It is my day to jot something down with regards to the weather and snow conditions on our favorite mountain. My day was spent on the lower portion of the mountain, and really only lasted a couple of hours. Thus, my report is not all that encompassing, especially regarding conditions on the upper mountain. However, it was a day to cheer as snow was falling an conditions continue to improve.
We did receive a nice new layer of snow last night, and it has continued dropping most of the day. Low clouds obscured the upper mountain creating poor visibility. Summit was turning, and skiers were loading, but I held back because of the flat lighting situation. Knowing that rocks, tips of trees, and brushes were just being covered by last nights snowfall gave me pause when considering skiing open bowls blindly.
On the lower mountain I found better coverage than we have had over the past few days. Some rocks and tree tops appeared to have been covered enough to allow us to ski over them, so we did tiptoed through the forest seeking short stretches of blank snow.
Temperatures were not very low last night, nor during the day, so the snow that fell was on the wet side of dry. I found conditions to be a little stiff as I turned in patches of fresh snow. It felt good, because making fresh tracks in any kind of snow is better than turning over chunky hard moguls, but concentration was required to keep one ski or the other from continuing straight instead of turning as a pair.
Ladies Slalom offered up a tricky slope with short stretches of open powder between hidden obstacles. Five or six quick fresh snow turns and then a sharp right, or left, turn to avoid a cluster of rocks. I enjoyed making tracks through the trees just above the base of Alpine Bowl Chair heading to Upper Weasel One. Chicken Leg was certainly better than it was two days ago. The rough riding ice we endured is no longer an issue.
The undulating terrain one encounters skiing Rolls and Knolls still needs more coverage. Winds appear to scour one or another side of knolls leaving bare rocks to strip P-Tex from the bases of skis. My guess is that the upper mountain offered some pretty good slopes for making fresh turns, as long as a person could see where you were going. Perhaps it is my older eyes that have trouble making out the intricacies of the surface.
This afternoon snow was falling at a rapid pace at the base area of Alpine Meadows. Winds accompanied the increase in snowfall. According to the app, Summit Chair was still operating at 3pm. The winds were gusting between 66 and 80 MPH at the crest with a temperature of 22 degrees. Winds were only in the 10 to 22 MPH at the base with a temperature of 27 degrees. We may receive another 4 to 8 inches of snow overnight tonight with heavy snow forecast for Saturday. Sunday may be the best day of the season as a nice new layer of snow should be covering the mountain.
Enjoy your day.
Andy
Editors Note: There’s a lot of wind in the forecast tomorrow. Summit, Roundhouse and Hotter Wheels all show “anticipated weather impact” for tomorrow. Who loves Meadow?- Mark
Andy As regards to visability and risk it is not old eyes but rather old visions of experiences in such conditions reaching the survival response part of the brain . That part of your vision is excellent