How Lucky We Are

Hello Skiers,

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so HAPPY THANKSGIVING, to everyone. Take a minute tomorrow, or everyday, to remember how lucky we are to be living in a free and prosperous country. There are so many people that do not share my life. My worries that it will not snow enough for good skiing this winter, or that a back up in traffic will slow me down on my way to complete errands, or that the supermarket might be out of Cherry Garcia, are not worthy of a second thought when others all over the world are without the very basics to sustain life. Tomorrow I will be enjoying what I have and hoping that others with less will have more in the near future.

Saturday is opening day at Alpine Meadows. Treeline Cirque will be operating to the mid-station on a pretty good layer of manmade snow. Looking around the rest of the mountain is rather sad as coverage is generally non-existent. However, the mere thought of riding a chair up a white slope and sliding back down to do it over again put a smile on face. Today was finally the day to return my summer tuned skis and new boots to there place in the locker room with hopes they will be used very soon. I almost forgot to hang my season pass in the locker, a fear I have each year since once having to go back home and search the house for the darn thing on opening day.

I ran into Melanie from Treats who was hauling supplies to her breezeway eatery. She was excited to be opening for another season and looking forward to seeing many old friends. We all love Treats.

Temperatures are supposed to be cooler over the next few days, but today it was 54 degrees at 1:00pm. Cooler daytime and overnight temperatures should allow the ski area to make snow overnight. I am not sure, but my guess is that there will be plenty of people hoping to make a few runs on Treeline Cirque Saturday and Sunday. If you prefer not to mix with a crowd, you might want to take a hike on one of the local trails. There may be plenty of people also hiking as many trails have little or snow on them. Five Lakes would be a good choice, but you will not be alone. Parts of the Tahoe Rim Trail are also open for hiking especially on the section facing south. The local paved bike trails are also clear of snow, although it may be pretty cool to be on a bike this weekend.

Enjoy your day,

Andy