Not Much Change, but Hope is in the Air

It was another beautiful morning in the Sierra with a mostly clear sky, little wind, and pleasant skiing. We continue to ski on limited manmade groomed runs. On the Alpine Meadows side of the mountain Treeline Cirque remains top of the mountain. Meadow and Subway Chairs are running, but these are beginner runs and not of interest to anyone who is above an intermediate skier.

I had the feeling that there were more people on the hill today than there have been on other weekdays this season. My feeling was just based on the number of people skiing down Weasel Run. There seem to have been more groups of skiers and boarders sliding down the hill today than there have been on previous days. It looked crowded riding up the chair watching some people making slow turns and others streaking straight down the hill at too high a speed.

Although the sun was shining it was still cool enough for snowmaking to continue into the late morning. The Alpine Meadows snowmaking crew appears to have been making snow on Rock Garden and the Upper Weasel Run in an effort to open Roundhouse. They were making snow lower down the hill on Dance Floor today. We do not know when they will open Roundhouse, but those of us who have been out on the hill daily, or almost daily, are praying that another lift, and at least a couple additional trails, are opened soon. Perhaps Roundhouse will open this weekend as snowmaking progress appears to be moving forward. We spied grooming machines moving snow in the area of Red Trail/Rock Garden with hopes that they will soon be grooming a nice smooth trail for those of us who have made too many turns on TLC since opening day.

Snow being made on Dance Floor behind the top of Ladies Slalom

Snowmaking at the base of Roundhouse in preparation for opening

I discovered this little annoyance when making a trip to the men’s restroom from locker room three this morning. The lights were out when I entered the room. It was really dark. I was unable to find a light switch to turn them on. It is a good thing cell phones have flashlights. After walking through the room with my flashlight burning brightly, the lights came on. It turns out there is a light sensor at the other end of the restroom which is where the public enters from the lodge hallway. This is a great idea for saving some electricity, but it would be a good idea to have a sensor at both entrances. Sometimes the floor is wet and slippery. I would hate to trip over someone who has fallen walking through the room in the dark. This is just a word to use caution to those who use locker room three.

Enjoy your day,

Andy