Closing Out Another Alpine Meadows Season

Alpine Meadows closed out its 157 day season today with more of a whimper than a bang. Somewhere around 8 to 10 inches of snow fell over the last 24 hours, which did bring out more people than we have seen in the last 10 days or so. But with limited visibility on Summit and limited lift operations lower on the mountain, that powder day feeling was short lived. Easily accessible powder that wasn’t a minefield of lightly buried hazards was basically ravaged within the first hour of the morning. It certainly wasn’t an ideal closing day.

I would have much preferred a warm spring day, with consistent corn conditions that allowed for all day skiing, without the fear of destroying your ski bases or your body on unmarked obstacles. I also missed having a band outdoors on the Sun Deck in the spring sun. I craved the opportunity to dance in ski boots, enjoy a $5 hot dog and cheap beer in the sun. It’s just not the same when you are forced to do those things indoors. This is the danger of closing a ski mountain during the month of April.

It was not the best season, nor was it the worst season. There certainly were far fewer powder days than people like, but that also meant that there were fewer powder alerts from the marketing team. That gave us some breathing room. We endured more rainy days than we have in many years. But we also had several great corn seasons, with the first being in mid-January. We endured less traffic and parking issues this season, likely more due to less than ideal ski conditions rather than a parking reservation system.

It was a good enough season that I skied every day of the season at Alpine Meadows, plus 10 pre-season days at Mount Rose. That made for 167 consecutive days of skiing this season. That’s not bad for the guy that promised his wife he would take some days off this season. Once I got to 100 days, she knew all bets were off.

Early Closings Are Becoming The Norm

As much as we don’t like it, closing Alpine Meadows in the month of April is becoming the norm. That’s a sad thought for many. We got used to celebrating Mothers Day at Alpine Meadows each year. We miss the years where you could almost count on at least a few good weekends for parking lot BBQ’s. Most of all I miss the consistency of corn season and skiing in t-shirts, sunglasses and spring helmets sans ear flaps.

But here we are in 2025, almost 14 years since Alpine Meadows became the backside of the place next door. There has been a lot of change during that time. Ski areas are no longer owned by individuals with a passion for the sport, instead they are just an investment vehicle. The ski industry is no longer driven by lift ticket sales. Instead it is driven by pass sales and wallet capture. Ski area employees are no longer able to support a family just from working at the mountain. They need that second or third job during the off season just to make ends meet. I don’t see any of this changing within my lifetime and I am one of the last people that can complain about not getting enough value out of my lift pass.

Yes, it’s true, there is that other place next door. I might just go ski there a few times over the next month. It would not be the same as our home mountain. I positively hate that faux alpine village. I don’t like booting up in the parking lot and then destroying my ski boots slogging to the Funitel. I hate having to ride the Funitel just to get near the terrain I want to ski. No, skiing at the place next door is not the equivalent of skiing at Alpine Meadows. That said, if we get back to some good spring corn conditions, I will probably overlook some of those negatives and go skiing again next month.

A Hearty Thank You

Thank you to everyone at Alpine Meadows that is the heart and soul of the mountain. I thank you for what you do to make it feel so much like home. I smile every time I see you still sporting the Alpine Meadows logo. It warms my heart when you all know me and other frequent skiers and riders by name, or that you know our favorite places on the mountain. I hope the spirit of the Alpine Meadows community never dies out, even when the borg continues to call it the Alpine Lodge or removes yet another AM logo from the mountain. See you all next season, if not on a local beach, bike path or musical performance.