Spring Skiing in Mid-Winter

This morning the bluebirds must have been happy because it was clearly a bluebird day at Alpine Meadows. Temperatures exceeded those of yesterday by a few degrees, indicating a softer surface would be available earlier in the day. A second day of grooming and warmer temperatures certainly made the early morning runs better today than yesterday. The corduroy was not as frozen, and there were fewer cookies on the slope today than yesterday. In my opinion, smoother turns with less noise made the morning laps more pleasant today than yesterday.

We lapped Summit a number of times early in the morning, taking advantage of the nicely groomed slopes. The corduroy was a little on the firm side for the first hour, but edges held well. Alpine Bowl, Terry’s Return, Wolverine, Dance Floor, and Red Ridge were the best for the early morning warm-up runs. Charity was filled with too many cookies to allow me to make smooth, enjoyable turns, but most of the rest of the mountain was in good condition.

As soon as Ladies Slalom softened enough to allow us to leave marks in the snow behind our perfect turns, we headed for the High Traverse. It is much easier to either hike up carrying skis or duck walk up to the saddle these days. The resort has plowed a very nice, wide track from the Alpine Bowl Shed to the Upper Saddle.

On a clear day such as we had today, I love standing at the Upper Saddle looking out to Twin Peaks and beyond to Desolation Valley. It is just beautiful and even better when you take in Lake Tahoe sitting in its basin surrounded by majestic mountains.

We skied down Sun Bowl all the way to the creek in soft spring snow. We were not the first, as it has been skied over the past few days, so the surface was not absolutely smooth, but it was darn good in my book. I look for small patches of snow that have not been touched to make my turns. Those soft spots were perfect.

I call a slope with no tracks, or a slope that has been melted down flat, spring corn. A slope that has been skied, leaving small moguls and soft rubble pushed into piles made by previous skiers, is called spring skiing in my book. I love it, but I love a smooth, flat spring corn surface even better.

Power Line was really pleasant today as it was relatively smooth and not frozen or topped with deep slush. There was plenty of good spring skiing off the Sherwood Lift. Chute Zero and South Face, as well as the bumps under the lift, gave us a good workout. I also thought Outer Limits was in good spring condition after the groomed run softened. Ridge and Bobby’s did not disappoint either, but they were a little more firm for a longer period in the morning.

Warm weather should prevail for a couple more days, allowing us to enjoy more spring skiing in the middle of winter.

Enjoy your day,

Andy