Battle Royale: That Big Ball Of Fire In The Sky Vs. Mountain Operations

The third weekend of the Alpine Meadows Summer Ski Session is now complete. Similar to last week, it was amazing to just be out there on the mountain. You need to forget about every one of those pictures you have seen of the deep snow last winter. You also have to forget about recent pictures of the deep snowpack still at the top of Tioga Pass or at Mammoth Mountain. Those places above 10,000 feet still have a lot of snow. But at the elevation of Alpine Meadows, ranging from 6800 to 8600 feet, the snow is going fast…really fast.

It’s been a battle between that big ball of fire in the sky and the mountain operations teams (grooming, lift operations and ski patrol) to keep us sliding down the slopes on skis or snowboards. Miracles happen each night as cat operators steal a little snow from here and a little snow from there to keep pathways back to the lifts open. Last night, operators mined snow from the creek bed that separates the east and west runouts to Roundhouse and Summit, as well as extracting snow from anywhere else on the lower mountain where it wasn’t absolutely needed. Without that intervention, there would have been a big dirt patch to cross at Sandy’s Corner.

Temperatures were only down to the upper 40’s and lower 50’s overnight, and there was a lot of wind to blow that warm air around. That meant there was not much of a surface freeze, with the evidence being that the corduroy left by groomers on the swing shift melted out overnight. Today started pretty sticky and quickly turned even stickier. The summer slush wax with graphite and silicone was not up to the challenge. It was another one of those days where the steepest terrain was fun, marred by the slog to get back to the lift.

Once again, I dedicated most of my efforts at enjoying the slush bumps I have been creating on Yellow. Not only were those slush bumps fun, it kept me away from the very busy area around Sandy’s Corner. The trade off was that I kept dropping into the Trail of Tears with very little speed, onto snow that looked more like a latte sprinkled with a lot of cocoa powder and cinnamon. But I kept making laps there, as I am quite certain that Yellow will no longer go by next weekend.

Looking ahead to next weekend, what are my thoughts?  By next weekend, I think that all off piste terrain below the top of Roundhouse will be dunzo for the season. The groomed runs below the top of Roundhouse are only going to survive through more extensive snow farming. Where they will find that snow? My guess is that will involve sacrificing some runs for snow farming and moving it to just a few runs to maintain a path back to Summit, Roundhouse and TLC. None of that snow is close to where it’s needed on the lower mountain. It will take a major commitment of man hours and diesel fuel to make that happen.

Skiing and riding is going to start looking a lot less attractive as the off piste terrain burns out, forcing much of our turns to be made on a WROD with a whole lot of other people. Several friends shared that this is their last weekend of skiing, while others have said they will show up next weekend but will not bother with the Fourth of July weekend.

Coming into this weekend, I would have put the odds that the snow will last until the Fourth of July at about 60-40. Looking at how rapidly snow is melting right now, I think the odds of making it to the Fourth now stand closer to 34-66. Yes, there are some colder temperatures over the next two days, but the huge amount of heat stored in the large patches of rocks and dirt that have been exposed to the sun may overwhelm the cold night temperatures. Also, the sun is really high in the ski these days, and that really increases the radiant heating of the snow. It’s definitely going to be a battle for the mountain operations team. Even if they manage to keep skiing and riding going, will it be worthwhile with thousands vying for the same turns? Probably not.

The marketing team believes it will happen. A wide variety of musical acts was just announced this week, apparently replacing the previously scheduled DJ (who got some bad publicity this week). We shall see what happens. If you’re planning for the Fourth, plan on just a little bit of skiing and riding and a lot of waiting and being a part of the scene.