It’s not that I did not know that it was going to be incredibly wet today, I knew that. I went skiing today because I could…and you don’t know if you don’t go. A couple of days ago, we had another “dynamic” day that turned out to be really fun, even though it was wet. Today was not that day.
Yes, dynamic does mean “subject to change” and as the lifts started turning, temperatures were rising. The few inches of new snow that fell overnight were now getting soaked with steady rain. Also changed were the number of people at Alpine Meadows. Over the last two days, it was incredibly busy. Word on the street is that Wednesday was the busiest day since COVID broke out in 2020. Yesterday was equally busy. Today it was a ghost town. When I arrived at 8:40, lot 3 was empty. Lot 2 had a dozen cars. Lot 1 was also empty, being held for paid parking…face palm.
Roundhouse went on Patrol hold as we walked out to the lifts, so we quickly diverted to TLC. It was your typical rainy day conditions. Where the snow had been groomed just before opening it was buttery but slow. Off piste, where the new snow soaked up rain water like a sponge, it was like velcro. The key to skiing today was to make sure you didn’t veer into the ungroomed snow. A friend did so on the way back to Roundhouse when it opened and did a double eject “Superwoman”, flying at least 10 feet. Roundhouse was a mistake. Unless you stayed in one of the two snowmobile tracks on Rock Garden, you were essentially snowshoeing down the hill. It probably improved later as it was skied in.
We did an obligatory 5 runs and called it. I have a good Flylow shell and Norrøna pants that are very waterproof. I noticed on the lift ride that I had small puddles forming in my lap instead of piles of snow. Still, water found its way through zippers and other openings. Returning to the locker room, Marisa got “quote of the day”:
I have puddles in my pockets – Marisa
The question is exactly what will happen tomorrow. Several people gave me grief over my last forecast. The last storm was supposed to be later in the day yesterday, instead it came in overnight and yesterday started snowy. We’re still in a zonal flow coming in straight from the Pacific. The storms are moving so quickly, it’s tough for the models to get a good sense of when they will arrive. Also, very small movements of the jet north or south can have a big impact on snow levels. Hence…a dynamic forecast.
Update: Snow levels crashed overnight earlier as originally expected. The mountain is getting all snow now. Operations are very limited today though…
The snow levels for tomorrow are still a big question. Through yesterday, the thinking was that snow levels would drop by the time lifts spin tomorrow morning or shortly after. Today it looks like the warmer air is may hang around a bit longer. Tomorrow is one of those days where it might get better toward the end of the day. It’s notable that the official Ops blog doesn’t even talk about tomorrow – instead focusing on potential icing problems Sunday morning. This is disappointing to those that have their one vacation this week. That said, California needs the water so we have to take it as it comes. I will try skiing again tomorrow, even though Andy and several other friends insisted I must be insane.
In the long run this wet pattern seems to want to hang in for at least ten more days. The town of Truckee is offering sand and sandbags this week. Hopefully we can get some lower snow levels sooner rather than later.
