Still Weather for Ducks

Friends of mine tell me the sky’s going to clear between 1pm and 2pm this afternoon. I am looking out my office window and all I see are raindrops falling at a high rate of speed, driven sideways by gusty winds. It appears to be dumping rain along the Truckee River. It is 1:15pm. I was also led to believe that temperatures were going to drop in the late morning or early afternoon, perhaps leading to a few inches of snow on top of the existing wet snow pack. I have not seen the winds drop.

At this hour in the afternoon the Palisades/Alpine Meadows website indicates that Big Carpet, Subway, and Meadows are the only lifts operating. TLC and Roundhouse were operating this morning, but winds appear to have increased, causing them to be shut down, or placed on wind hold. The current wind speed at the Alpine Meadows crest was recorded as 86 MPH with gusts to 121 mph. I prefer to have the lifts closed when the winds are gusting to 121 mph.

Maybe I was incorrect, and will need to correct myself regarding the weather. It is just about 2:15pm and the sky appears to be getting lighter with less rain falling. Perhaps it will become partly cloudy this afternoon.

Visibility on the hill was just a little better this morning, at least for me, even though it was raining or sleeting. The mountain did receive a few inches of snow overnight. I would call it very wet snow or mush.

It did not get any drier as the day progressed, but the skiing was actually enjoyable for a few runs. The first turns off Roundhouse were in soft and smooth snow. Some snow fell after the grooming crew had completed their tasks. This lasted for a couple of round trips on the Roundhouse slopes before skiers pushed the wet snow around creating more of a clumpy condition.

I did enjoy skiing off-piste on lower angle slopes off Roundhouse and from the top of TLC. In the trees, as usual. The skier packed slopes, what there were, that had been groomed earlier were all fine as they were not sticky. I did note people skiing Sympathy Face and Sherwood Cliffs while riding the lifts, but I did not try them. I did ski God’s Knob, but it was not completely covered with the new wet layer of snow so I encountered the icy tops of left over moguls from earlier days this week.

Basically, it was a wet day with wet gloves. I was not wet or cold with the exception of my soaking wet and very cold gloves. Soaking wet gloves tend to cause my fingers to cry out for me to get off the hill and find them some warmth.

Well, now that I am completing this short report, it is snowing along the Truckee River (lightly). Perhaps the temperature is dropping as predicted. The word is that tomorrow will be dry with possible sunshine. I think everyone could use as sunny day, even if it is more crowded than it has been thus far this holiday season.

Enjoy your day.

Andy