There was some real quality spring skiing this weekend at Alpine Meadows, thanks to a little cold front that passed by the area. That lead to lower daytime high temperatures, some east winds and a great solid freeze overnight. It’s just what was needed to push the entire mountain the rest of the way through the corn cycle. Here’s the Corn-O-Meter for today:
The star of the show this weekend was High Traverse and the smooth consistent corn it offered. It was extremely popular over the last two days, with many people making the trek over Upper Saddle for multiple laps. Yesterday some people managed three or four laps, and today I heard people going for even more. This worry’s me that it was over loved, as some of the photos I saw today looked like it was not all that smooth. But check out this photo from yesterday that UA Intern Reese caught of Oscar:
Truth be told, I was a slacker when it comes to High Traverse laps this weekend. I caught a few through Friday and Saturday, then completely skipped it today. There were just too many people heading in that direction for my sanity. This is not all that different from not heading to Summit on a big powder day or my friends that don’t even ski on weekends anymore. Just saying the words “High Traverse” brings people out of the woodwork just like the similar phrases “Silverado” or “Powder Alert”.
That’s not to say that I did not enjoy all sorts of fun corn skiing. Seeing and feeling the hard freeze overnight, I knew that some of those places I love that have been a bit too punchy lately would finally be “fixed” and ready for some rehabilitation. After a couple of quick Summit laps, we headed right to Sherwood, where the Sherwood Run had 🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽 conditions that were just getting soft. Unfortunately it was also looking like a major highway during the commute hour.
Our first few laps on Sherwood Right Face were a bit comical. There was smooth perfect corn, marred by some deep trenches left by those that thought skiing and riding Sherwood Face at 3:50pm yesterday was so fun. Eventually, it went from “do-able” to “fun”, plus we were the only people in the zone. Then we turned our attention to Chute Zero, which softens a bit more slowly. It took less rehab work before it got really good.
Another area that really benefitted from a good solid freeze was the Scott zone. While the two groomers have been great for a while, the off piste terrain was quite variable in terms of corn vs. mank and in general punchiness. That is all fixed now, with consistent consolidated corn snow in those areas. We finished our day with excellent runs in Seldom Slides, Gentian Gully, Ice Cliffs and the Promised Land.
Ch-Ch-Ch -Changes
There’s some changes coming up this week that you might not have heard about. They were mentioned in the official operations blog at Palisades Tahoe on Friday, but there have been so few of those this season, I stopped paying attention. Here’s what you need to know.
Today was the last day for the Subway lift at Alpine Meadows. Here’s a shot I took from the Promised Land this afternoon:
Yeah that creek that is now visible at the bottom end is a problem and once that hole opens up, it expands rapidly. So it’s not surprising that Subway is done. For some of us, we just have to think about not going all of the way out of Gentian Gully. But for those that like to park there, the “dog park crowd”, it’s more of an inconvenience. Then there’s Achieve Tahoe and Mogrog, that are very reliant on Subway operations. It’s yet another sign that the end of the season at Alpine Meadows is near.
As early as tomorrow, Sherwood and Scott will be on rotating operations. For those not familiar with that, it means that Sherwood will only operate in the morning, when the skiing is good there. Then Sherwood will close and Scott will open, as skiing is typically better there later in the day. Generally the switch happens around noon. I know, nobody likes to have options reduced. But when it comes to preserving quality conditions, this is smart. It’s way better if people can’t be making huge trenches in Sherwood Face or South Face late in the afternoon. As to Scott, the groomed runs are so much better if there is not a morning crowd scraping away all of the corduroy. The system has worked for years.
The only break down is if staffing is cut so slim that there is a gap between Sherwood closing and Scott opening. In some years we have had to wait as staff is moved around. Hopefully that is not the case over the next two weeks.
As of today, the hope is to keep both Sherwood and Scott on the schedule through closing day on April 27. The Sherwood groomer is starting to show some rock bands and the loading area is losing snow quickly. Over at Scott, the Summer Road is currently holding together but there is a lot of exposed rock that makes maintaining that strip more difficult.
Lastly, there is a decent chance of thundershowers this week Tuesday through Friday as some earlier than usual monsoon moisture makes its way into the eastern Sierra. Thunderstorms are no joke and will close lifts for guest and staff safety. Ski or ride earlier in the day for best results.
Fourteen more days to go in the Alpine Meadows season…see you out there.
I felt like they let it go too long today. Stuff was getting pretty beat up unless you were way out there by Grouse.
That guy looks like a real jerk spraying the camera like that. He should be banned from AM for that kind of behavior. probably just some hooligan.
My pocket and my gloves were filled with snow getting that shot. It was worth it.
Maximum fun today; many fun chutes are beginning to sprout, which you can enjoy practically in slow motion. My circle refers to this condition as “stupid season”. Lots of news to me today as I’m a little new to the area. I must admit I loved high T lots and lots today. Really looking forward to tearing up some afternoon quord in scottland. Sometimes this zone is almost as good as Lakeview.