Yes there was some very good spring corn conditions at Alpine Meadows today, after we finally got a good solid freeze overnight. But somewhere out there in Northern California area, some kooks were still wishing for one more powder day before the season ends at Alpine Meadows. It looks like they could just get one more boot buckle deep powder day tomorrow, followed by a closing weekend mank cycle. It’s not ideal but all of the complaining in the world will not change it. So ski it, i will.
It was another good day to catch a few High Traverse laps, or to skip it and rip a few corn corduroy laps before heading to Sherwood. I opted for the latter while Andy opted for the former. We will each argue that we made the right choice. It was my intention to get in as many laps as possible before heavy clouds or rain moved in for the day. You pretty much could not go wrong with any route off of Summit this morning. Lower on the mountain, things were much firmer. That meant that options that see more morning sun were better.
After three Summit laps, we took the flying couches over to the Sherwood side. It’s definitely “adventure season” on the Sherwood side. The Sherwood Run is no longer continuously groomed due to rock bands where the summer road crosses the run. The top section is groomed down as far as the Return Road, and the left side of the bottom portion is groomed, below the cat road that goes out above power line. In between those points coverage is thin to non-existent. Add a few inches of snow over those rocks tomorrow and it will make for some very hazardous conditions!
The off piste zones were firing at Sherwood today. Powerline, the main Sherwood Face, Chute Zero and East Gully all were popular lines depending on your tolerance for hiking, bushwhacking and sun cups required for either entry or exit. I found that Chute Zero offered corn that was an 11 out of 10, as long as I didn’t mind stepping through four feet of mud to get there from Sherwood Face. Honestly, the models this morning left hope for a decent corn recovery for the weekend. Looking at the models this afternoon, I should have stayed at Sherwood longer and savored every last kernel of corn.
Off of Summit in the afternoon, the stalwart spring standards continued to be good. Palisades and Medium Yellow often get high rankings, but the moguls are getting a bit bigger. Sunnier exposures were getting too soft, classic mashed potatoes with gravy. My favorite line of the last two days has been D8 to Schusserang to Banana Chute. But all of this will be different tomorrow with colder temperatures and new snow possible.
How Much New Snow Will Fall?
Honestly the forecasts are kind of all over the place, and that is typical for these transitional seasons. The models are much more skillful when it comes to your typical Gulf of Alaska low pressure systems during winter. But we have had a series of weird closed lows this season, and here we are again. Yesterday it looked like it was going to split and weaken. Today some of the models are doubling down. Here’s the GEFS ensemble for the next 48 hours, showing 4-5 inches of snow for Alpine Meadows:
The point forecast for mid-mountain at Alpine Meadows is pulled from the NAM, which is closely related to the GEFS. It’s also pretty bullish this afternoon. it calls for 1-2 inches tonight and another 3 to 5 inches tomorrow.
That said, the Canadian model and the UKMET both are still showing only a trace of new snow. The latest Sacramento forecast discussion talks about only a 40% chance of up to two inches of snow from the system, with better probabilities south of Highway 50. I like this thinking much better. Please please please….
If we do get three to five inches of snow, all skiing at Sherwood and over High Traverse becomes very dicey, as there is a lot of rock that would then be very lightly covered. A lot of lower elevation off piste terrain off of Roundhouse would be hazardous due to hidden rocks. I would be very careful if we get that sort of solution. Additionally, we would not see a good corn rebound for the weekend, instead we would get more of a manky sticky mess. Yes, temperatures will be slightly colder, but still way above freezing. Combine that with the higher angle of the sun and it’s a losing proposition.
Snow Golf Saturday & Other Diversions
If regular ski conditions are less than stellar for Saturday, consider participating in the 38th Annual Snow Golf Tournament. Registration opens on the Sun Deck at 8:00am. Participation is limited to 400 golfers and this event has been very popular since the assimilation by the Borg. For that reason I have not participated much lately, especially when they are giving out schwag with the wrong name and the wrong logo. There’s an afterparty at the Chalet at 2 pm. Word is there is a Caddyshack theme for costumes.
There is music scheduled for the Sun Deck for both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Someone added a comment Tuesday indicating that the band Saturday would be “Into The Rabbit Hole” but I believe it’s more likely “Down The Rabbit Hole”. Sunday’s band is supposed to be “Boot Juice” according to what I heard four weeks ago. You would think that these things would be better advertised. But hanging on the Sun Deck with friends with music is an Alpine Meadows traditions, as is closing day BBQs in the parking lot.
Just three more days to the Alpine Meadows season…
I did not understand how great corn season can be until I started reading here 4 years ago. Go away snow. 🤣
Schusserang?
The small ridge between Werners Schuss and Boomerang
That’s Liz’s Garden 😉
The lower equipment Road in Sherwood is the 50/50 Road . The rib between Werner’s and Boomerang formerly known as Blue Trail and Blue/Green is called Turquoise. Also, the pyramid between Red/Green and low Blue, rarely groomed is called Magenta.