Perfect Groomers

It was another beautiful day in Tahoe. There were some thin high clouds that have been passing by, but it was mostly a lovely sunny day. Temperatures rose into the 40’s today. It was 44.8 degrees at the base of Alpine at noon.

The grooming crew has been doing an excellent job. More area is being groomed, and the grooming has been spot on. Smooth corduroy met us this morning allowing for some people to make very high speed turns, or in some cases, no turns. The consistency all over the mountain was just right. I skied Sherwood just before noon. Although I did not venture off the groomed areas, a partner headed to South Face as I was leaving. The warm temperatures may have softened the surface enough to turn it into spring snow. South Face has been very firm and rough the past few days, but it may have been more palatable today. It was definitely a morning for groomed runs.

Elaine, who cares of injured skiers in the First Aid Department, wanted you to know that the groomed runs were epic today

Even though the groomed areas were great, we still ventured out to ski D7 and Pygmy Forest both which were very nice. Winter snow with some wind buff and some small moguls gave me some variety.

Looking down from Pygmy Forest toward Howard Hollow

A note of caution for those driving to Alpine Meadows, especially when the roads are wet or have snow on them. The road has been very slippery. There were two collisions the other day that snarled traffic for an hour and there was another today. Today it was a roll-over. I did not see any of these so I do not know what caused them, but I must assume the slippery conditions played a major roll.

A reminder to use caution when the road is wet or has a layer of snow on it.

Many of us love having a quick breakfast or lunch at the Crest Café located at the entrance to Alpine Meadows just below my office. The café has been closed for a number of days. Some of you may have been wondering why it was closed. Owen, Kyle’s son (Kyle is one of the owners of the Crest), had a very bad reaction to something (I do not know what), but it sent him to the hospital. I understand he is home, but still recovering. Obviously, Kyle is home with his son. We all wish Owen a full and speedy recovery.

One of our readers suggested I occasionally include a picture of something from the old days. The photo below is of the Jigback Tram that was the original lift taking skiers (no boarders in those days) up Headwall at Squaw Valley. Below is a link to some technical information about the lift. It was a tram style which means one group of chairs went up while the other set of chairs came down. The chairs loaded sideways on a level platform. Towers were wooden. Supposedly because steel was not available due to the Korean War.

https://tahoetopia.com/news/jigback-tram-clothesline-lift-made-wood

Hopefully tomorrow will be another great day.

Enjoy your day,

Andy