“Variable conditions” is a phrase you see in ski reports when it has not snowed for awhile, and we are there. The last measurable snowfall was 16 days ago and that was only two inches. The last decent snowfall we have had at Alpine Meadows was nearly a month ago. During that time, many areas have melted and refrozen a dozen times, been frozen and then tilled nearly every night, and some has just been packed down by hundreds, if not thousands, of skiers. That means that the current conditions include packed powder, hard pack, sugar snow and corn snow. The only thing that is missing is true powder and east coast ice. That means that what you experience is all about being in the right place at the right time.
Starting off each morning, the grooming team is doing a great job of pushing snow back uphill each night and then smoothing it out into the corduroy most of us enjoy early during the ski day. These days, it doesn’t last all that long. On the slopes that see a lot of tilling, that corduroy is quickly transformed into some fairly deep sugar snow on the most heavily travelled slopes: Werner’s, Dance Floor and Weasel. As long as your technique is solid and your skis aren’t too floppy, that sugar snow experience is not so bad – some people really like it. Runs that have not seen as much tilling tend toward cookies, if recently tilled, or hard pack once the corduroy is shaved off. Alpine Bowl, Wolverine, Yellow and Charity have generally been in this state. South facing groomers offer corn conditions, given some time to soften. Sherwood, Bobby’s, Ridge and Outer Limits fit this category.
Off piste conditions are even more variable, all depending on the time of day and sun exposure. Since the Palisades area and Sherwood Cliffs see little sun, conditions are still packed powder, albeit very packed. In areas that see more sun, it’s all about timing. Sherwood Face and South Face can be horrid first thing in the morning and then delightfully thawed a couple of hours later, providing nice spring corn. Some areas remain closed because they are just too slippery. Obey those closures…
The general rule is “follow the sun” during these spring conditions, generally meaning Alpine Bowl to Sherwood to Scott to Lakeview on most days. Timing is everything and that is different every day. I found nice corn turns to the left of Sunspot at 10am this morning. That does not happen every day and certainly won’t tomorrow.
Another East Wind Event
We have to deal with another little east wind event tomorrow. Temperatures reached 50° at the base today and 47° at Summit. Tomorrow’s forecast high is 33° with east winds forecast to 60 mph at the crest. If that happens, expect that Summit will be on wind hold tomorrow. Things return to a spring pattern by Wednesday. So tomorrow…dress warm and don’t expect much in the way of softening except at Sherwood…if that.
That Pattern Change…Hope Is Fading
The models have been looking more and more promising over the last couple of days, bringing some very significant snowfall by early next week. After an almost record dry January, there was hope for a snowy start to February. Overnight those dreams were crushed. Most of the models have almost eliminated most chances for snow next week, with only the GFS looking at a possibility of a couple of inside sliders bringing much cooler temperatures and light snowfall. The ridge then looks to build back in. Lucy took the football away right as things were looking good. Hopefully Lucy will tee it up again soon.
A Return Of The Tiegel Park?
Word on the street is that a plan is in place to build out the Tiegel terrain park this week. Snow conditions are not ideal for that. Stop anywhere in that zone and try making a snowball. That said, building a new park is often all you need to guarantee that a big storm will roll in and bury the new features.
Congrats to Tahoe Athletes!
Besides having an amazing weekend of football, it was also the Winter X Games in Aspen. Alpine Meadow Freestyle Team alumni ended up on the podium in the Ski Superpipe event. Brita Sigourney took the silver medal and David Wise took the bronze medal. Both athletes head to the Beijing Winter Olympics for their next competition.
The US Ski Team has also finalized selections for the Olympic Team and the Tahoe roster for Alpine skiers includes Bryce Bennett, Travis Ganong, AJ Hurt, Maureen Lebel on the team for 2022. I’m definitely slacking here as I follow the US Freeskiing team much more closely than the race teams. Apologies to the Nordic disciplines as well! Congrats to everyone headed to the Olympics, hopefully it turns out okay given the challenges of COVID, a diplomatic boycott of the games and world tensions running high.