Alpine Meadows Day 1

We have been waiting for months for this day. I love summer with its myriad of sport options, long warm sunny days, and music on the beach, but winter is my true friend and Alpine Meadows is my favorite ski area.

Today, November 25, 2023, Alpine Meadows opened for skiing. It was not the most epic day of skiing I have ever experienced on an opening day, but it put a smile on all those faces waiting in line at the base of Treeline Cirque. Smiles widened as the clock ticked toward 9:00a.m.. I think we were all surprised at the length of the line. It was much shorter than we had anticipated. There really were just a handful of skiers and snowboarders standing in line waiting for the chair to begin accepting us for beginning of the 2023-2024 season.

Bob with a smile on his face                                                                    A short line of skiers waited for the opening bell

Mark! Not much of a smile, but he was excited and happy to on the Alpine slopes again

The air was cool, but not as cold as I expected it would be, based on the early morning temperatures that were below 20 degrees. It was about 24 degrees at the base of Alpine Meadows at 9 this morning. The sky was mostly gray at the open, but soon blue appeared followed by a bright sunshine. The rest of the day was clear of clouds and created long shadows on the snow for those making early morning turns.

First ride up and first look at the white ribbon of snow

Of course, we were skiing on manmade snow. The trail down Treeline was wide enough to make pleasant turns, but it is limited. Use caution on the slope especially when too many people are making their way downhill at the same time. It was cold enough for the snowmaking team to continue making snow on the neighboring slope. Their efforts gave those riding Treeline a dose of snow on the face as they began their trip upslope.

Manmade snow is often laid down wet in order to build up a solid base to cover rocks etc.. Wet snow is not always kind to skiers. It tends to be firm, or even somewhat icy. It can lead to a slope filled with death cookies. It is certainly not soft and quiet, but rather firm and noisy. I would venture to say that the surface this morning was firm, not a sheet of ice, and noisy. There really was not much to the side of the trail with the exception of a couple of areas where spillage from the snow guns left left a thin layer of snow. We tried this off piste area turning between the tops of short trees and attempting to avoid rocks. I was able to do this for a few runs, but on the last slide through this short area both Mark and I skied over a rocks. Mark winced when he saw a core shot on his base, but he did not cry. A word of caution to those heading out to give the first days a try, there is no snow beyond the manmade snow trail. It may look good, and you may be able to avoid obstacles for awhile, but before your day is over you will hit something that will scratch the base of you skis or board.

Slowly more people showed up to hit the slope

My first day put a smile on my face as sunshine filled the sky and my feet were firmly attached to my skis for the first time in months. I was so happy to be with ski buddies making turns again on a white surface, even if it was a limited slope.

Enjoy your day,
Andy