Stiff Wind Packed Snow

I think it was a better day for the snowboarding crowd then it was for the skiing crowd.

Heavy wind packed snow greeted us this morning. The greeting was after delays on the Alpine Meadows Road and a somewhat late start. A rather large crowd waited for the doors at the top of the stairs to open. The breezeway was stuffed with anxious skiers and boarders before the doors parted.

Fresh Tracks in Standard Run 

The good news was that winds were light and all lifts ended up accepting patrons. One lift after another opened and until the last one to come on line, which was Lakeview. It has been awhile since all lifts were operating on the same day. I cannot remember the last day I was at the top of Summit.

You can see that it was foggy in Alpine Bowl 

The sky was gray again and low clouds hung in the bowls making visibility poor, especially on the upper mountain. There were light snow showers that turned off and on during the day. I found the snow to be skiable, with effort, when it was untracked. I call the snow conditions that we enjoyed this morning “stiff”. Wind packed and not the lightest consistency.

Photo of Scott Chute from Scott Chair

My issues were after the slopes had been cut up and skier packed. The snow became firm and riding it was jolting. It was like skiing on a road filled with pot holes. Off-piste, which was most of the mountain, I found wind drifts that created troughs to drop into unexpectedly. The long and the short of the rather short day that I spent on the mountain is that my back is killing me this afternoon.
Today was not the best of the year for me. I know a certain number of people may have been unhappy with the late start for many lifts. Many were noted as delayed due to Patrol Hold.

Based on the little portion of the upper mountain that I could see, this was justified. There are a lot of large crowns on and below the ridge lines indicating that a lot of snow came down during avalanche control this morning. Please take care if you are heading out into the backcountry. A big thank you to the patrol who have been working their rear ends off this month.

Enjoy your day,

Andy