East Wind Woes

The east winds continued at Alpine Meadows, and today they were relentless. The Summit lift remained on wind hold all day, and the upper mountain stayed crisp. It was too crisp for the Patrol team. The plans had been made to run the Sherwood lift for the first time in a couple of weeks, giving anxious skiers and riders a chance to hit up High Traverse, where theoretically the corn has been ripening. Patrol pulled the plug at 11:15 this morning, moving the Sherwood lift to a “Closed” status. One can only imagine what a weekend opening will look like tomorrow (or Sunday?).

Without Summit, access to Wolverine and Sunspot was limited to those that wanted to hike in the chilly 50mph winds from ABC. My time was limited today, so I never bothered with ABC. I made some hot laps, alternating between Roundhouse and Hotter Wheels. I had no intention of heading to either Scott or Lakeview in the morning. Anybody for Slip ‘N Slide?

While the number of skiers and riders on the mountain was not huge, it was a lot for a Friday. Lot 3 was full and Lot 4 was filling when we bailed out just before lunch. The B2B also contributed to the number of people on the hill. As usual, the issue was that virtually nobody was skiing off piste today. That meant that the few groomed slopes available on the front of the mountain (the non-existent “Summit Peak”) were very busy.

I’ll be honest. i was already in a sour mood this morning after writing the Ikon Pass renewal diatribe. I had no patience for skiers and riders that equate skiing and riding super fast with being good at the sport. I had no patience for those people that shoot through the singles line without stopping to see if some group had space, then ending up on a chair by themselves. That’s not the way the singles line works. I had no patience for people not looking uphill when crossing to the Chalet or Scott.

Making matters worse, today was the day that we had to send one of our family dogs over the rainbow bridge. It’s a thought that has consumed the entire family as we saw this moment coming this winter. I could not focus on the fun of skiing this morning. I will try again tomorrow.

What Does The Weekend Look Like?

Saturday looks like it should be somewhat better. That stubborn low has not quite moved on, which means that we have one more day of east winds to deal with. As of now, the forecast calls for east winds gusting to 50 mph tomorrow, which is right at the threshold for Summit operations in an east wind. The sustained winds only show the mid 20’s, so hopefully Summit will be a go.

Most lifts are scheduled for tomorrow, with the exception of Yellow. Sherwood is not showing as scheduled yet, but word is that it should be there if Ski Patrol thinks High Traverse is a go. My best guess is that all other Sherwood skiing will be closed, other than what you can get to from High Traverse, and the return to the front of the mountain. There is no word on High Yellow, Sherwood Cliffs, Arts Knob or Expert Shortcut. Given how icy it has been, my guess is not tomorrow.

Fortunately the colder temps the last two days somewhat arrested the fast melt going on at Scott and Lakeview. My advice would be to ski those zones like it might be their last weekend.

Once the east winds go away, the heat is on. The point forecast at mid mountain for Sunday shows a high of 60°. Ouch. Bad for preserving snow, but good for opening up off piste terrain.

Here’s an odd look at the parking reservation status for the weekend, which can be an indicator of how busy it might be.

That’s what shows at Alpine Meadows for both Saturday and Sunday. My only explanation is that parking was completely sold out and someone just cancelled their free reservation. Go get it!

I am hoping to have a better attitude about skiing tomorrow because skiing should be fun. See you out there.

Raisin • 2017-2026 • She was a good dog