Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone in the entire world. I truly hope that everyone will stop and spread love around the world on this very special day.

How was the skiing? The morning groomed runs were excellent. The surface of Alpine Bowl, Terry’s Return, Charity, Dance Floor, Yellow, Werner’s Schuss, Wolverine, and D8 on the front side of the mountain was smooth, beautiful corduroy with very few, if any, ridges or divots between each pass of the grooming machine. The same was true of Ridge, Bobby’s, and Out Limits, but they were pretty firm before the lunch hour. The groomed areas were not overcrowded during the first hour or so. That made all of us happy.

Tired of groomed runs? On the lower portion of the mountain, I found Rolls and Knolls and Red Ridge firm but edgeable with a chalky surface. These areas, plus Fall Line, are covered with smaller moguls. We skied the side of Sympathy Face down to Charity and then picked our way through Banana Chute. Funky moguls, but a chalky surface blessed these areas as well as slopes higher up on the mountain. D7, Low Beaver, and Palisades were all covered with firm winter snow and funky moguls. Funky moguls are moguls that are angular and not more rounded like a muffin top. We even found a few powder turns in the flat area below High Yellow Face and Lower Saddle. Sherwood was closed today due to a lack of snow, so slopes on the backside were closed. Lakeview and Scott were operating with limited terrain available.

We actually stopped for lunch at the Chalet just before 11:30 to take advantage of the Ikon pass discount for those eating early, but the real reason was that we were chilled. There was a cool wind blowing today. In addition, thin clouds hung around, keeping it feeling cooler than we expected during the morning hours. It seemed to warm up in the afternoon, but a cool breeze hung around most of the day. We found Alpine Bowl the most protected, offering the warmest ride.

You may have noticed that some of our lift operators are very talented when it comes to creating snow characters alongside their lift shacks. These were created at the top of the Roundhouse chair today.

I may have mentioned in a previous report the old name for what we call Chicken Leg. The actual name for this area between Yellow Trail and Hot Wheels Gully is Skadi Hill. Skadi was the name of one of the first avalanche transceivers (beacons) used by the Alpine Meadows Ski Patrol. Patrol buried a Skadi in the snow on Skadi Hill to teach recruits how to locate people who may have been buried in an avalanche.

After a full day of skiing, the Blue Monsters played in the main lodge bar. I always love listening to them and dancing to their bluesy beat. It was a full day.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day,

Andy