Nine Happy Memories Of The ’24-’25 Alpine Meadows Season

I survived the first week of not skiing at Alpine Meadows and I have decided that it is going to be okay. For the most part, I’ve been doing a lot of biking, almost 100 miles worth just in the last week. Those miles are roughly split evenly between paved trails and single track. It’s not such a bad life when your favorite ski area has closed for the season.

I finally did go skiing Saturday morning over on the other side. It really was an idiotic choice. The skies were cloudy, rain threatened, and the snow has not yet transitioned to the corn state we love in spring. Because today was supposed to the the Cushing Crossing, it was also quite crowded at Palisades Tahoe USA International. Even though the event was delayed until May 10th due to the weather, all of those people already had non-refundable reservations for their AirBNB, so they came this weekend anyway. With flat light and icy conditions making the off piste unattractive, it felt really crowded. Still the peer pressure was strong and I skied two hours.

We generally don’t do listicles at Unofficial Alpine, except for this time of the year. My last post already indicated that this was not the best season, nor was it the worst season. I had a lot of fun and I am now sharing these 9 happy memories:

#1 A Solid Start

While overall this was not a banner year for snow, November started off pretty strong, more so than expected. The original opening date for Alpine Meadows was set as November 27th. Based on that I bought a limited pass at Mount Rose, figuring I would get at least a couple of weeks of pre-season skiing. 35 inches of snow fell in mid-November, causing the opening date to shift earlier to November 22nd. The Mount Rose “pre-season” only lasted 10 days.

Between the natural snow and the efforts of the snowmaking team, we had nearly wall to wall coverage on TLC to the midstation on opening day. On November 28th, both Roundhouse and Summit were added to the schedule. It was only the second time in a decade that Summit opened in November.

#2 Rain Versus Snow

We dealt with a lot of rain this season. The final season stats are out now that April is done. Here’s where we landed. For snowfall, we ended the season at 80% of average snowfall as measured at the base of the Roundhouse Chair. In actual numbers, that is 288.5 inches of snow versus the 50 year average of 361 inches. As I have said before, these numbers are lower than you may think as the marketing department talks about the numbers at the top of the mountain.

For rainfall, the picture looks better. We ended the season at 99% of average for rainfall, which includes the water content of snow. We had a lot of warm storms this season, where rain fell at the base of the mountain, but snow fell higher up on the mountain. That said, it was not a banner year for overall wetness, just average. Out of the six months of the season, only two of them had above average snowfall: November (104%) and March (115%). The driest month, at the core of the ski season, was January (21%).

You can see the results of this outside of the ski areas. The mountain biking season is well underway at Donkeytown already as well as other lower elevation areas around the lake. Campervans with kayaks are appearing in Tahoe, soon to be followed by powerboats.

Hopefully we can enjoy a fire free and smoke free summer season in Tahoe, thanks to “average” moisture this winter. When we have a dry year, it’s “There will be record fire danger this year!” When we have a wet year, it’s “The weeds and grass will be huge this year. There will be a record fire danger this year!” Hopefully the average winter will keep us safe for another summer in Tahoe.

#3 A Bomber Base

That mix of rain and snow followed by some very cold temperatures set us up with a “bomber base”. It’s that kind of base that covers hazards well, preventing damage to skis and injuries to skiers. That solid base gave Ski Patrol the confidence they needed to open more terrain faster.

Think back to last season, where we had some early season snowfall, but it was light and dry, offering not much support for skis nor skiers. Consequently, Ski Patrol was very cautious about opening new terrain. Only terrain that could be filled with dense manmade snow was open. We stared longingly for weeks looking at Yellow, Ladies Slalom and other parts of Roundhouse until we finally had some real snowfall.

Our bomber base this season paid off all season. Stuff stayed skiable far longer than expected and my skis stayed in better shape than ever this season. Rocks that should have left core shots left only minor scrapes, thanks to the firm base of snow around the rocks.

#4 Less Traffic & Easier Parking

There was far less traffic and rarely an issue with finding parking this season. There has to be some plusses to gain from having a less than stellar season, and the ease of getting to the mountain and finding a space to park was possibly the best it has been in the last 10 years. We have told you this before, fewer big powder days and “powder alerts”; fewer powder shots shown by weather personalities on the local news stations – it all means that fewer people are thinking about skiing. I am not talking about people like myself that always think about skiing, nor the team families that will always be here. It’s those “one or two trips a year” families that are working hard to make sure their weekend coincides with powder – even though they can’t ski it all that well.

Those in charge of the parking reservation program have been posting press releases lately pointing out how effective their traffic mitigation programs are. When it comes to reservations, they probably are helpful to some extent, allowing some people to enjoy breakfast at one of the more popular places in town, then pull into the lot much later. Sadly those poor people don’t realize that the space they reserved will be down at Deer Park or Hidden Valley.

This season, I never parked further away than the first two rows of Lot 3. As the season ended, I parked most days less than 50 steps from the breezeway. I’ll call that a win. Also this is the first season that I did not have to move my departure time from home another 15 minutes earlier on the busiest weekends.

#5 Triple Corn Seasons

Typically, we don’t really think about consistent corn season until sometime around March or April. But Mother Nature took some extended breaks and the warm days and cold nights needed for corn development happened way too early. Once in a while we will get a day or two of pseudo-corn on select areas of the mountain each season. This year we had three separate corn seasons, each lasting about 10 days. If you’re not getting powder days, then many people believe a good corn day is the next best thing. Alright, you already know me – I might like corn better than powder. Too many people on the mountain means that most powder days have turned into a “powder hour” and sometimes just one powder run.

