This might have been the last snowfall of the season at Alpine Meadows. We’re looking at just 13 more days of ski season and currently the models are looking dry over the next two weeks. Officially, 1.8 inches of new snow fell over the last 24 hours, but knowing where to look, there was more like 3 to 4 inches to be found, which is far better than the reports of dust on crust I heard from another couple of resorts.
Temperatures started out somewhat winter like this morning, with the snow being protected by some low level clouds. By 9:10, the sun was out and things started rapidly evolving. We covered some hot pow laps off of Roundhouse. Gods Knob, the Poultry Zone and some other less talked about locations. What makes it “hot pow”? It skis easy like pow, but you leave a trail of chunder behind that will certainly not be pleasant tomorrow.
As soon as Summit showed signs of clearing we headed to the top, where everything was frosted white. Tower 19 offered excellent hot pow. The pow on D7 was more winter like, but had also been more wind scoured. You could see that same scouring and wind lips in Scott Chute as we headed up Scott chair.
Rumors were more than rumors, and today Lakeview was closed. Not only was the Lakeview Chair closed, all Lakeview terrain was closed with many stop signs placed by patrol. That eliminated Leisure Lane, Winter Road, Upper Standard and all points south. Also closed was all of Scott Meadow and Ray’s Rut. We told you that there was a large amount of tree cutting to be done and no time was wasted in getting that project started. You could hear a chainsaw buzzing in the distance. Logs are being hauled to Weasel Pass, so the Bill’s Hideaway zone was also closed off today. The tree cutting project needs to happen as the amount of dead and dying trees in this zone is frightening.
On a whim, we dipped into Gentian Gully mid-morning, hoping for the best. Although the initial entry point was heinous with large ice moguls with a light coating of frosting, it was much better once you passed the entrance exam. Mid morning, the zone is out of the sun and allowed for some nice pow turns, albeit slightly scratchy. We returned for a second lap after a super fast lunch and it was too late. The water dripping out of the trees as the snow melted made for über sticky snow that caused some real toe jam. We made a hasty exit out to Ice Cliffs and then Promised Land. Skiing down to the top of Subway Chair, we raced rollerballs and some occasional pinwheels. That’s a good sign that you are done.
Surprisingly the groomed slopes held up better today, returning almost to the same corny state as yesterday. As long as you didn’t inadvertently wander into some ungroomed snow, it was not terribly sticky until you got to Sandy’s Corner.
Day 1 of the FIS Elite Western Regionals were going on today on the slalom course off of Roundhouse I noted in my last post. I doubt any speed records were set today, but it was still fun to watch. That event continues through Thursday. Without the race crowd today, it would have otherwise been a ghost town at Alpine Meadows today.
Between spring weather, rapidly melting snow and parts of the mountain closing, it’s feeling like the end of the season around here. I noticed this morning that the terrain park was disappeared overnight. This is the time of the year to make sure you are enjoying every part of the mountain while you can. It’s my intention to make the best of each day.
As of this minute the forecast does not look awful. We should get ground level freezing each night and warm temperatures during the days. It’s going to be a bit warmer than I would like, reaching into the low 50’s each day. That should help melt down the chunder that was left behind after today’s hot pow session. The corn is already pretty good on all groomed slopes, and hopefully the off piste zones will catch up quickly.
Lastly, big ups to our friends at the Tahoe Sports Hub. Their annual Customer Appreciation Sale happened last Saturday evening. There was 40% off on just about anything related to skiing and riding. There was also some great sliders from Cornerstone and free beer. The event was very popular, as always, resulting in “can I squeeze by you?” conditions. Extra thanks to owner Rob Cavallo for making me the deal of the century on a new Smith Nexus helmet. It’s got all of the cool stuff, resulting in a high MSRP. I feel appreciated Rob!
“Hot pow” is right. I cannot remember the last time I bailed out of The Face halfway down. It just wasn’t worth the effort. The chainsaw must have been refueled a couple of times!
It’s sad about the trees 🌲 I hope that this at least helps the forest health
The experts say the forests here are too densely packed with trees causing the trees to be overstressed fighting for food and water. This allows the bark beetles to get a foothold to do more damage. The trees would mostly fend off the beetles if healthy. They say if the forest is properly thinned you would be able to ride thru the forest on a horse !
Also love the description of hot pow, nailed it with the skis like pow but leaves a trail of chunder.
The “entrance exam”….Love it!
What is sad is that the area of Lakeview was the best tree skiing around until the timber was cut for the runs. A person could hike up from the Scott chair, using the trail that Patrol made while doing AC. Then, one could either go straight down through the trees and end up at Sherwood chair, or go all the way down to Courchevel, where the Sherwood bus from Sunnyside would stop and take you up to the Sherwood chair. Ray Belli and I logged off the timber for the ski runs for the Lakeview chair. The trees were very large, the biggest Red Fir was 9′ diameter on the stump. Most of the forest looked like Mark’s photo above of Gentian Gully, but, larger trees. There was a snow stake at the top of Mtn View run in those days (1984), and when we started logging on April 30, the snow was 12 feet deep. In one month the snow melted down to a 2 foot depth. Now it’s hard for Lakeview to hold snow, it just blows over the top with the prevailing winds. Lack of overstory is what’s killing the firs and the snowpack.