It’s another way of saying “variable conditions”. With very cold overnight lows and a little bit of an east wind keeping things cooler, it took a long while for things to soften today. The morning offered east coast skiing on groomers with machine tilling. In the afternoon, there was some awesome California style spring skiing, provided that you were in the right place at the right time.
I heard some fun facts today regarding the Alpine Meadows snowpack. But first, a quick word about these measurements. The number that the marketing department bandies about, and what you are most likely to hear about, is the total snowfall that has fallen during the season. Currently that number is approaching 700 inches and the record season is around 800 inches. But the more important number is the snowpack that is on the ground right now, which has consolidated and been wind packed and rain affected. That’s a better predictor of how long this season may last.
The upper snow stake, located above the Three Sisters, is at 284 inches of snowpack. In talking to a lot of old-timers, nobody remembers a higher number at that location. That said, we have seen the ABC chairline so deep that it required a trench being dug to operate. I wonder if that early season avalanche in that zone removed enough snowpack to prevent that so far. The lower stake, located near the base of Roundhouse, was at 170 inches, before the last storm cycle. (This time of year, 100 inches would be a more average number.) Then that last storm cycle brought 130 inches of snow to the mountain. After all of that, and a healthy dose of rain, the snowpack at the base area is still at 170 inches, but with a very high water content.
That gives you a bit of understanding about roof collapses around Tahoe. I was sent this picture today of an army of shovelers getting ready to attack the snow buildup on the bunker over the gondola mid-station at White Wolf.
The morning ski conditions were challenging. Two days ago, all of this new snow was super awesome when it thawed out. The whole mountain was smooth and everything facing the sun was fantastic. Since that time, most of that off piste terrain is rutted and chunder filled. When that’s frozen in the morning, it goes by a couple of terms: “coral reef” or “frozen vegetables and chicken heads”. It’s not a great experience. The chunder and ruts take longer to thaw than a smooth slope. The only solution is to groom that stuff out or to get a reset of new snow to cover it up.
Not much grooming has been happening. Off of Summit, it’s been just a narrow strip on Alpine Bowl. Off Roundhouse it’s just Dance Floor, Charity and Werners. Over at Sherwood, only the Sherwood Run. At Lakeview, it was only Mountain View. That doesn’t give many options for escaping crowds, and based on afternoon traffic today, it’s going to be a busy weekend. So here’s to hoping we get a lot more groomed terrain added in tonight! Otherwise it’s going to be a chaotic morning of skiing until off piste runs start to soften. I would tell you to consider arriving late, but you know how well that works on a weekend. It’s a challenging part of the season for mountain managers as J1’s start to leave and seasonal employees get the urge to quit and travel before their next seasonal job starts.
Adding to the lack of space available for skiers, patrol has been very proactive this week in cordoning off some terrain that it considers too risky due to icy conditions. Some of the terrain opens late. As an example Sunspot/Solar Flare, Sympathy Face, Wolverine Bowl and Scott Chute have been closed in the morning but opened later in the day. High Yellow, Counterweight, Sherwood Cliffs and Gentian Gully have remained closed all day due to icy conditions. The upper bowls and High Traverse have also been closed. No matter how great of a skier or rider you might be, Ski Patrol has to make decisions based on those infrequent visitors that may not understand the dangers of icy conditions in steep terrain. I support any decision they make in keeping terrain closed.
As the day progressed, Sherwood softened…and so did Lakeview, which finally rejoined the schedule today. Hallelujah! Every square inch of Lakeview skied great this afternoon. Scott probably softened too…but Lakeview was too fun to leave.
So…tomorrow could be a challenge during the morning hours, as people may not have room to spread out. If the skies remain sunny enough to soften up off piste terrain, that will help spread people out. Right now the forecast calls for increasing clouds through the day. Slightly warmer temps and a switch in the wind direction could help soften things quicker.
For Sunday, temperatures will be colder and cloudier with snow showers. That little system is only forecast to bring 3 to 5 inches of snow during the day. If that happens relatively quickly Sunday might be okay. If the storm underperforms, expect very little in the way of off piste skiing. It’s not an ideal setup. Snow levels will be close to lake level, and that’s a good thing, as the wetter snow will bond better to the icy base.
The larger storm for Monday into Tuesday will offer a more substantial reset. The AR portion of the storm is trending into the Southern Sierra. We will be on the northern end of the jet stream, with less snow and lower snow levels. As of today, my best wag for that storm is about 18 inches, with snow levels ranging around 4000 feet. It’s a good reset for this ultra firm base, without being an insurmountable burden to those that need to remove snow from ski lifts, roads and driveways. Winds will likely be a problem for lift operations again. Another storm could happen later in the week.
Both the 6-10 day and 8-14 day outlooks call for much colder than normal temperatures, and higher than average precipitation. Even the vernal equinox next week will not lead us to true spring yet.
Lakeview was ultra awesome and then it turned to mashed taters.
💜❄️🟦