The pictures will look like I brought the Idaho weather with me to the Sierra, but it was not quite the same. The OpenSnow forecast was for a bit of snow Tuesday, starting with a snow line of 7,000 feet. So Alpine with its higher base looked like a better call than Squaw. The fog I encountered on the Sierra Crest reinforced that view.
I warmed up on the Roundhouse lift, which serves the lower half of Alpine’s vertical, with two groomers and a tentative foray on Sympathy Face. The latter looked like windsift but was probably the inch of reported new high density snow.
I had not been to Alpine since the Treeline Cirque lift was installed, so I next rode that and skied to Sherwood. Open and south facing Sherwood had gone to spring conditions during the past sunny week, so there was a crunchy subsurface and I stuck to the groomer. I returned to the frontside via Our Father.
I was late with the camera and just missed getting two skiers in the chute.
Halfway down it opens up and there was a decent new snow layer.
After another Roundhouse cruiser I ventured up Summit. View of Roundhouse lift and some runs with sun partially illuminating the lower mountain:
But the upper half of Summit remains in heavy fog.
There was also moderate wind at the top. Fortunately there are enough lift towers and scattered trees along Peril Ridge to provide skiing orientation. D8 had excellent wind packed powder. I continued with more of the same in Wolverine Bowl, on skier’s right near the trees for reference. Lower down the Face had a variable subsurface.
I then sampled the other side, riding Scott and then taking two runs on Lakeview. Lakeview had also been through a spring transition last week, but the two groomers were still OK. View riding Lakeview:
I returned to the base for a break and snack. The tables normally used for indoor dining are used to form a corridor leading to the restrooms.
There is limited cafeteria service but you must take your food outside. By this time I noticed that fog and mist seemed to be condensing on everything: goggles which needed to be wiped periodically, plus clothing and the outside dining tables.
When I resumed skiing I noticed that there was likely condensation on the snow surface too. Runs that had been packed powder in the morning felt more springlike, and you can tell from the pics that it wasn’t due to sun.
I skied Scott Chute, which I had read online was difficult. I stayed far skier’s left in the shade to avoid most of what had melt/frozen last week. After one more run on Roundhouse and two on Summit I stopped at 1:30 with 18,400 vertical. Snow even on higher and north facing aspects seemed to be getting heavier. The weather was forecast to lighten up in the afternoon but it seemed to be getting worse. There is supposed to be a break in the weather tomorrow, so I thought it best to save energy for that.
I warmed up on the Roundhouse lift, which serves the lower half of Alpine’s vertical, with two groomers and a tentative foray on Sympathy Face. The latter looked like windsift but was probably the inch of reported new high density snow.
I had not been to Alpine since the Treeline Cirque lift was installed, so I next rode that and skied to Sherwood. Open and south facing Sherwood had gone to spring conditions during the past sunny week, so there was a crunchy subsurface and I stuck to the groomer. I returned to the frontside via Our Father.
I was late with the camera and just missed getting two skiers in the chute.
Halfway down it opens up and there was a decent new snow layer.
After another Roundhouse cruiser I ventured up Summit. View of Roundhouse lift and some runs with sun partially illuminating the lower mountain:
But the upper half of Summit remains in heavy fog.
There was also moderate wind at the top. Fortunately there are enough lift towers and scattered trees along Peril Ridge to provide skiing orientation. D8 had excellent wind packed powder. I continued with more of the same in Wolverine Bowl, on skier’s right near the trees for reference. Lower down the Face had a variable subsurface.
I then sampled the other side, riding Scott and then taking two runs on Lakeview. Lakeview had also been through a spring transition last week, but the two groomers were still OK. View riding Lakeview:
I returned to the base for a break and snack. The tables normally used for indoor dining are used to form a corridor leading to the restrooms.
There is limited cafeteria service but you must take your food outside. By this time I noticed that fog and mist seemed to be condensing on everything: goggles which needed to be wiped periodically, plus clothing and the outside dining tables.
When I resumed skiing I noticed that there was likely condensation on the snow surface too. Runs that had been packed powder in the morning felt more springlike, and you can tell from the pics that it wasn’t due to sun.
I skied Scott Chute, which I had read online was difficult. I stayed far skier’s left in the shade to avoid most of what had melt/frozen last week. After one more run on Roundhouse and two on Summit I stopped at 1:30 with 18,400 vertical. Snow even on higher and north facing aspects seemed to be getting heavier. The weather was forecast to lighten up in the afternoon but it seemed to be getting worse. There is supposed to be a break in the weather tomorrow, so I thought it best to save energy for that.
