Clouds, Sun, Wind

It snowed overnight and into the morning hours. A very light cover of white snow flakes greeted us this morning. I am not sure of the total amount that fell, but it appeared to be between 3″ and 4″ with an occasional slightly higher depth.

It was a morning that required storm lenses, but I find they do not really help all that much when clouds are low on the mountain. Today it was gray with low clouds down to the top of The Face and lower at times. Visibility was nil on the upper mountain, at least to these old eyes.

There was a stiff breeze blowing at the top of Summit Chair, but the lift was running. The B2B was also running this morning. When visibility is low, the best place to ski is in between trees. We skied a couple of runs on the groomed areas off Roundhouse Lift and then headed for Summit Chair. I think we skied Sunspot. I was unable to see much at the time we slid down the trail. It had not been groomed which left us. It left us bumping along a surface of dust on crust.

I talked my ski buddies into trying Gentian Gully which is hidden in the trees off Scott Chair. We found first tracks in the light layer of new snow. The surface was grand. We followed up with a second round. This treed north facing run was not iced under the new snow. The light layer of new snow and relatively soft base under it made for very good skiing. I lost track, but I am sure we toured Gentian 3 or 4 times in the morning.

Some nice new snow in Gentian Gully

Another view of Gentian Gully as the sun was beginning to peek out.

In between Gentian laps we skied under the Alpine Bowl Chair from Roundhouse, blasted through Chicken Leg, hit Sympathy Face, and Gunner’s Knob. As the sky began to clear we took another stab at Summit Chair and found good snow in North Peril. Our final run before lunch was to ride TLC to the top and try the main run at Sherwood. Forget it! It was frozen and chunky, but turning down Our Father from the top of Sherwood Chair was delightful. I followed Our Father with a twisty ski through Hot Wheels Gully. The best snow of the day was on the north facing slopes.

South facing slopes that received warm sun rays yesterday were dust on crust.

The top of the mountain opened up to the sun in the early afternoon, but Summit Chair was forced to close as winds really kicked up. They were blowing between 72 and 95 miles per hour at 2pm. At 3pm all lifts except Summit were operating. The B2B was on windhold on both sides of the mountain. Many lifts on the Olympic Valley side of the mountain were on windhold. Although the parking areas were full, I did not think lines were that long during the morning hours.

Mark’s Photo of the Winds Blowing at the Ridge Top

What I did notice was the heavy skier traffic on the groomed slopes of TLC and Roundhouse. Lots of people were skiing and boarding on the groomed surfaces.

How many skiers and boarders are too many on one groomed slope?

I do not normally calculate the feet I ski, nor the number of lifts I ride in a day, however one of the people I was skiing with does keep track of these things. We skied just under 13,000 feet and sat for 16 lift rides between 9 and 12:30. Not bad for a Saturday.

Did any of you notice the realignment of the maze at the base of Roundhouse? The new alignment makes it easier to enter the maze under control. This is not a big deal, but it is an improvement for those getting entering the maze and standing in line at Roundhouse.

I understand the shuttle bus, from Sunnyside on the Westshore of Tahoe to the base of Sherwood Chair, was operating for the first time today. Parking across from Sunnyside and riding the shuttle to the base of Sherwood might be a smart move for people lodging on the Westshore on a weekend or holiday.

Enjoy your day,

Andy