any time soon. Taking my best guess, and I have asked several people what they thought, expect Alpine Meadows to open in December…and probably more like the second week of December. That’s “weather and conditions permitting.” I don’t like it either, but it’s not my mountain so all I can do is be patient. To the people that are in charge of this project, prove me wrong, please.
Will I Go Skiing At The Other Side?
Maybe, possibly. I have never been a fan of the Funitel, nor the Tram, even before the COVID pandemic. Call me claustrophobic or germaphobic. Currently, that is the only way up the mountain at Olympic Valley. I was surprised to see that Olympic Valley jumped into operations last week with essentially no precautions in place regarding COVID, and a pandemic that we are not totally done with yet, no matter what “your research” tells you.
While other resorts have required vaccines for employees, and masking while indoors and social distancing rules outdoors, Palisades Tahoe has chosen the “What pandemic?” path. Masks are only suggested for those that are not vaccinated, as suggested by Placer County. That’s pretty much the gist of the plan so far. While the rate of COVID spread may be low within Placer County, skiers and riders come from all over the country to ski in Tahoe. Many of those people are coming from places where the incidence of COVID is still relatively high. No, I’m not ready to get into a little box with a bunch of strangers just yet.
Update: A memo sent to Palisades Tahoe employees today by President Dee Burns said that employees “will be required to be vaccinated, with few exceptions.” The memo is pretty specific in stating that just being “unsure” about the vaccine is not enough to be exempted. Exceptions will only be made on the grounds of medical necessity or religious beliefs. Hopefully, QAnon will not be considered as a religion. The memo also clarified masking, indicating that masking is strongly advised indoors. It also states that the Funitel and the tram are considered “outdoors”.
Hopefully there will be enough snow sometime soon to allow for the opening of the Wa She Shu chair, the one that formally had the number one in its name…weather and conditions permitting. Until then, mountain biking conditions are good lower down the hill…it’s not real ski season just yet.
I didn’t realize that the plan was to have all of those things on the same elevation. Is the big opening in the Breezeway to the deck to allow for stairs to the new elevation?
The employee who let me into the locker room said Thanksgiving was the targeted opening for Alpine. I share your pessimism.
Yes. Fortunately you like Olympic Valley 😉
Masks should be required in Funitel. Maybe even vaccination.
Yup
Yikes… seems iffy for an opening date in just a few weeks. Any word on what happens to the locker rooms? Do they become subterranean (or end up with a view of a cement wall)? For those paying for direct-to-snow access in locker room 1, does this become indirect-to-breezeway-and-staircase access? Or maybe they punch a door through the side windows and you get direct-to-incoming-gondola-traffic-access….
I’ve posted in Nextdoor groups suggesting people write to Palisades Tahoe requesting masks and social distancing on the Funi. Vaccinations would be great too. Many people agree with this–some don’t and get contentious, as we might expect. But the more of us who ask them directly for better policies on Covid control, the better.
As an Alterrra staff member, I was required to submit my vaccination card pre-season. I hope that is not the only COVID precautions that Palisades will be taking.
If anyone is worried about the ability to catch Covid, maybe skiing at a resort with many others is not for you. No one needs masks outside, that was ridiculous last year. Masks don’t work. Fact. As for mandating a vaccine, for what? You can still catch, carry and transmit Covid with any vaccine. And the boosters are just boosting profits for pharma & stock prices, not boosting immunity. Still, natural immunity is the best defense. We don’t need KSL telling us what precautions to take, they are not Covid experts. Each person should be responsible for managing themselves and the “risks” they take.
Thank you for sharing “your research.” I think I will stick with the advice of 99% of doctors and the medical community.
I think that this issue is much more nuanced, Brisko. Properly worn disposable surgical masks do work and so do vaccines. However, I do not think masks should be required in Funitel cabins/Trams/Lodges/etc. At this point, those who are unvaccinated are unvaccinated by choice (or religion or they are immunocompromised) and those who are too young to be vaccinated are in a very low risk group of hospitalization. At this point, it is up to each individual to consider their own risk tolerance and decide for themselves whether or not to expose themselves to unmasked strangers of unknown vaccinated status. If one prefers to wear a mask indoors, they should do that. However, especially for those who are vaccinated and view their risk as minimal, it is not the responsibility of those who made the right choice to be vaccinated to be mandatorily masked due to a small minority’s concern who are highly risk-averse. Every time you get on a ski lift there is a chance it will malfunction and you will die. Most who visit this website would agree that the benefits significantly outweigh the risks of this action, but I’ve met many people who would refuse to ride a chairlift, gondola, etc. out of fear. If you are afraid that going into the lodge, or a crowded Funitel, etc is too risky with others unmasked, than vote with your feet. Take S**** One. Eat in the car or outdoors. If enough people assess the risk similar to you, than my point about a small minority would be moot. The same would be true if your risk-aversion was proven valid, and COVID outbreaks leading to hospitalizations were traced to these locations. Alterra would lose money and revise its policies similar to what the risk-averse individuals would desire.
Well said Michael.
Oh my how tragically misinformed some are. “Masks don’t work” that is a patent lie.
“Vaccines don’t work” , That is ridiculous, and begs the question, what rock have you been living under.
Funitel and Tram considered outdoors??!. That’s pretty ridiculous. A Bad call.