“If Red Dog and Resort Chair were the only lifts open in Tahoe…I would quit skiing”
The preceding quote was from Mark Fisher after a morning of skiing at the Alpine Meadows sister resort. A group of hard core Alpine Meadows skiers decided to try the other side of the mountain this morning.
We began the day on Treeline Cirque when it opened, and we took a couple of tours down the early morning firm corduroy. Treeline Cirque is not the longest run, nor the steepest trail, at Alpine Meadows. We have been riding this for the past ten days. It is wonderful to be outdoors on skis, but riding the same intermediate lift for more than a couple of hours a day made us want spread our wings just a little bit.
Our small group of loyal Alpine skiers jumped on to the Base to Base Gondola in hopes of finding beautiful new territory just over the hill. The ride was lovely. My cabin mates seem to enjoy the view of the mountains without snow on them. It was a real treat. Usually the hills would be covered with snow hiding granite cliffs and other summer features. Today they were all visible.
We headed for the base of Red Dog after exiting the gondola. There are only two options once you arrive at the top of Red Dog. We chose the route to the base of the Resort Chair. I was happy to have sharp edges on my skis so I was able to remain in control the entire way down the nicely groomed early morning frozen corduroy. Skiers from the east coast would have been in heaven. It is really not my favorite snow surface. The trails were wide enough, and there were a few good drops along the way to keep me on my toes. Riding up the lifts is kind of depressing because there is little, if any, snow anywhere other than the manmade snow trails. The view of the snow bare valley is quite nice. Skiing down Red Dog offered no excitement. It is basically just a wide road from top to bottom.
Next, we were off to ride the Funitel. A lovely ride up to Gold Coast where people were actually skiing on a softer surface. On the skiers left I found a few small soft moguls along with a few too many rocks. At least the slope was in sun and the surface was soft.
A couple of runs later we were back on the Funitel riding down the hill to the gondola. I think we were all ready to get back to our home base by this point in time.
We had fun skiing the runs that were open at both resorts even if the conditions were not perfect. There was plenty of time to enjoy good conversation as we rode from point A to point B and back. We spent more time riding lifts than skiing on this warm sunny day in Tahoe.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
There’s parts of N.A.W. Valley I really like…they are just not open yet. Also, my group went to Gold Coast before Red Dog and Resort Chair. By the time we arrived on the lower mountain runs, the Zamboni had left a shiny new surface of ice, devoid of any corduroy, ready for a hockey game.
I did the same loop you did today and concur on the hard surface on red dog and resort chair. Gold coast was softer with sun exposure. I was looking for that early season burn on my legs since all they saw this summer was a level golf course. The red dog & resort chair satisfied that need.
The early season man made Red Dog run is known as “the white ribbon of death” for good reason