Making turns on the very well tilled slopes available from the top of the lifts that were spinning this morning, could not help but bring smiles to those taking advantage of them. For many of those on the mountain this morning, enjoying the corduroy created by the overnight crew, nothing could have been better. Perfectly smooth slopes create a surface that allows lower to upper end intermediates enjoy trails available from the top of most, if not all, lifts at Alpine Meadows. I love corduroy for a period of time. Cruising trails at high speed is fun, but doing the same thing over and over all day becomes monotonous to me.
I have been searching for non-groomed trails. Many of these un-groomed trails are filled with frozen moguls and not pleasant.
I attempted to move away from the corduroy this morning after making a number of runs over them. It was a little cooler today, and winds were blowing over the ridge top. This condition kept the surface frozen on many slopes into mid-afternoon and longer. Although the temperature was above freezing, and the sun was shining brightly, south facing slopes were not softening as quickly as I had hoped. At the noon hour, spring snow was available along the ridge of South Face. A narrow skier packed route was enjoyable, but venturing away for this area did not bring a smile to my face. The terrain on most of South Face is not skier packed. Instead, the surface is filled with deep skier tracks and rubble that remained in a mostly frozen state.
Skiing was spring-like around noon on this South Face ridge top
I have been skiing a portion of Palisades under Alpine Bowl Chair and then crossing over to the lower section of High Yellow Gully or Our Father to take advantage of some firm winter snow.
High Yellow Gully or Our Father still offers some winter snow.
The snow is getting more firm daily and the moguls are not shrinking. Skiing these areas takes more energy and is not always that rewarding, but it diversifies the terrain of the day, and offers a little more of a challenge.
There were a number of locals on the hill today taking advantage of the beautiful weather. One of them was my friend Russ. It was great to see you back on the slope today.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Russ Z, was indeed back on the hill in a big way, ripped up the slopes longer than he has skied the entire last 2 years. Great to see age (83)doesn’t slow a true Alpine Meadows (and Alpine Bar ) icon down!
So nice to hear that! Russ also stopped by the locker room to say hello and give me some welding tips!
The Palisades to Yellow has always been one of my favorite especially when ABC is running.
Great morning on the hill today! Good to see you and Mark!!
I’m out for the season because of a total knee replacement, but am enjoying my daily fix through yours and Mark’s blog. And, like others, I was especially thrilled to hear that Russell was on the hill today. I know he’s been up a few times this winter, and was hoping he’d be able to ski. Was Bob with him?