Responsibility

While some might tell you that this was the best day of skiing ever, it would not be a true statement. Was it a really fun day of skiing? Absolutely! That foot of snow that fell in the last 36 hours did a lot toward resetting the mountain. That included turning firm mogul runs into runs with just softer smaller bumps and groomers full of cookies into grippy corduroy. Sure there was some fresh snow out there yesterday but I would have hesitated to call it powder.

Yesterday Andy reported that things were “heavy and wet” and some people posted comments to the effect that we just did not know what we were talking about, as some people had a great day skiing that “powder”. I moderated those comments out of existence. Sure, there’s about 10% of the population out there that could ski that bouncy, surfy powder and turn it into “the best day ever.” But we are not paid shills for the mountain. We have a responsibility to report conditions as they apply to all skiers and riders, and not just to the elite. Otherwise, if we start calling good days “the best day ever”, then we become a part of the problem that leads to an overcrowded mountain, traffic and difficulty securing a parking reservation.

The lighting today was variable, with bright sun at times, followed by dark clouds minutes later. As mentioned before, the groomers were fantastic in the morning, with soft grippy corduroy that encouraged a case of the “speeds” for many. Since I include myself in that category, I did seek out some off piste terrain that could offer some fun at a slower speed. Here’s a couple of friends enjoying wind buffed bumps in D7 this morning.

Once my visiting family, including a preteen, a tween and a teen, arrived – I was leading the obligatory repeat tours of Hot Wheels Gully. I love having an excuse do repeat runs there. Meanwhile, Andy and friends were making repeat hikes to High Traverse. The reports I heard from there were “perfect cream cheese” and variable wind buff. Here’s a photo from the other Bob:

Oh my, I wish I had not missed that! But then again, how often do I get to ski with my nephew and his kids? There will be other days for High Traverse laps. As the day wore on and temperatures rose above freezing, the snow got pretty clumpy and bumpy. It was still good skiing, but it did become more work. Here’s a shot from God’s Knob about 1:30 pm today

The Stormy Period Will Continue

We have at least two more storms on tap. One of them will be a very clear short wave that moves in midday tomorrow and continues into Saturday night. That first wave has only resulted in a Winter Weather Advisory. If I had to take my best guess, we should see around 6-9 inches of that storm, with the lower end of the range being the usual answer this winter. Snow levels should run about 6000 to 6500 feet. The base area at Alpine Meadows is 6950′, so it’s not going to be super light champagne powder.

The bigger storm is still on tap beginning Sunday afternoon and running as far as Wednesday. That storm is not as much a storm passing through, it’s a low pressure system that will send waves of snow with short breaks in-between. The Winter Storm Warning says this:

For the Winter Storm Warning, heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 2 feet above 5500 feet, and 3 to 4 feet at the highest peaks. Winds gusting as high as 55 mph.

That number may be lower than what you have seen on some of the paid shill sites. I saw one this morning pushing a narrative of “7 feet of snow headed for Tahoe”. Again I feel responsible for presenting the more likely scenario here, rather than encouraging over visitation during an already busy week. Snow levels for this one start a bit higher. The models show levels as high as Donner Pass level on Sunday evening before the snow levels drop with as the low moves a bit inland. Keep in mind that in the last storm that cold air never moved in. It has been that kind of winter. Also, I am not sure I buy those 55 mph winds. The more likely scenario is that we see winds during this period that will close some upper mountain lifts.

Mammoth Ski Patrol Throws Down The Gauntlet

I saw this post from Mammoth Mountain yesterday regarding upping the penalties for scofflaws not obeying terrain closures. Immediately I knew I wanted to share it here. But it was Andy’s day to report yesterday, and then it was widely shared across the socials and ski media. But I know our demographic here includes many people that don’t do social media so I am going to share it here anyways, as it is an important message. Again, responsibility.

Sadly someone thought that allowing others to embed the video should not be allowed. Here’s the link to the actual video: https://fb.watch/qfJ0Wg2aHL/

You may think that we don’t have those sort of people here that would duck a rope, but we do. There’s people that either think the rules are just a suggestion, or that somehow they are exempt from the rules. Let me give some examples:

• On big storm days when the upper mountain is closed and Roundhouse is open. Patrol will set up a closure along the southern edge of Rock Garden to stop people from traveling into the Deer Camp zone while control work is completed. Those closures are often ignored.
• On days where Scott is open, but Lakeview is not, there are clear closure signs posted at the bottom of Leisure Lane. But you often see those signs ignored as people push out to get to the upper end of the Lakeview terrain or Munchkins
• On days where there is no access to Beaver, Estelle or Bernies, yet people still push it with a super traverse from the Sisters to the Estelle runout. Control work might be going on above.

I have no problem with Ski Patrol being a little more aggressive about enforcing closures, and I applaud Mammoth Mountain for giving their patrol the air time to bring the problem to people’s attention. Patrol has enough work on their hands without having to deal with people not following closures.

See you out the tomorrow.