Windy Again

Skiing was better than I expected when I first attempted to open my eyes early this morning in the darkness. There is nothing like the first day of a time change. Spring forward an hour and wake up in darkness. It is just not right after waking with the sky already light outside for a whole season. Perhaps the change to Daylight Savings Time was what prompted Thomas Edison to invent the electric light bulb. Thank you Tom and your fellow contributors to the invention.

The change to Daylight Savings Time apparently created a glitch in the Palisades app this morning. This caused me to pause in the darkness wondering if I should head to the slopes or go back to bed for a couple of hours. The app indicated most of the lifts at Alpine would not begin operation until 10:30 or noon. I knew it was windy because I heard winds blowing around my house all night. However, the late start indicated on the app left me scratching my head wondering what to do. I finally decided I would head up to the locker room anyway and see what was going on at the ski area. Of course, it turned out it was an issue with the time change, and all lifts that were not on Wind Hold began operation at 9am.

We have had so many extremely windy days lately, even when the sun has been out, that riding Summit this morning just did not seem like the thing to pursue. Although the sky was not completely covered with gray clouds for most of the day, allowing for pretty good visibility, at 9am the winds were blowing between 69 and 85 miles per hour and at 2pm they were increasing in speed between 72mph and 85mph. Although we did not venture up Summit plenty of other people did ride to the top enjoying the wind buff in West Palisades, and Lower Yellow Gully. I wanted to mention that many people have been skiing the Keyhole slopes. They looked wider than normal from lower on the mountain. It appears enough people have been skiing Keyhole to create moguls, something else I do not remember from past years.

We hung around Roundhouse making laps down Sympathy, God’s Knob, and Rolls and Knolls. Fall Line skied well as did Ladies Slalom. Later in the morning we tiptoed over to Sherwood in hopes it would have softened by the time we arrived. We were lucky in that it was soft on the trails that had been groomed the night before and softening on Sherwood Face. We tested Power Line, and personally I thought it was just fine. There were areas off the main run that I tested only to find them very firm. The type of surface that rattles your legs until you give up traverse to something smooth. We thought of going over to South Face, but my compatriots were sure that the skiers we viewed from the chair were not have\ing a good time, so we stayed put. The lower portion of Art’s Knob skied well. I assume Counter Weight also skied well, although I am sure moguls in the gully were pretty large.

Scott and Lakeview were closed keeping us off that side of the mountain. I was not expecting much this morning, especially with the large Sunday crowd I assumed would pack the slopes, but the skiing was actually pretty darn good.

We have been making fun of some of the people who have been skiing Alpine for the first time. Many, if not all, are IKON pass holders from other areas of the country, or even other countries. Many have commented on the beautiful views of Tahoe, and of course, we see them taking photos of themselves with the lake in the background. I admit making fun of them at times because it seems funny when they to not really even know the name of the lake. However, I am admonishing myself today for these action because it is really not right. We rode Sherwood with a gentleman today who was skiing Alpine for the first time. He commented on the beautiful scenery, especially the last section of the Sherwood ride that passes through a forested area with bright green moss clinging to tree trunks. I have always loved this section as well. He said that he had hiked and skied in many places in our country, and claimed this was one of the most beautiful places he had ever experienced. This reminded us not to take our incredible environment for granted. Unfortunately it is something we may do to often. Stop, look, and enjoy your Alpine Meadows surroundings. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to live, or visit this small portion of the world.

I received a special request from someone who has worked at Alpine Meadows for an extremely long time. Elaine has been in the First Aid Room helping those who may have been injured for as long as I can remember. Elaine has a friend who wanted me to post a photo of her within my report. Thus, here is Elaine.

Enjoy your day,
Andy