Here’s three great corn sessions we reported on this season:

• January 23rd Buttery Corn
• February 25th Harvest Time
• April 15 All You Can Eat Corn

#6 That First Big Pow Day

We waited all of the way until March 13th for our first big powder day this season. It was a huge day, the one that everyone will remember. The problems is that it was too much, all at once. Somewhere between 32″ and 56″ inches fell during that one storm, depending on which source you heard it from and what part of the mountain it might represent.

Probably more than 90 percent of your typical resort guests just don’t have any clue what to do when powder is greater than 4-6 inches deep. I would put my limit somewhere around the knees, unless we are getting Utah light champagne powder. This was not that storm. Consequently, once the lifts did start opening, well beyond 9am, the powder panic set in and many guests immediately found themselves in deep trouble, having neither the equipment or the skill to move in deep Sierra snow.

Adding to the problems of that day, there were five different verified “post control” avalanches that day. That led to some partial burials that really kept patrol and mountain ops staff on the highest alert, hoping to keep us safe.

Yes there were some smaller powder days earlier in the season that were fun, especially if you could keep ahead of the crowds. But the big storm above was the “season saver”, building a base that could last until the time the bean counters had planned on closing. Going into March, we stood at 67% of average snowfall. Because of this storm, we ended March at 80% of average. We could have been faced with an even earlier closing date.

#7 A Powder Fiesta

April 1-2 are the powder days that I want to remember this season. All of the ingredients were there to make you again agree that skiing powder is the best thing ever. Neither day was particularly deep, but the snow that fell was dreamily light during this storm series. Word was that the snow to liquid ration was 17-1, which is far better than the 10-1 we usually expect in the Sierra. Couple that light snow with a driving wind that just kept buffing everything out and you get exactly what I mean.

Making matters better, April 1 and April 2 were a Tuesday and a Wednesday, not connected to any major holidays or breaks. Local schools were in session for the first day, resulting in no lift lines and all you can eat powder turns. These are the days I dream of when I am thinking about skiing powder.

#8 Riding The Crazy Train

It was a crazy day for sure. But instead of getting irate and leaving the mountain, I leaned into it. It was the day of the 50th birthday party for The Chalet at Alpine Meadows, which seemed like a good reason for a party. Instead of fighting the crowds, we joined in at the mid-station of TLC, collecting some cheap keepsake cowbells and joining the ski parade to The Chalet. Once the parade was done, we just kept ringing those bells.

The Chalet has become an enormous part of Alpine Meadows. I spent far too many days mourning the loss of the old Chalet, the one that served homestyle soups and foods in a cozy indoor atmosphere. While the current brats and beer menu don’t do much for me, people love it. Gone are the silly giant cardboard pretzels in a pizza box. The newer version is smaller, but oh so much better. Then there’s the cinnamon rolls…and the funnel cake fries. Yes, I understand why the Chalet is always so crowded now. I still await the day when one of those DJ’s ditch the techno “Bomp, bomp, bomp” for the “oompah” of some Bavarian classic polka.

Cheers to Captain Dan, Sully and the rest of the team for their success with The Chalet.

I had so much fun writing the Crazy Train post. People ask me how I know what to write about each day. Ozzy just started to sing that in my head as I sat in morning traffic, and I knew exactly where the day was headed. It’s a guarantee that I will find more “Crazy Train” moments around Tahoe and in my travels this summer.

#9 Doubling Down

Truth be told, I am a loyal customer at Treats. Melanie and the whole gang have been treating me like royalty for many years, not to mention the food is great and affordable for us people that are at the mountain every day. That said, sometimes I time it wrong. If you’re too late at breakfast or lunch, that line gets incredibly long.

So here I will give credit to the food service managers of Alpine Meadows that introduced “Double Discounts” for food and beverage purchases at the Meadows Cafe, The Chalet and the Alpine Kitchen before 11:30 each day. That means that Ikon pass holders can get a 30% discount on food and beverages instead of the standard 15%. Consequently, I spent more money outside of Treats this year than I have in the last dozen years. It was a smart move to build business during the morning “off hours”.

Getting 30% off big ticket items brings them down from “that’s flipping expensive!” to just “okay, it’s a ski resort.” But combine that discount with the inside knowledge of cheap easy eats and you’re feeling okay about giving your money to “the man”. Here’s my vices: morning specialty coffee from Franke (around $3.60); funnel cake fries with chocolate sauce ($5.60); side of mac n cheese ($5.60); spam musubi ($4.20).

Don’t get me wrong, Viva Treats is still number one for me at Alpine Meadows, but having a backup plans for those days when the Treats line extends to the moon is a good thing. People ask why I just don’t pack a lunch each day and the answer is I did that during my whole teaching career of 32 years. I promised myself the luxury of not packing lunches anymore when I became a reverse ski bum 8 years ago.

Making The Best Of It

Not every year is going to be that banner ski year. Sadly the internet has a way of making people think that every day needs to be that perfect day so you can post that perfect shot to your social channels. It’s always nice to go back and remember all of the little things that contribute to making it a “good season”. That said, I skipped skiing today as it looked like skiing in a wet raincloud. Tomorrow, the east winds will be putting the hurt on the upper mountain at Palisades. Maybe Tuesday….