We never know what to expect when sitting in the locker room, but there are always plenty of suggestions for those munching on breakfast, drinking coffee, waxing skis, or just putting on their ski gear. It snowed overnight, and the morning temperatures were on the lower side of freezing. Rumors floated around declaring up to six inches was lying on the ground waiting for anxious skiers to destroy its unblemished surface. The real hope, and great expectations, of those putting on boots and experiencing anxiousness that causes high blood pressure, was that the new blanket that fell overnight was thick enough to hide the layer of ice we have endured for the past few days. The fact that we had a few inches yesterday made the possibility of less contact with ice today a real possibility.
Off we went, climbing the stairs to heaven and heading to Roundhouse. Summit appeared to be on hold for a while because of avalanche control that was taking extra time this morning. TLC was not open at the beginning of the day. I never found out why it was not operating. As we neared the top of Roundhouse I observed a couple of slides that had been ski cut on moderate slopes that normally do not slide. I wondered if conditions, although not deep, were the type that caused slabs of snow to break loose. My first turns off the groomed area told me my intuition was correct. Snow immediately grabbed a ski and tried to send it in a direction I preferred not to go. This type of snow might be best ridden on a snowboard or very wide skis. However, you can ski it on any ski if you have the correct technique. All I know is that skiing this type of powder takes a different technique than one would use in less dense powder is a mistake. Once I made the adjustment needed to enjoy the new snow, life became much more comfortable. The closer together your skis are underfoot, the easier it is to ski in the conditions we enjoyed today.
I never rode Summit Chair today because clouds hung in the bowls most of the day, making the lighting flat. Interesting enough, between snow showers that came and went a number of times today, the sun also made an appearance. Just so you know, it has been snowing steadily for the past few hours. It is just about 4pm now. Winds were light today. Temperatures seem to be in the 20’s, although it felt warmer when the sun poked through the clouds.
So, how was the skiing Andy? I thought it was darn good. The trick for me was to find places in the trees where the underlying surface was less prone to contain ice. Skiers from the east coast are familiar, and often like a hard icy surface, but those from the west coast do not appreciate icy slopes. Groomed slopes were all pretty good today. A light layer of new snow softened the surface. Skiing between the trees at the top of Sherwood Chair was delightful. Skiing in the trees in the Gentian Gully area did not disappoint, but listening to skiers turn down the steeper slope below Broccoli Tree was not pleasant. From my vantage point, rough ice and hard moguls did not sound enjoyable.
We skied Powerline, but there was really not enough new snow to make silent turns. Scott Meadows made me smile, as did skiing in the closely spaced trees between Standard and Bobby’s Trails. I spoke to people who skied Pygmy Forest, High Yellow Gully, and Our Father, who said they were soft underfoot. I also rode the chair with a couple of guys that were traversing way out beyond South Face who said they found powder with a smooth surface underfoot. I did not go in that direction, but I watched some folks skiing South Face that did not look like they were having fun. I imagine it was rough and icy under the new snow, but I could be wrong.
Main Sherwood Trails
South Face
The hikes were not open today, including High Traverse, Beaver, and Estelle. Poor visibility, variable underlying conditions, and possible slab-style slides were most likely the reason for the closings. We did note that most of the upper mountain at Palisades Tahoe was closed during the morning hours.
We had great expectations sitting in the locker room this morning. At lunch, I quizzed those present, asking if their expectations from the morning were met. All of them smiled and said they enjoyed the skiing this morning, but I think they all agreed their great expectations were a little on the high side before they headed out of the locker room. They were all smiling.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Chiming in here on the extremely variable conditions. It was not at all a simple powder day, or two small powder days in a row. There have been a lot temperature fluctuations over the last couple of days, which included rain to almost mid mountain at the end of the day yesterday. Then we also had sun for an hour in the morning before it started snowing again. Not to mention shifting winds that caused some weird wind loading. Ski Patrol on both sides of the mountain were definitely concerned about snowpack stability this morning, hence the patrol holds next door and minor delays in opening Summit this morning. Lots of bombs thrown and just about everything that wasn’t bombed got ski cut.
Parts of the mountain skied pretty well and other parts were an utter junk show. Even on my very first run in the poultry zone, the snowpack felt weird and grabby. We gave Chute Zero (leftmost part of South Face) a run and found a heinous mix of layers that wanted to send two skis in four directions at once. Other areas of Sherwood that were out of the wind and protected from the sun felt great.
It was also worth noting that the mountain was busy for a Thursday due to the big terrain being on hold next door. That created a lot of powder panic first at Summit, then Scott then Sherwood.
Big ups to patrol for making it happen today with that weird stuff out there.
Excellent report, Mark. Exactly what I experienced today. You referenced skiing with skis closer together as a technique (like in the old thin-skis days) to stop that grabbing and to power through the heavier powder. I discovered that on my own, and it really helped. Only wish I had figured that one out sooner. Andy was spot-on, too, about refugees coming over in the Shiny Boxes. KT opened near the bell on the other side, but Funi & Wa-She-Shu did not open until about noon. Lots of munitions going off over there until they opened that side of the upper hill.
Have had a recent string of lackluster powder days over on the other side. It’s not a user-friendly experience to say the least. Very happy I spent my day at Alpine Meadows bundled up skiing summit laps instead.
Did Chute That Seldom Slides slide ?
Great report, especially the grabby snow conditions. FYI my friend got caught by a small slab avalanche skiers’ right of Wolverine entrance on first chair. It swept her off her feet and tumbled her before spitting her out. Luckily she was not injured, just a bit of PTSD afterwards. I skied D8 D7 first couple runs as vis was poor everywhere else. Snow was soft but grabby. Later, I did go towards Chute that seldom and saw just a little snow on ice, so entered on the wide side into the trees. Snow was soft but you can hit the ice chunks underneath in the trees.
Heard Palisades side closed on patrol hold because a patrol got caught in an avalanche but no official word afterwards on that. When I went to Headwall midday when they opened, the face had a couple big slide paths from the bombing. Definitely a slabby day.