#FreshiesForDays

I asked ChatGPT to come up with some different hashtags, as many people are so tired of #Februburied and all of its clones. So #FreshiesForDays seems pretty appropriate, as the snow is going to keep coming for about the next 7 days. That’s good news and bad news. There’s going to be some excellent skiing, but we’re going to have to work around all of the challenges it causes with powder fever, the associated traffic, the highway closures and wind holds involved with these major storms. That’s not to mention that they are trying very hard to run a World Cup race next door over the weekend.

The morning tweets were encouraging, with at least Roundhouse on the schedule. I did the obligatory minimal snowblowing and jumped in the car. As I waited on Alpine Meadows Road for snow safety and lot clearing to be completed, more and more lifts were put on hold.

But the people kept arriving. I’m always amused at the families arriving in the breezeway, and staring at the TV displays in disbelief when it shows all lifts on hold. All they heard was some weather personality talking about powder in the Sierra and they jumped in their car. More people should read this site, where I started saying a week ago that this storm had the potential to bring 4 to 5 feet of snow late this week. I also predicted that there would be a lot of operational challenges associated with such a big storm. So it was no mystery to me that it was going to be one of those “wait and see” days where you hang out in the locker room with friends, enjoy some Treats, and wax every pair of skis in your locker while you wait for something to happen.

There was a day where I might have just gone out and joined the crowd on the Big Carpet. But with temperatures around 10° and winds in the 20’s, it didn’t seem all that attractive. Conversations in the locker room today ranged from Bruce Springsteen, to favorite patrol dogs, and the faithful commitment to the Alpine Meadows brand.

Eventually some lifts opened next door, and plans were made about the best way to get over there. Someone even mentioned “What if there was a shiny box that could just whisk us over there?” Alas, it was also on windhold today. Would it be better to drag everything to the car and boot up in the parking lot or better to boot up here and hope the shuttle arrived in some timely manner. I chose neither, hoping that open lifts at Palisades meant there was hope at Alpine Meadows.

Around 12:30, Subway and then Meadow were opened. Boots were put on, as well as multiple layers of clothing. Meadow certainly doesn’t offer the best powder day experience, but it was skiing. There were smiles a plenty along with silliness and giggles. As TLC started spinning around 12:45, people kept a watchful eye on that “Lift Closed” sign, waiting for the opportunity to get a little bit more vertical fun.

I did spin a couple of laps on TLC, and found that the nearly 20 inches of snow that had fallen by that time skied more like 6-8 inches due to the wind packing it down. Visibility was also pretty poor, a good preview of the whiteouts to come on Highway 89 back to Truckee.

Could I have scored more GNAR points by heading over to KT22 today? Probably…but the only line I stood in today was at Treats for breakfast. All lift rides were “ski on” at Alpine Meadows and I value that part of the experience. Beside, I earned the Easy Rider badge today…

#FreshiesForDays is real. More snow is coming tonight and tomorrow, and so on, right on through until about next Wednesday. Any break over the weekend will be minimal with the current storm trailing off Saturday morning, and the next storm now slated to begin Sunday morning. Through Saturday, we are looking at another 24 to 30 inches of new snow.

The next storm is also slated to bring another 3-5 feet of snow. That means that we are likely to see a lot more in the way of operational delays and wind holds through much of the upcoming 7 days. Initially I had planned a getaway to not be here for the World Cup, but with so much snow, and the resulting travel difficulties, we’ll be here for the weekend. I may as well do what it takes to go skiing.

This is a phenomenal snow year so far. Many ski areas have announced extensions of their ski seasons this week via Twitter and Palisades did announce today that they will be open through at least May 29th. That’s the thing we like to hear. Word on the street is that the Funitel needs some sort of overhaul this summer, so Alpine Meadows might have to serve as the Spring Skiing Capital this spring. We know it always has been…