I have often said, “You Never Know Unless You Go”. Today was another one of those days when I was apprehensive regarding the conditions to be found when I crawled out of bed. There was not much snow on my deck, and the overnight temperature was below freezing. The indication was that it would be dust on crust. However the email notification I received early this morning claimed five inches of new zone on the upper mountain. We were pleasantly surprised to find enough new snow on the mountain to make a difference in conditions from the last time I was on the hill which was Friday. There was enough new snow to make most areas pleasant to ski. Of course we found scratchy slopes where the new snow was not deep enough or it had already been scrapped off by previous skiers.
We headed up Roundhouse first to avoid the longer line on Summit. I skied God’s Knob, Fall Line, and Gunner’s Knob all of which were blessed with just enough coverage to allow me to enjoy softness under my feet. Of course there were hard frozen balls here and there, but overall it was great. D7 and the tight turns in in the trees of North Peril were similar. Turn in the new snow that had blown into the trails and you enjoyed a nice soft surface. Tower 19 looked like a rubble field, but it skied nicely, again with the exception of some frozen rubble piled up from previous days. Chicken Leg, Terry’s Return, and Tiegel Chutes offered nice turns on the lower mountain.
We played around on Standard Trail, Scott Meadow (for the low angle slope), and Gentian Gully. Scott Meadow was excellent as it always is when we just have a little new snow. Mountain View off the Lakeview Chair was the worst of the day. It was smooth and icy and was best avoided. We were a little late getting into Gentian Gully as others had passed through before us, but it was still fun. It was more scraped off than I prefer, but it is just wonderful skiing in the trees. Many people were skiing in the Palisades areas and off into Low Beaver Bowl etc.. It looked pretty good in those areas, but I did not get there today.
Around noon we were heading in and spotted what appeared to be ski patrollers aiding someone just below the top of Scott Chute. We watched as patrol slowly brought a sled down the steep, icy, moguls in Scott Chute. I am not sure of the injured persons condition, but the Alpine Meadows Patrol deserves a big shout out “Thank you for your work”. Watching patrol slowly lower the person in the sled down Scott Chute made us appreciate their hard work and excellent abilities.
Tomorrow is another day, and it will bring new conditions and adventures.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Several of those tracks in the meadow belonged to me. We spent quite a bit of time over at Sherwood this morning too. Surprisingly, Sherwood Face was somewhat filled in, and the underlying bumps seemed soft enough. Many people were enjoying it and South Face. There was quite a few areas of powder that were not totally schralped yesterday. Around 10am, we enjoyed some rare “hot pow” conditions – just as the new snow gets super soft and silky but not heavy or sticky. That phenomenon is always short lived. I agree with Andy – today definitely exceeded expectations. Demand is still there, Alpine main lots plus Deer Park just about filled.