It’s feeling more and more like we are rounding third base and heading for home. Once lifts start closing for the season, there’s usually not much hope for change. There’s no big signs of a pattern change ahead, and the pressure to return to work on the gondola project is looming in the future. As I returned home today, it was 69° in Truckee and I noticed camp trailers and bikes in town instead of SUVs with ski racks. That said, the spring skiing conditions were fantastic this morning.
Similar to yesterday, we did a token run on Sunspot, and then headed immediately to High Traverse on our second lap. We were not the only ones. Word got out that it was very good for a short while yesterday morning. It is tough to get over Lower Saddle these days without removing your skis for a bit, leaving me to wonder how long it will be available.
All tracks from yesterday were erased by the afternoon sun and replaced by small sun cups. Still, the snow skied like velvet down Sun Bowl and the lower part of Big Bend Bowl. Randy and Greig even assisted Dot up the trail to Lower Saddle so she could enjoy some fresh corn. Nobody is more deserving in my book.
I’m sure a second lap of High Traverse would have been good, but I had heard yesterday that Sherwood is now mornings only. So I stayed at Sherwood, just like yesterday and enjoyed some great sneaker lines. My favorites continued to be Sherwood Right Face, which will have no exit by tomorrow, and Chute Zero, which will burn out near the top by tomorrow. If you head to Sherwood tomorrow, know that the Sherwood Groomer is no longer being groomed. I asked patrol today and they said access to Sherwood Face and South Face will still be allowed tomorrow as long as the Sherwood lift is open. Update: That turned out to not be the case. No downhill traffic was allowed in the Sherwood area other than the Return Road and Expert Shortcut. 💩 When Sherwood closes depends on when High Traverse closes.
Today was a “Bonus Day” on Lakeview. The word was that Lakeview was done yesterday, but it ran again today. Again the word was “this is really it”. We did a few laps on Outer Limits and it was getting very spicy, as was Mountain View. Even Jorgs had plant life showing through today. See you next season Lakeview. Update: As of 630am on Friday Lakeview is still scheduled…and now it’s off schedule again. LOL
Scott is running this week after Sherwood closes. I doubt that will last long as Bobby’s is done and the Chute and Ridge are not far behind. Gentian is doable, but I’ve never seen Scott left open just for Gentian. I have not been on Subway in a couple of weeks, but I can’t imagine that the creek there is not close to closing Subway.
Thoughts On A Closing Date
Yeah, I have been asked what I knew about the closing date for Alpine Meadows by many recently. I have talked to a lot of people and thought about recent seasons past this week. Here’s some fairly educated guesses:
• After this weekend, we’re probably down to Summit, Roundhouse, TLC and Meadow (maybe Subway)…with Yellow and ABC possibly in the mix for busier days. It’s not just the snow conditions, all ski areas lose J1’s at this time of the year. It’s a fact of life.
• The return of construction on the gondola is likely to begin around May 1st. Expect to see some cat work removing snow in the base area around the third week of April. That will eliminate TLC, Meadow and Yellow and possibly Roundhouse. Word on the street is there is also some work going on with snowmaking, which would also remove snow on the east runout to Roundhouse.
• Weather and conditions permitting, Summit may continue operating into early May. Roundhouse could also operate if they flipped the maze to the other side, using the Summit access gate. It has been done before. That said…noted rocks appearing on Red Ridge and Ladies Slalom today. We may not make it to May.
Whether There Will Be Weather
That well advertised storm for next week is not looking any better yet. Cutoff lows are a difficult forecast. Every once in awhile, one model run will bring it farther north. Then some TV weather forecaster runs that up the flagpole and says “Look!” I’ve gotten smarter the longer I play amateur forecaster. The forecast trend is still to take the low offshore into Southern California. If you really need a powder ski day, it’s time to set up a midweek trip to Mammoth. The point forecast for Alpine Meadows only includes snow showers for Monday. After that we at least will get some moderated temperatures into the upper 40’s rather than near 60°.
Get your High Traverse, Sherwood and Scott laps in while you can!
I skied as a “mountain doc” at Alpine for 14 or 15 seasons back in the last century. Loved every second of it. Your blog and photos bring back some great memories and I read it most days. Currently living in Sandpoint, Idaho and skiing Schweitzer and working as a host over there. Skied yesterday until it started to rain about noon-thirty. No dirt or weeds as of yet, but it cannot be far off. Temperature at the house right now is just a tad under the 60º mark in the shade.
I ran into couple who live up the hill from me here in Sandpoint. They are both instructors at the resort. Got to talking and found out that they both taught at Alpine Meadows for 15 seasons and they lived about 2 miles from us in Tahoe Donner, Sometimes it is indeed a small world!
Dot is an inspiration – Thank you Randy S.