Tomorrow Was Better Than Yesterday!

Yes, we have two different writers at Unofficial Alpine, Andy and myself. We don’t always agree on what makes a great day of skiing. Yesterday, Andy wrote a glowing and rosy account of a bluebird powder day, while I felt there was just a decent powder hour. There were also full parking lots across the board, hours of traffic and too many people confined in less than 40% of the mountain’s space. I bailed out with a case of the heebie jeebies pretty quickly. Still, Andy ended his post yesterday dreaming of “tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, which is today, actually turned out way better than yesterday, especially for those that timed it right. We awoke to clear skies this morning, but as I made my way down Highway 89 this morning, the skies were increasingly darkened by a thick layer of black clouds. Snow was already falling and the winds were picking up as I walked to the breezeway from Lot 1, with none of the powder panic that was witnessed yesterday.

We thought we might start the day on Summit, as I never made it there yesterday. I don’t do 15 minutes lines. We almost had first chair, until one of my favorite lift mechanics let us know there would be a 10 minute maintenance hold, shooing us off to Roundhouse. By the time we got to the top of Rock Garden, visibility in Alpine Bowl looked like a foggy day near the Golden Gate. Andy immediately slipped out on the firm surface left behind after temperatures plummeted this morning. The first lap in the poultry zone was somewhat jarring, due to firm conditions and poor visibility, with little snow accumulation yet.

But then it started nuking snow and it was one of those days that just kept getting better and better, at least in the morning hours. When you are one of few skiers and riders on the mountain and the snow is falling fast and furious, most of us call it a “free refills” day. You can keep skiing the same line over and over and it’s like you were never there. Because visibility was poor, we stuck mostly to the zones where I know just about every swale and hump. Most of these were off of Roundhouse and off the top of TLC. Truth be told, not all that much new snow fell, but the “wind redistribution machine” was also working perfectly to betterize conditions.

Rather than getting a handful of powder turns, we did a little over a dozen laps before I saw the signs of rising temperatures. The snow was sticking to my goggles, my buff was soaked and I felt drips of water leaking into my helmet. This was also the time where the mountain started getting a bit busier around noon. The mountain wasn’t crowded by any sense, it just got to be more like a typical midweek day.

These are the powder days I live for, those midweek storm days where there are fewer people, zero lines and many powder turns to be found. I am grateful to have had the opportunity, as I was quite the sourpuss yesterday afternoon.

Looking Ahead At Terrain Expansions

The signs are all there that the Mountain Ops crew is getting very close to opening the Scott Chair. A groomer was spotted working on Ridge Run. Patrollers were seen hauling sleds and other safety equipment up Scott. Lift ops were woking on smoothing out the loading ramps at the base of Scott. I heard two different versions of opening today. One emphatically said tomorrow, the other said Wednesday.

There’s a lot of questions about Sherwood, and I know I “sure would” like to ski Sherwood sometime soon. I have not heard or seen anything specific, but I can make some guesses. The November series of storms brought a bullet proof base to most of the mountain, thanks to a very wet early snowpack. That allowed for rapid expansion to Roundhouse and Summit, with most all terrain open. But over on the Sherwood side, it is south facing terrain. Those two weeks of sunny days did some damage to the earlier snowpack. The roughly 3 feet of new snowfall out of the last storm cycle is maybe possibly enough to open Sherwood soon. If I had to take a guess, it might be similar to last season, with limited or no grooming other than the upper area, the loading area and perhaps a return from High Traverse. The main Sherwood Run is a challenge due to rock bands associated with the summer roads criss crossing the run. I’m just making guesses here based on previous similar years.

I am guessing that Lakeview is also in the cards. I have talked to people that have skied it via non-lift access. The big holiday weekend period is imminent, and if last weekend is any indication, it’s will be busy with new snow arriving. I know that mountain managers want to provide a good experience. On that note, tomorrow is Super Tuesday.

There’s Some Active Weather Possible, Like It Or Not

The good news is that the models have stopped showing a huge high pressure ridge in the coming week. Instead, they are showing that there are several atmospheric rivers taking aim on the west as we head into next weekend and into the following week. This can be a good thing, or a not so good thing. We have done this lesson many times, it all depends on where we end up relative to the jet stream. The north side is the cold snowy side and the southern side is the warmer potentially rainy side.

When I first was reading about the possibilities and seeing the models, the snow levels I was hearing was 9-10k feet. That is not ideal. But this can change, as the position of the jetsam can be variable. Back during the November AR systems, they looked too far north and too warm at first, but eventually settled into a sweet spot for us. Reading the Reno NOAA forecast discussion this afternoon, here’s what they said:

Good confidence for a more active weather pattern across the
eastern Pacific and western US for Friday through Christmas as
simulations favor a series of storms. The main storm track with
AR moisture should set up to our north, but there is medium
confidence in at least one or two weather systems impacting the
Sierra and western NV during peak holiday travel periods before
Christmas Day. The AR influence and main storm track to our north
favors warmer storms for the Sierra with the rain/snow lines as
high as 7000-9000 ft.

I am not in panic mode yet, and neither should you. We are five days out and at that point, it’s a good bet that something will happen. But it’s absolutely too early to tell the exact positioning of the jet stream until we are something more like 24-36 hours out. Until then we have some sunny and spring like weather ahead the next four days and you should enjoy it for what it is.

See you out there tomorrow.