Storm Day Realities

There were some moments last night when I started having doubts about this storm. I was woken up by torrential rainfall about 1am this morning and thought “Here we go again!” It seems like every storm this season has come in warmer than expected, resulting in soggy conditions and less than expected snowfall. Yesterday, had it been my day to post, I might have mentioned that snow levels were going to be a bit higher to start. Instead it was Andy’s day and there was some valuable information about snowballs. 😃

Fortunately, as the rain kept me awake, I kept refreshing the feed on the remote data sensors at the base of Alpine Meadows, and saw that the freezing level did stay right at the base of the mountain. That’s not to say that skiing was super excellent this morning. What fell from the sky during those first hours of the storm was something more akin to a Slurpee, with a slightly lighter snow falling on top. The skiing was bouncy and wet, with the wind driven snow sticking to everything.

Honestly the start of the day was touch and go. The word from patrollers was that there was some very active control work this morning, which can be simplified by saying “everything was sliding.” Over on the Palisades Tahoe side of the mountain, everything started the day on hold. The app sent out a push notification saying that everything would be delayed, even though the app showed Roundhouse and Hotter Wheels and the beginner lifts at 9. Pausing to check reality, we trundled out to Roundhouse just in time for it to stop for the first time of the day, sending many over for a Hotter Wheels ride to the mid-station.

It was a day to be thankful for the upgrade of the old Hot Wheels chairlift with its 13-16 minute journey to Weasel Pass. It was windy with poor visibility and the frenzy for powder was palpable. It only took about 25 yards of skiing to figure out the high viscosity of the snow, somewhere around 90w gear oil. At least the skiing got better as the overnight snow got packed down a bit, allowing for a better experience on just the inch or two that fell between laps.

Five laps in and we were ready to dry out. We noted that Roundhouse was running on the diesel auxiliary motor and the masses were charging toward Hotter Wheels still seeking that hidden powder stash. There was a brief pause while the power outage was resolved and Hotter Wheels returned to service, with far too many people blasting about for my comfort level. It being the beginning of a powder weekend, with only Hotter Wheels at Alpine Meadows and Far East, ExtraBitchen and Resort at Palisades…so many people. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

My friends Bob (the other Bob) and Phil shared this video of their experience being stopped on Roundhouse three chairs from the top for about 15 minutes when the power went out. It’s entertaining and should be watched with full sound, even though there is one F-Bomb.

I suggest clicking the “Watch on Youtube” option

That about sums up the ski experience for the day. Looking at the remote sensor right now at 2:30pm, there’s about 12 inches of new snow so far at the base of Roundhouse. In all likelihood, it’s probably closer to 18 inches at the top of Roundhouse. There’s still another 50-60 of inches in this storm through Friday so we are just getting started.

In my post Tuesday, I cautioned that there were somethings that might limit skiing and riding during this storm. In keeping myself honest, let’s see how I did:

• It’s very likely that most if not all lifts will be closed due to wind on Thursday and Friday. ✅
• It’s going to be a major dig out to rebuild roads, ramps, load pads etc as the storm progresses. ✅
• Avalanche danger is probably going to be in the very serious category. We have a lot of very firm and smooth surfaces out there. This storm coming in relatively cold will result in a less secure bond. Mountain ops people should not have to risk their lives because you want to ski powder. Be patient. ✅
• There’s definitely going to be issues on roads. With almost certainty, Highway 80 will close and remain closed for some time. Local roads will become problematic too. ✅
• Power will likely be an issue too. ✅

As it turns out, I am no stranger to these bigger Sierra storms.

Looking Ahead Toward The Weekend And Beyond

The bulk of this storm will be done by Friday evening. Saturday is not looking like that perfect bluebird powder day. The forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high temperature of 37°. That’s not ideal for preserving powder, not that there will be all that much powder left for skiing beyond about 9:46am. Holiday weekend ya know.

There’s two more little blips on the horizon to know about. There’s a low passing to the north on Sunday that is currently threatening a 40% chance of snow showers. Another one on Tuesday will just bring a cool down. After that, it looks like we are headed into a very spring like pattern again. This is not surprising to me as the teleconnections are not lining up correctly for a wholesale pattern change. The MJO enters some wetter phases but the AO phase keeps us under a ridge while the east gets a trough over the next two weeks.

We shall try again tomorrow, assuming the roads are passable and the mountain has something open.