Bit by bit, with warm day time temperatures and weak freezes, the corn has been ripening, ever so slowly. Today, I would venture to say that the skiing was quite good. I know, I am surprised too, as I was not sure we would get there. Over the last two or three days, I have repeatedly said that on piste skiing was good, but the off piste skiing was not so good. Today was a different story.
While the groomed runs were still great, much of the off piste terrain was really shaping up today. I first noticed this when I arrived at Sherwood sometime around 8:45 and noted that people were skiing all aspects of Sherwood Face. Today people were skiing the full line, making consistent turns, without doing the long “traverse of shame” back to the Sherwood groomer. Several friends also mentioned that Powerline was good today, as did others that came down Expert Shortcut. Hallelujah.
Initially, I did not get as much of a chance to try that out, as we spent the morning skiing with my nieces. (They are actually my grand-nieces but that makes me feel ancient when I say it that way!) But all skiing is good, and playing follow the leader with the 5 year old and almost three year old in the lead down the perfectly corny Weasel trail was a fine way to spend Mother’s Day.
After a break for pizza (Why yes, we did pack a lunch today!) I got some chances to get out and ski something more challenging, excited to find some good off piste skiing. I found some great smooth corn with minimal stickiness on Tower 19 off of Summit, the east face of God’s Knob and in several areas around Yellow chair.
I also managed to get a few quick laps on Scott today as the clouds were moving in. It was only after I was home that I saw on Insta-friend posted a photo from Gentian that looked super sweet. Being that Alpine Meadows is closed for the next two days, I’ll have that to dream about until Wednesday.
Yes, light rain showers and some thunderstorms did move in and shut down the mountain at 1:15. I told you that might be an issue 4 days ago. Looking ahead to the next 5 day session at Alpine Meadows, the models seem to keep the ridge just far enough west to keep the monsoonal flow out of the Sierra. Temperatures continue to be moderately warm, with weak freezes overnight. This should continue to improve corniness on the aspects that weren’t quite there today.
Uncharted Territory
The other day, a reader asked about the latest date that Sherwood had ever closed. None of my usual ski crew had a solid answer. So I checked in with Mountain Manager Jeff Goldstone yesterday and asked. He did not know off the top of his head, other than “sometime in May”. Another nearby patroller responded “I think we’re setting a new record every day.” Thinking about that, I went home and looked at my complete iPhoto library, which is hardly comprehensive, only going back 20 years.
But from my photo evidence collection, Sherwood generally has generally been done by late March into mid-April. There are a couple of shots I have in May. The reality is that Sherwood is often down to adventure skiing strips of snow, or only open for a return from High Traverse by April. So it should not surprise us much that the off piste terrain at Sherwood or High Traverse is not as great as we think it should be. Even though there is still a lot of snow pack there, the weather conditions are completely different in May rather than late March or April. The angle of the sun is much higher in the sky and there’s just more hours of sunlight. (In case you’re wondering Sherwood closed on March 27th last season).
So here we are, in uncharted territory. In most year’s where we have skied until Memorial Day or beyond, we’re often down to just Summit, and maybe Roundhouse, by mid-May. I’m grateful for every chance I get to continue making some laps on Scott and Sherwood this month. Thanks to the mountain ops team, and the bean counters, for making it happen.
See y’all Wednesday at Alpine Meadows.