It was another transitional day at Alpine Meadows. Just a few days ago, some were claiming it was the best powder day ever. Over the last two days, the sun has come out and the temperatures climbed into the 40’s. That means much of the off piste skiing has turned into trash, starting off as coral reef in the morning and turning into mank by midday. So if you’re curious about the skiing today, there was limited grooming and limited off piste terrain that skied well. For the second day in a row, the parking lots filled at Palisades, and were just about filled at the upper lots at Alpine Meadows. The groomed terrain was really hectic this morning with so many people already here for the weekend. But I did still find fun…and that is what matters.
As skiers and riders, we have always been conditioned to say that “more snow is better”, ‘bring on the powder”, “we need the moisture” and “Let’s ski on July 4th” arguments. But this week, I’m hearing the cry of “Uncle!” Sure it might be cool to set a new record for snowfall so we can say we were there for the big winter of ’22-’23. But just about anyone that lives in the Sierra, or the foothills, now has more snow than they can handle. We don’t know where to put it, it’s caving in our roofs or causing ice dams, and causing endless snow days that will keep kids in school until July 4th. In the central valley, farmers are trying to get crops established in fields that are flooded and the bees are staying in their hives. Much of California is now out of drought status, and reservoirs will likely fill with the current snow pack. Uncle!
We’re also at that time of year where the sun is higher in the sky and temperatures warm quickly whenever it is not snowing. That leads to powder than is only good until the sun comes out, then we’re stuck with less than perfect ski conditions until the next storm, or until the corn cycle can complete (generally 4 to 5 days). Honestly, by this time of year, I would prefer endless corn days, as it’s just more consistent and predictable…not to mention that a whole lot of people suddenly lose interest in skiing. Just when I was getting really tired of weekend ski traffic, we’ve had a big run of weekday traffic over the last week.
The mountain operations staff has got to be tired of endless snow as well. Here’s a selection of pictures that highlight some of the issues they face.
But I am not a big believer in weather modification theories (sorry Steve!) We don’t get to choose the weather we want and another potential big storm is on the way for the weekend. Going graphical for a change, it looks like Alpine Meadows should see about 3-4 feet of new snow by Monday.
Winds will be a problem again for this storm. Winds are forecast to be over 100mph at the crest of the Sierra. That means that we likely will not see Summit, Lakeview or Scott on the schedule the next two days. At those sorts of wind speeds, we typically loose the double chairs as well. Over the hill, one would assume that most of the upper mountain will be on hold.
The snow levels start off around 2000 feet and lower to 1000 feet again. The good news is that means that the snow should be lighter (but wind packed), which leads to easier shoveling. It will also lead to very poor visibility over Donner Summit and likely road closures again. Also, there’s still a lot of people stranded without plow service or power in the foothills. (Sorry Mom!) They don’t care much about your need to ski powder.
The one mitigating thing is that ensemble models are backing off just a bit and trending snow totals down over the last half dozen runs. Here’s the GEFS model trend for accumulated snowfall through Monday:
In the long range, the models are still pretty flip floppy. Some runs predict continued snow, some predict a changeover to warmer systems with rain, and some predict some ridging that could dry us out for a bit. We’ll have to see how we do with this first storm this weekend.
I’ll parrot the party line here and remind you that Palisades Tahoe says you should leave Truckee or Tahoe City by 7:30 am on weekends…and I will be there to ski whatever is there.
Totally agree!!!
Let’s gooooooooo!!
Seems as though you are confusing over 180 weather modification patents with ” theories”. Why not post a pic of you eating that “snow” like you probably did when you were a kid-
Hee hee. I see you Steve!
Worked at Alpine in the early-mid 80’s, shoveled out top of ABC chairs numerous times, fun memories..