Andy Wertheim: More Warm Weather

Hello Skiers and Riders,

Wow! Another very warm day in Tahoe.  My car thermometer showed 60 degrees along the Truckee River this afternoon.   We hit the hill again this morning around 9:30.  North facing slopes were pretty firm from the overnight freezing, but south facing slopes were turning soft.  More rocks, dirt, and bushes are showing each day, but there is still acceptable coverage on the main runs.  We skied Squaw later in the morning and early afternoon.  Red Dog was pretty firm with smooth ice on portions of the run.  We were surprised to be able to ski to the base of the resort chair where snowmaking has kept a ribbon of trail open.  It was softer than Red Dog in the later morning.  Siberia and Shirley Lake are well covered and the snow was pretty good in those areas.  Emigrant showed off plenty of ground and soft spring snow. Granite Chief was fine, but the small moguls from last week are now pretty darn big.  My son skied Sun Bowl yesterday and thought it was nice spring snow, but did not know how long it would be before exiting the run would require removal of skis and walking.

There are many reasons why we do not like the corporate ownership of our ski resorts, but I really think someone should thank the ownership for keeping as many lifts as possible open this season (at least at Alpine) as they have done.  Today, I looked over at Scott Chair from the top of Summit.  I saw people riding the chair, but was not sure I could see a way down.  Most of the hill looks bare from afar, yet the lift was operating.  Although the parking lot was not full, and has not been full more than a handful of days this year, Yellow Chair and Alpine Bowl were operating.  It would be easy to close them claiming there were not enough people or not enough snow on the runs, but they are open.  On cold days they have been making snow.  They could just stop and close the entire mountain when the natural snow melts down to dirt.  They even kept Sherwood open until it became difficult to get down to the lift from High T.  In the past, Sherwood would have closed much earlier.

Of course, I think there are enough developments and people in the Tahoe and Truckee Areas already and that we do not need more development.  I worry that we will run out of water at some point, or end up stuck in gridlock traffic, or just be living in an overcrowded mountain community.  The only difference between city life and mountain life being the types of trees growing on the hillsides.  We may need a village in Squaw Valley to sustain our economy, but I really do not think the surrounding mountains, lakes, trails and other amenities can handle the people that would theoretically inhabit these structures.   Of course, they may just be empty if we have ongoing winters such as this one.  Lift tickets are to high for the average person which seems unfair (although I remember people complaining when they were offering really low prices because it brought in the wrong type of skier).

We can strive from balance and enjoy what we have in the mean time.

Enjoy your day.

Andy Wertheim

Valleygirl also sent in some nice pics again. Looks like more High beaver laps….

Photo by Valleygirl

Photo by Valleygirl

Photo by Valleygirl

Photo by Valleygirl