This Will Be Alpine Meadows Shortest Season Ever

The decision to close this Sunday has been finalized, making this the shortest ski season ever at Alpine Meadows. Sunday will be the 93rd day of the season. Extending it a week would have only brought us up to 100 days, which still qualifies as shortest. Several people suggested that the early pandemic closure in 2020 would have been the shortest season, but because of an early opening on November 18 that season, it was not. Here’s the shortest 5 seasons in history:

’25/’26	93 days
’76/’77	113 days
’14/’15	114 days
’19/’20	117 days
’69/’70	120 days

The “average season” length is 170 days at Alpine Meadows; leaving us at just 54% of an average season length this week. Ouch. The longest season ever at Alpine Meadows was ’94/’95 at 235 days! It was the season I was teaching my son to ski at age 5 and we were doing a lot of half days at Tahoe Donner, as it was closer to home and cheap. Alpine Meadows passes came 5 years later.

While a short season is not ideal for a number of reasons, that does not make it a “bad” season. I will have skied 92 out of those 93 days at Alpine Meadows, skipping one day due to rain. (All in I stand at 110 days by Sunday) While I did not ski much powder this season, we have enjoyed an extensive corn season. Lift lines have been shorter and traffic has rarely been a problem. We have also skied a lot of great adventure lines.

One thing I like about this shortened season is that we have been allowed to ski this season into the ground. That means each lift has been kept open as long as possible, until basically it became impossible for most skiers and riders to return to the lift safely. That’s been a rarity since Alpine Meadows and the valley to the north became joined at the hip. Since that time, the lack of competition between the resorts meant that bean counters have always found a way to close Alpine Meadows while it was still very skiable. The exception being 2023, when the Funitel next door needed a new haul line.

To me, watching our favorite resort close early, with skiable snow still on the ground is far more painful than skiing dirt on closing day. My mountain bike awaits and we already have some camping reservations made. For me, it’s going to be okay, especially as my Mount Rose pass is still good for a couple of more weeks.

I worry more about the employees that make our world right at Alpine Meadows. I’ve talked to some employees that have only worked three months this year, and some patrollers that only worked two months patrolling. That’s got to be rough, having your job relying on the whims of Ma Nature. Challenging seasons like this one may encourage some of them to move on to more stable forms of employment. I’ve made friends with many employees and I hope to see them all back next season. On Monday, Alpine Meadows will operate with a final “employees only” ski & ride day. They deserve it!

Jacket Flappers And Vertical Crushers

As we predicted, the limits of how much of the mountain can be groomed have arrived. We are down to one groomed path down the mountain from Summit: Alpine Bowl to Rock Garden to Dance Floor. Coincidentally, the Summit Six lift is now also the lift that offers the most vertical between Alpine Meadows and our neighbors to the north. That means the jacket flappers and vertical crushers are here, and they are intent on catching up to Greig P., whom has racked up over 2 million vertical feet so far this year. Previously we have referred to these people as the “unguided missiles’. Now that we may or may not be in “wartime”, that no longer seems PC.

The absolute key to happiness on the mountain over the next two days will be escaping from the jacket flappers and vertical crushers. That means getting away from Alpine Bowl, Rock Garden and Dancefloor. In the early hours of the day, before the ungroomed terrain begins to soften, that is a challenge. Almost everyone I skied with today lamented the fact that we know a later arrival is probably the thing to do, we just can’t reset our brains to do it.

Over the last couple of days, I have been scoping out those “somewhere, anywhere” zones of the mountain that defrost earlier and allow a safer ski experience for the rest of us. You would think that Weasel might offer that, but it has its own version of jacket flappers, the younger ones that are often doing a power wedge at three times their age. So keep your eyes open and see where other people are going. If you can handle some moguls, and have a decent ability to weave, bob and dodge obstacles, I would stay away from those busier areas of the mountain the final two days of the season.

I can’t imagine being a coach or instructor over the next two days! Yikes!!

End Of Season Specials

Aww man, not making it until Easter this year means that we will not be seeing a Golden Egg hunt this year, and that could be a first. Here’s what we do know:

• Lindsay And The Cheeks will be playing the Sun Deck on Saturday afternoon. They did a fun show last season.
• All food at the Meadows Cafe is 50% off this weekend, which brings the prices to “normal expensive” rather than ski resort pricing
• All beers are now $6 at the bars and Chalet
• Treats is always affordable, but this is the time of the year to bring home a whole lot of cookies or the best bacon in the west.
• Updated: “Bring Joy” will play on the Sun Deck on Sunday from 2-5 pm. Bring Joy is a bluegrass fusion band side project for one of the leads from Poor Man’s Whiskey.

This is my last regular report for the season. My guess is Andy will skip tomorrow and do a season wrap on Sunday. I plan to do a season wrap on Monday.

We have a huge announcement coming on Wednesday! Stay tuned!

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