Heading Into The (Thin) Home Stretch

Week Four of the Alpine Meadows Summer Session has now come to an end. That means we are now headed into the thin home stretch. The powers that be keep saying that there will be skiing and riding next weekend at Alpine Meadows, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride to closing day. Even with the relatively cool temperatures this weekend, you could still see the snow melting and sublimating right before your eyes.

It did occur to me today that even though the latest marketing push for next weekend’s Freedom Fest emphasizes the 700+ inches of snowfall this season – it fails to mention that the actual measurement of snow pack currently at the base is zero inches. (Okay, it actually read 1 inch today, but that is just a calibration error.) The line I kept hearing today on the Sun Deck, in the lift lines and on the chairlifts this weekend was something like “I had no idea there was so much dirt showing”.

As a reader of Unofficial Alpine, you’re probably keenly aware of exactly how things look at the mountain this week. But here’s a reality check. Yesterday somewhere between 750 and 2500 readers read my report. That’s a lot of you, given that it is summer season, and we like that. But that is somewhere around 1% or less compared to the number of followers of the Palisades Tahoe email lists and social media followers. A lot of those people are still showing up expecting a solid winter snow pack, hearing only the “700+ inches of snow” message.

The only reason we are still skiing and riding at Alpine Meadows is that there has been a ton of snow management going on behind the scenes so you can get from the bottom of Alpine Bowl or Wolverine Bowl and return to the bottom of a lift. It’s basically WROD anywhere below the top of Roundhouse. Thank you to those that have been moving that snow around to make it happen.

I noticed today that there’s even some thin coverage up top as well, finding a new spring popping up in the middle of the Alpine Bowl runout. The amount of water running under the snow is the alarming thing, as that can decimate a run rather quickly.

The groomed WROD  sections of the mountain can get downright scary due to people that are still working on qualifying for the world cup circuit. Then there are those that are determined to turn the entire run into their personal terrain park by maximizing their air on each side hit to claim some “footy for the boys”. All of that is mixed in with the Johnson family from Texas, that picked up their rental packages this morning, couldn’t book a lesson, and are still snowplowing their way back to the lift amongst the craziness.

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know it’s my aim to stay out of the mainstream. In a life time of skiing, I’ve been hit by other skiers or boarders a number of times and it often doesn’t end well. I have nothing to prove. I am happy to ski the more obscure terrain in exchange for a little bit of serenity. Over the last two months: I closed out Sherwood hot lapping Chute Zero and Scott by lapping Gentian Gully and Ice Cliffs. Over the last two weekends, I closed out Ladies Slalom, and then Yellow Trail, all in search of the road less traveled.

This weekend, the road less traveled was Boomerang to the last pitch of Charity. Although it was ungroomed, the coverage allowed me to hit only a half dozen rocks over the last three days. I had the sun cups erased after a half dozen runs Friday. In total, I put in about 25 laps there this weekend. The top pitch of Werners was rarely busy, and the run through Boomerang and Charity meant I was only merging onto Highway 80 for a few hundred yards back to Roundhouse. I don’t expect that run will still be skiable by next Friday, and neither will any other off piste option on the lower mountain. Getting back to either Summit or Roundhouse will require a “running of the bullies”.

I’m not committed to skiing any number of days next weekend. Back in January, I set my personal goal at 183 days this season – an even 6 months of skiing. I’m there today. Anything next weekend will just be icing on a great season. I’ll show up Friday and see what the Mountain Ops team is able to salvage after a week of warming temperature and possibly another round of wet thunderstorms on Wednesday. Then I’ll take it one day at a time. I certainly won’t be in line for one of the 500 limited edition tee shirts. I know how to make my own.

I’ve spent much of the last two blog posts talking about mountain safety concerns, as skier and rider traffic is pushing the limits of what the current terrain can handle. I challenge the official channels of Palisades Tahoe to do their own reality check of letting people know that there really are slim pickings, and what we can all do to keep the experience safe for everyone. They have way more of an audience than I have, and maybe it will make a difference.

If we get another big snow season next year, here’s to the hope that both mountains will stay open for the late season experience.