IT IS SNOWING IN ALPINE MEADOWS. We received a nice dumping of snow today. Falling white flakes fell sporadically, but they are adding up as the day turns to evening. Although the depth this morning was not great, having my skis gliding on a soft surface and knowing my skis were not always visible filled a happy place in my mind that was running on low.
The number of people milling around this morning indicated the parking lot would be filling making searching for untouched powder a challenge. I think we were pretty successful finding natural shots between trees and in open areas. Hunting was required at times, but it paid off for those that love the “Redacted” trails.
The normal trails off Scott were pretty good as the new layer of snow seemed to cover the underlying firmness. Lower angle was best and sliding through tight trees was most fun. Scott Chute did not look ready to me as I could heard the loud noise of skis or boards sliding over ice. I think the same is true of Promised Land as a friend told me there are more than a few rocks and bushes still not properly covered. I really enjoyed the trees just below the top of TLC and Sherwood. Seek and you shall find!
We never rode to the top of Summit, so I cannot report on the skiing up top, but the visibility did not look great. I did tour Sherwood Cliffs from the top of Sherwood Chair where I found hard topped moguls waiting to be covered (maybe tomorrow). Lower down, untracked snow in the trees with the lower angle aspect, made me smile.
Lots of people will meet us in the morning, and lots of snow is on the way. Winter feels like it is finally beginning.
A question for the men out there who occasionally stop at a tree or use the bathroom at the Chalet. The bathroom in the Chalet does not have a shelf above the urinals. Thus, there is nowhere to put gloves that have been removed from our hands while relieving ourselves. Do you have gloves that are tied to your wrist with a long leather strap? Mine do, and the gloves just hang down getting in the way. We have discussed this issue in our locker room creating a lot of laughter over the problem, but it is an issue. It takes quite a bit of coordination to complete the task without ending up needing to do the wash more often than necessary. This is note is meant to be a nudge to our management to consider installing a shelf in the men’s room at the Chalet.
Good skiing is on the way.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Thanks Andy for mentioning the baskets missing in the men’s at the chalet – the same goes for the ladies’s, so it would be great for management to add them in those cubicles too.
I would say that good skiing arrived yesterday and then blossomed today. It was odd that there was very minimal grooming overnight. Usually on these mornings with just a few inches of new snow it’s nice to catch Yellow or Bobby’s or Ridge with a bit of powder over a smooth base. That not being available, we spent the day finding all of those hidden stashes. Run of the day was WTF.
I am noting that there are some free reservations now available for the weekend. I’m guessing there is widespread concern about travelling on Sunday…as there should be.
Hard to believe we got to the 70th day of the Alpine Meadows season before what felt like a real pow day.
I don’t usually ski on the weekends but am considering it tomorrow after today’s fun session. Got a parking spot today so agree people must be canceling which is indeed a good idea given travel tonight and what it looks like will happen on Sunday. Mark – what’s WTF? I try to figure out where the runs are that you all often mention but have a hard time. Had a great time with the fresh layer of snow and managed to grab some fresh tracks this afternoon (we have opposite schedule of you – work in the am and ski in the pm). It got clearer and nicer as the afternoon went on. Making me want to get up early tomorrow and get to the slopes – and I am NOT a morning person!
The new run that was cut a few years ago below Return Road, skiers left of Reilly’s
That was cut many years ago if you look on topoearth That is the lift line for shuttle t-bar ( shuttle cornice). It was the way you got to sherwood before Weasel pass chair was extended. Summer and low tide the top foundation is still visible.
Yup, you can see it really clearly on the older images. Then it got a lot of new growth. It was cleaned up again more recently. We skied by the first time and said “WTF!” Those upper footings have caught me a time or two…left a lot of P-tex behind. Cheers Casey!
Is it possible to cut the ‘redacted’ stuff? You are writing for a loyal group of Alpine fans who have followed for years and yet now you need to create an inner circle of people who ‘really’ know. If that’s the attitude, why bother writing? Please respect your audience
We are learning to walk a thin line here Jonathan. When UA started, we were writing for a small group of loyal Alpine Meadows fans. But our readership has grown somewhere around 2000% over recent years with the advent of the Ikon pass, B2B and good writing. We get complaints that sometimes we let the cat out of the bag on some of the more hidden places. We are trying to follow a policy of only naming things already on the map or that are in plain sight. As an example, I mentioned WTF above and then later clarified the location as it is in plain sight. I also skied 5 other places I would not even consider mentioning here. Thanks for enjoying UA and we hope you stay with us through the growing pains.
Thanks, Jonathan. I agree.
Jonathan,
Thank you for bringing this up. I agree with you that using the word “Redacted” makes us sound like we are hiding something from all of our friends and kind readers. I promise not to use that word again. If I do not want anyone to know where I found a great line then I will not mention it.
Andy
Loose lips sink ships……just sayin
My coat is sophisticated and has pockets I use for gloves