It’s the second weekend of the Alpine Meadows Summer Session. Skiing and riding today was very good, considering that it is June 9th. Keep in mind that very good is in completely relative terms. Is it good compared to mid February deep snow pack with soft winter snow? Nope, not at all. But measured by all of the other lift served skiing I have done at Alpine Meadows in the month of June, it is excellent. If you enjoy spring skiing, and if you enjoy finding those adventure lines that just barely still go, this is your moment.
The weather took a bit of a break today after some spectacular thunderstorms yesterday that brought copious amounts of lightning and hail. Just a few clouds were building in the sky this afternoon after an almost bluebird morning. Overnight temperatures took a pretty good dip after yesterday’s thunderstorms, keeping the snow surface pleasantly firm most of the morning. The best window for skiing and riding continues to be from about 8-11 each day. After that, the steeper pitches still ski great, until you find yourself pushing back to Summit or Roundhouse on one of the flatter runouts. There was a lot of walking on the Trail of Tears today around 11am.
The snow is melting rapidly. We’ve mentioned it before, but once rocks and dirt are exposed, the rate of snowmelt goes up exponentially. Rocks and dirt are much more efficient at absorbing the sun’s heat, and then radiating that heat through the night. The options for getting downhill are diminishing. The slopes that are faring the best are the north facing slopes like Palisades, Pygmy Forest, Middle Yellow, and the D Chutes. Also holding up well are groomed trails where there has been a lot of snow management to keep the main groomers maintained. Pretty much every regularly groomed run off of Summit, Roundhouse and TLC is still very well covered. Rocks are rapidly appearing on those that have gotten less attention over the last month. Yellow Run has some big rock bands starting to show. Ladies Slalom is just about done.
That said, I’m working on getting some slush bumps going on Ladies Slalom to replace the massive sun cups that are there now. I put in a half dozen runs there today and will continue that effort tomorrow. Feel free to join in for some sun cup smashing. Sure, I could just ski the “good runs” all day, but rehabbing nearly burnt out runs has a certain charm too.
It is a Friday in June and there was a significant crowd at Alpine Meadows today. It was a smaller crowd than last Friday. I never saw the Summit line exceed the corral…but I think the corral was bigger. There was no line at TLC or Roundhouse.
The forecast for tomorrow and Sunday does not sound inviting. Yet another cutoff low near Southern California is going to be pumping moisture up from the south. There is a pretty good probability for heavy rain both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, including the possibility for thunder and lightning. That said, there should be a window before 11am each of those days, where the forecast only calls for a chance of showers. I’ll still be going skiing, because I can.
The Hawaiian theme continues for the weekend, with another round of luau pork scheduled. Captain Dan suggested he might wear a coconut bra this weekend. The Golden Cadillacs are scheduled to play on the Sun Deck Saturday, and Captain Dan was hoping to get them to play a bit earlier tomorrow, due to the weather concerns.
June in the Sierra Nevada is a tricky forecast. During my teaching years, we always ended our school year with a campout in Lakes Basin near Gold Lake, usually during the second week of June. I have many memories of some very soggy camp trips! You just have to love the weather for what it is and be grateful that our thunderstorms thus far have included a lot fo soaking rains. See you out there tomorrow.