Alpine Meadows, and that resort next door, will remain closed again for a second day. We started this season waiting for the snow to fall, now we wait for the snow to stop falling. The official Palisades Tahoe site is saying that 30 inches of new snow has fallen in the last 24 hours. The NOAA Remote Data site shows 17 inches of new snow at the base of Alpine Meadows overnight, bringing the base depth at the bottom of the hill to 104 inches. That is incredible for December and almost certainly in record territory.
The decision to keep Alpine Meadows closed the last two days is absolutely the right decision. The safety of both employees, guests and everyone that lives in the area should be the most important consideration, not your need to ski powder. It’s not safe to be out on the mountain right now, nor is it safe to be out on the roads right now unless you absolutely need to be out.
Yesterday, I saw that during avalanche control work on Alpine Meadows Road, the snow slid across the road into The Siig’s house. Siig is one of the producers of the recently released film Buried, which tells the story of the the 1982 Alpine Meadows avalanche. Fortunately there was no damage reported, as this is not the first time that has happened. The Siigs have fortified their house, as many have along that stretch of road.
This morning, there was also a tweet that there was an avalanche across Highway 89 near Alpine Meadows Road. It’s likely that was also the result of avalanche control work. it’s not the first time that has happened either, but it is a reminder that travel conditions right now are not safe. If you don’t need to be on the road, stay home.
When will it stop snowing? it looks like today is the last day for big snows. The current Winter Storm Warning expires at 1 am tonight. The point forecast is only showing a few inches of snow for tomorrow. Does that mean the mountain will open tomorrow? Nobody knows just yet. I’ll leave it to the experts to make that call.
That family that has been in town? Yup, they are still here. Fortunately, in a group text last week, I told them it’s likely that if they did come up, they would be stuck here awhile. At least that gives us a few extra shovelers at home! Here’s the current view in my backyard, that ski chair was completely dug out 36 hours ago. Today’s plan is more shoveling, more snowblowing and more family games…stay safe out there!
Mark thanks for current update appreciate all your reports,Craig
The avalanche yesterday on Alpine Meadows Road was from control. I am pretty sure the one this morning that hit 89 was natural, hence the Alpine Patrol Dogs out searching. They would have closed 89 before the avalanche if it was on purpose. A friend is stuck at work in TC because he went from Truckee to TC about 15 min before the slide on 89.
Probably correct 🙂
Here’s a tweet from Caltrains saying it was closed due to avalanche, not due to avalanche control. https://twitter.com/caltransdist3/status/1475490524236681218?s=21