It was another sweet day at Alpine Meadows. There was plenty of sugar to go around in the morning, and very sweet corn in the afternoon. As we have seen all season, the groomers were all in extra fine shape when lifts started loading at 8:45, but a much larger crowd than midweek managed to reduce it all to sugary runs pretty quickly. By 10 am, all of the Alpine Meadows parking lots were full, and crowds spread pretty evenly around the mountain. Nope, people have not lost interest in skiing and riding yet.
That said, the standard weekend tactics of early arrival, a nonstandard lunch time, and early departure from Alpine Meadows will make your day happier. That combined with choosing some of the less popular runs will make weekend crowds manageable. Today we found excellent corduroy turns on Bill’s Hideaway around 2pm. Granted, it was short but sweet. There are plenty of good runs out there, get off the main highways and try them out.
We also avoided the hectic times at Sherwood and found a lot of fun playing in the corn in several zones off of Scott. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific about exact locations, but there’s more to Scott than Ridge and Bobby’s – even with Gentian, Scott Chute and Seldom closed.
The Ice Bar and Chalet saw big crowds today, as did the Alpine Lodge Sun Deck in the afternoon. It was a perfect day for a tri-tip BBQ plate and a cold beer in the sun with your friends. I had to settle for a lox bagel from Treats. A guy can dream can’t he? I miss the Stoked Oak BBQ.
Tomorrow and Monday should offer similar conditions before the chill sets in midweek. For Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, that inside slider to our east will bring a cold north-northeast wind. Temperatures are going to struggle to get to 30°, with winds over the crest likely to close Summit on some of those days. By Friday, we return to normal spring programming. There’s still nothing in the forecast all of the way out to mid February. If it’s not going to snow, I am happy to accept more days like today with cool temperatures, no wind and spring corn.
You have one more opportunity to see the patrol dogs demonstration at Alpine Meadows tomorrow. Head to the mid-station of Hotter Wheels just before 11am to find a good viewing spot, as it was well attended last weekend! Find out more about the Alpine Meadows “Paw Patrol” and donate to the program at https://www.alpinepatroldogs.com.
