I had trouble sleeping last night because I was unable to obtain a free parking spot at the assigned times, only available on a Tuesday. The good news is that I did not have to wait long for the Mountaineer Shuttle to pick me up and dump me off in front of the breezeway. The same was true of my return trip home. I was picked up within two minutes of ordering the ride on the Mountaineer app. I left fairly early in the morning and returned home just after two, but it was still convenient. I will have to use it again tomorrow, but it was convenient and a pleasant ride.
Arriving early allowed me to sip my coffee before heading up the stairs and out to the slopes. This morning, the air was crisp and cold, the skies were blue, and the sun shone down, requiring a dark lens for goggles. At 8:30 am, the temperature at the top of Summit Chair was 19 degrees. A winter snow surface tends to retain its consistency when temperatures the prior day and overnight remain cold. This morning I found most of the trails that I skied in similar condition to that of yesterday. If you were on the mountain today, you would have known that temperatures rose during the day. It was about 31 degrees at the top of Summit Chair at 3 pm. Shady slopes retained their winter-like surface, while slopes in bright sunshine began to change toward the end of the day. However, none of these conditions deterred me from having an excellent day on the slopes.
What was new today? A number of trails were groomed overnight. Many of these were groomed for the first time this year. Early runs on the soft groomed surfaces held an edge, allowing me to make wide sweeping turns. The only place where the groomed surface did not easily hold an edge was at the very top of Wolverine Bowl. The surface was smooth and firm, but the views were outstanding. I thought both Alpine Bowl and Wolverine were in prime condition early in the morning. Werner’s Schuss, Charity, Dance Floor, and Yellow Trails were all groomed. Off the groomed surfaces, I found reasonably sized moguls. Their surface was soft and friendly. Nothing is ever perfect, but I will not complain today. I will, however, mention that the full parking lots delivered a serious number of people to the hill. At times, the standard runs seemed overcrowded to me. A number of skiers were skiing faster than they should, especially on the intermediate slopes. We were lucky to be on the front side of the mountain when Sherwood was put on mechanical hold. I am not sure how long it lasted, but I know a couple of people who were stuck on or at the base of Sherwood for a decent amount of time.
There were plenty of skiers and riders exiting Summit Chair and filling the slopes
After enjoying turns in the Palisade area of Alpine Bowl Chair and on trails off the Summit Chair, we headed to Scott. I found the snow a little stiffer on trails that had been baked in sunshine the day before, but not so difficult as to give them a poor grade.
After a quick lunch break, I headed up the High Traverse seeking to make my first turns of the year on the backside. I skied Sun Bowl, deciding not to hike any further after making a rather slow walk up to Upper Saddle.
The snow was soft but not really in winter conditions. I love the views from Upper Saddle and the long, wide, gentle slope of Sun Bowl. Many other skiers and riders were hiking further out toward Grouse Rock to take advantage of colder and lighter snow found in Big Bend and S.P. Bowls. After a tour down the backside to the base of Sherwood, I took a final trip down Gentian Gully. The moguls were on the small side, and the surface was made up of cold winter snow.
I rode the lifts with a number of different people. All of them agreed that it was an excellent day at Alpine Meadows. I did not hear any negative comments. I should mention that the Ice Bar was open for the first time this season.
Below is a photo sent to me by C.M and a similar one from B.H. The photo is of the Base to Base Gondola line at around 3:30 this afternoon. It appears to have stretched to Kangaroo from the gondola loading area.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
Maybe they won’t be that anxious to crowd Alpine again.
B toB gondola should run to 4:30 or 5 to kill that line.
Also would allow some employees to ride it back.