A Dose Of Reality

We have been warning you that a warm spell was coming and we were not wrong. Just this week, both Homewood and Dodge Ridge announced early closures this week, and several other ski areas are about to face up to the reality of a shortened season. Today’s post does contain some photos that might make it look like it’s over at Alpine Meadows as well. We’re not there yet.

The temperatures are exceptionally warm, and snow is melting by the hour. But the skiing and riding is still fun, especially if you are a fan of corn snow, slush bumps and skiing in your t-shirt. Overnight air temperatures on the mountain were right around 50 degrees, but we still saw a good ground level freeze thanks the mass of “cold” within the snowpack. Today was somewhat different in that the groomed slopes held up just a bit better due to the greater density of the snowpack. The less dense off piste runs started the day really soft and only got softer.

All week, we have been starting the day choosing a line below the Chicken Strip in Alpine Bowl and enjoying soft turns in smooth corn. I instead preferred the slush bumps on Sunspot and Terry’s Return. My ratio of groomed snow to off piste was closer to 50/50 today. Earlier this week it was more like 20/80.

The other factor that is becoming more of a thing is the exponential appearance of rocks and dirt. Things that were fine just a day or two ago were suddenly “OMG” today. Here’s the part where you might want to close your eyes, or you can click on any one picture to get a closer look at the gallery.

I have been thinking about this message board at the bottom of Summit for a few weeks. The message was actually written, with the wrong type of marker, late last season. The message has been there all of this season. But now it is absolutely true. Be careful out there!

With few exceptions, we are getting to the point where the best skiing is only where snowmaking bolstered the snowpack early on in the season: Dancefloor (Red), Charity (Red/Green), Werners (Blue) and Weasel. The exceptions are Alpine Bowl and Wolverine Bowl. Alpine Bowl does have some random rocks appearing down low. Yes, you can ski in many other areas of the mountain, as long as you are prepared for a significant number of small trees and rocks.

We Can Say It’s Official Now

The official Palisades Tahoe operations blog, posted yesterday, finally nailed down potential closing dates for both the Alpine Meadows side and the northern annex.

These are the same dates that I have been hinting at for Alpine Meadows for a couple of weeks now. Based on the warmth we are seeing this week and next week, I really don’t see Alpine Meadows making it until April 12th. If I had to guess, we will lose TLC, Yellow and Meadow after this weekend. Roundhouse can probably hold on until the last week of March. We might finish on Easter Sunday with only the Summit lift.

For the Palisades Tahoe side, this is a significant change. They’ve been saying for a month that they had plans to operate until Memorial Day. That would likely be just Shirley if they could make it happen. I’ve been doubting that possibility given the record warmth, as have many people in online forums. That said, there have been many super fans, or Russian bots, insisting that it absolutely will happen, because it’s S***!

Also of note, the official ops blog also teases the idea that additional snowfall could mean that they stay open longer. The odd of that happening are super slim. As I type this, there are number crunchers in an office someplace that know that unless it’s a huge year, spring operations are not a big money maker. Staff are already being let go or transferred into summer roles. Chairlifts that are currently closed are already getting tidied up and put away for the season. The last factor is that snow that falls on bare ground at this time of year rarely adds up to anything. There’s just not enough cold hours in the day to preserve that new snowpack.

It’s A Super Bowl of Events This Weekend

There’s three big crowd draws this weekend that theoretically might bring numbers up for the weekend. As of now, that has not happened yet. There are still free parking reservations at both Alpine Meadows and Palisades for both days of the weekend. With temperatures warming, attention turns to other sports. In our family, once the temperatures warmed above 80° at Bullards Bar Reservoir, it was time to bring out the ski boat. Typically that would be in April or May, not mid-March. But if I still owned a boat, I would be tempted to skip snow skiing this weekend.

• Saturday at Palisades Tahoe: The Pain McSchlonkey takes place on KT-22, with the main Hot Dog Downhill Snowblade event happening at 8am, before lifts open to the public. The festivities continue all day. Of all events next door, this is one of my favorites.

• Sunday at Palisades Tahoe: The Mothership Classic takes place on KT-22. It’s a pledge based all day “race” that raises funds for the High Fives Foundation.

• Sunday at Alpine Meadows: The 40th Annual Snow Golf Tournament returns to the slopes of Summit and TLC. Expect some course alterations this year due to low tide conditions. Yet another Chalet Party will end the event in the afternoon.

There’s also a couple of minor events at Alpine Meadows on Saturday. Joy & Madness will play on the Sun Deck at about 2 pm on Saturday, and they are always a good time. Saturday evening will be the first Alpenglow Apres event at The Chalet, as I mentioned in my last post.

With so many events happening this weekend, one would think things might be busy. We shall see…

The Weather Still Looks Brutal

Here’s the simplified outlooks for 6-10 Days and 8-14 days, which takes us into April:

Yeah…not good.

The skiing and riding is still fun during the morning hours. Tomorrow is Day 100 of my ski season, thanks to my pre-season days at Mount Rose and De Uithoff. See you out there.