“Do-able”

That was the word of the day, “do-able”. Used in a sentence, it goes like this: “That was doable. It wasn’t good, but it was doable”. Whether or not each run was doable or not had everything to do with your timing. If you were in the right place at the right time, a run could be considered great. If you were too late, it was a sticky hot mess. Somewhere right in the middle of that period was “doable.”

There was not a real freeze overnight at Alpine Meadows. Air temperatures reached down only to a range of 39° to 43°, depending on location. I thought that the word of the day was going to be “farfrumfrøzne”.

farfrumfrøzne adjective “far-frum-froh- zhen” 1. the state of snow where it is on the verge of melting and turning to water 2. not an ideal day for skiing or snowboarding (Org: German)

Websters Dictionary of Ski Terms

As we started the day at Summit, we were taking bets on whether or not High Traverse would be open at all today. It wasn’t and that was not surprising to anyone that had studied the temperatures overnight. But most everything was groomed and Sunspot was delightfully creamy on the first run. By the time we returned to the top, Sunspot was already a hot mess, so I headed toward Terry’s and I noted the trenches being left in the corduroy by the skier in front of me.

We made the decision to make a break for Sherwood, figuring it was only going to get worse. The Sherwood Run was groomed and had just about the right amount of firmness at 9:37am. That said, it felt like a freeway at rush hour. It would have been an excellent day to have a second groomed run in place, say Robin Hood to that run that parallels the gully below Sherwood Face, which we have been calling Maid Robin Tucks for a couple of years. For our second run, we headed off piste. Here’s the quote from Andy:

I know why they call it Chute Zero. On a scale from zero to ten, it was definitely a zero.

Andy Wertheim

It was a totally a hot manky mess, reducing even good skiers to survival skiing to avoid an ACL injury. There was a moment where we considered heading back to Summit to check out the various D’s but instead we were drawn to Lakeview. Conditions there were fantastic with some excellent firm corn conditions on Mountain View, Outer Limits and Twilight Zone. Pro Tip: the right side of those runs thaw first and the left side thaws slower. You can choose the amount of slush you like by which line you choose: soft on the right, firm on the left, or right down ze middle. I even had the best off piste run of the day on Scotty’s Beam at 11:17. Pro Tip: If you use the Palisades Tahoe app you can track time at a particular location very easily. This is helpful for ski bloggers. Scotty’s Beam offered perfect slush bumps amidst a growing amount of brush and trees.

Making a quick stop for lunch was probably a bad idea. We went back after lunch and found a very sticky situation just about everyplace. Temperatures were into the mid 50’s on the mountain, and that does not work without fully developed corn and a solid overnight freeze. Two and done after lunch.

None Of This Matters…Tell Me About The Weekend

As much as I have been trying to will it away, we still have this storm impulse coming through this weekend. As of now, tomorrow is looking like it may turn out to not be all that great. Once again nighttime lows will not get near freezing. There’s a decent chance of rain by mid-day with snow levels running at about the top of the mountain. There’s not all that many more days to enjoy at Alpine Meadows so of course I will be there.

Then the amount of rain and maybe snow picks up for Saturday. There’s definitely some model mismatch going on. The GEFS runs have been showing more precipitation happening Saturday, now showing a potential for 6 to 8 inches of snow. The automated point forecasts are running more off of yesterday’s model runs, showing more like 3 to 5 inches. The other thing to note is that it looks like the colder air may not get here until later than we thought. Earlier this week it looked like rain Friday and snow Saturday. As of this minute it looks like rain Friday, snain for Saturday and snow for the tail end Sunday morning. I don’t make the weather, I just report it. Honestly, I should use my Rose pass over the next two days.

Snow Golf has been postponed until April 27th due to this ugliness. Smart decision.

Right now, the longer range forecast looks somewhat ugly…a series of inside sliders. I can’t bear to look at that right now. Maybe it will go away within the next few model runs.

Tonight at the Fox Cultural Hall in Kings Beach: Joe Kaplow with Lillian Frances opening. Doors at 6 and show at 7.Tickets are available at the door. It should be fun. See you there.