It was warm at the base area of Alpine Meadows today. One would certainly call it a spring day. It was 49 degrees at 1:30pm at the base and 39 degrees at the top. We skied plenty of lovely groomed runs this morning off Summit and Roundhouse.
My forays off the groomed runs indicated much of the north facing portion of the mountain was very firm and noisy. Sympathy, next to Werner’s Schuss, would have jarred fillings out of my teeth if I had not veered back to a smooth and quiet portion of the run.
A good example might have been the two young skiers who were lying on the snow with their skis off wondering how to get out of their predicament. They were standing on a frozen slope about ready to walk down or over to edge of Werner’s Schuss. This might have been a very poor decision as I think they would have fallen and tumbled down the slope. Lucky for them, I stopped and assisted them put their skis back on (not easy of a frozen slope) so they could traverse to safety.
I skied over to a lower section of Pygmy Forest and Palisades, where I found icy ruts. Perhaps they would have melted becoming softer and much more pleasant later in the day, but in the morning hours they were hard ruts best left alone.
We headed over to Sherwood, using TLC for access, shortly before 11. It turned out that we were just a little late. Sherwood Face was soft and sticky. South Face was a combination of perfect smooth slush, not corn, soft rubble, and sticky snow near the bottom. It was not bad, but not great.
We had one nice run at Lakeview skiing softish snow on Outer Limits, but then the lift stopped (we were standing waiting for the chair to arrive when it stopped). The lift operator indicated it might be 15 to 20 minutes before a mechanic would arrive to reset the controls allowing the lift to operate again. Perhaps another power surge that seems to be occurring more often than I remember happening in past years. We turned around and headed back to Sherwood rather than stand waiting for 15 minutes.
One ride up Scott Chair sent us down Bobby’s Trail. The surface was very nice on the south edge.
I thought of taking a tour over High Traverse to Sun Bowl, but my experience on South Face indicated it might have been too soft by the time I thought of heading over.
The afternoon turned conditions around as one might expect. Rutted icy slopes softened around 1:30 offering good spring snow to those hitting the afternoon session. Palisades, Lower Yellow Face and Gully, Sympathy, D7, and Peril Ridge were all very good according to a friend who relayed the information with a smile on her face.
It was delightful to ski up to lift lines that did not exist. The weekend lift lines were history this morning.
I did not take any photos today. The photo I used was taken another day, but it shows how pretty a day we enjoyed, and the lake we love so much.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
My experience around noon was Sunspot and Dance Floor were really good around noon with very few people on the runs. Shortly thereafter, Wolverine Bowl was sublime spring snow. Only negative in the afternoon were the “grabbers” on the run out before Summit chair that literally almost sent me head over heels. Small price to pay for a wonderful day. Love the reports here. Very helpful and entertaining.
Need your advice: is there a microwave available to the public?? Coming with the kiddos and extended family, who will want something more than PB&J. (Don’t worry, we’ll still get Treats at the end of their day)
Besides the ones found in the seasonal locker rooms, I do not believe so.
I’d suggest parking near Subway and tailgating.