tseeb
Well-known member
Early on Super Bowl Sunday, I hiked with friends up the highest peak (2,550’) I can see from the front of my house. On Monday, I picked up my skis from getting edges and hot wax, then went for a mountain bike ride behind Cupertino where I sweated up a steep climb in 72 degree sunshine. There was a small storm predicted for Tuesday and my friend who has a beautiful house north of Truckee was concerned we could get slowed down Tuesday morning so we left a windy San Jose Monday night at 7:15 pm and arrived at his house a little before eleven. It was great to avoid the 5 am start and long drive before skiing. There was a little dusting overnight, but only Donner Ski Ranch reported any new snow (2”).
We were on Northstar gondola by 9:15 and headed up Zephyr chair, then took poma to Lookout Mountain. It was to be a day of excellent fast groomers. Many more runs were open than during my last day at Northstar – a powder day - two weeks earlier. I went down Martis, fast and groomed to perfection. Next we headed to Prossor, which is as long and sustained steep skiing as I have had this year. I took upper Martis twice, finding a nice chute around the rocky entrance the second time. We were joined by another friend who skis very well on telemark skis very and is trying for 13 days straight. He said Northstar Tuesday was better than Squaw Monday which was better than Northstar Sunday as it was a little softer each day. We skied Prossor twice more before moving to Backside chair where there were also more runs that I skied for the first time this year. I tested the dusting of powder along the edges a few times, but always quickly returned to the groomed as off-trail was very firm with less than an inch of new snow. We skied Backside runs five times, before trying Tonnini’s off Comstock and East Ridge. The center was good, but the edges and one of he alternates near the top were running out of snow. We went up Comstock and skled down West Ridge and went into new Zephyr Lodge about 12:30 with 24K vertical before lunch.
I thought I could hit 36K for the day, but only got to 20 runs/34.2K vertical with a couple of Backside and Comstock runs after lunch before quitting with a run down Home Run, which was about as bad as I have ever seen it, with many obstacles and some very firm patches. After a stop to help a lady who had double-ejected, we skied to within 1,000 feet of the car, which is good for Northstar. It was the most vertical for all of us in a long time. For me, it may have been my 2nd highest ever and one of a handful of over 30K days I have in the last five years.
On Wednesday, we started at Alpine which reported 1” new at the base and 2” at the top. I told my friend, who we had stayed with and did not come out, it skied more like three quarters. There were places, where it was smooth underneath and a little deeper where you could ski the ungroomed, but there were also barely covered obstacles that I hit a couple of times. Also the wind that was in the Bay Area did not make it to the Sierras so I couldn’t find where snow had drifted much deeper. The friend that I came up with and I started skiing at 9:30. We skied Roundhouse, then Summit three times, then Roundhouse again. I was able to get off the groomed in some places and leave tracks, but don’t think it qualifies as a powder day. Some of the best snow I found was on the edge of D-6 chute, and next to Alpine Bowl groomed run, and on either side of groomed run skiers left of Roundhouse.
The friend, who is going for 13 days in a row cooked us an excellent dinner the previous night, has Squaw/Alpine pass to go with Northstar pass he has for storm days and joined us about 10:30. We skied Wolverine, the large bowl you see at the top to the right when riding Summit chair. It was in the sun, and after surviving the soon to burnout traverse, had very good soft snow. The first two times we ended up on the Face, my most challenging run so far this season. The snow was OK to good, but the bumps were not cut to my liking. The third time down we stayed farther skiers left and got into steeper and more exposed Waterfall. Snow was very good, but it was no-fall as trees and rocks and other strainers were below. We went up Summit again and skied skiers left of Alpine Bowl, where the snow underneath the inch or two of new had softened and it skied very well. I lost my friend as he was on a long phone call getting off the chair. I mistook someone else for him to the point of talking to the wrong person at the bottom of the steeps. We were able to meet up at Scott’s chair, one of Tahoe’s steepest lifts. Scotts Chute was closed, but the Chute That Seldom Slides was open, with one choke point and a lot of obstacles. Snow was good where sun had softened it, but there were places in deep shade where it was survival skiing. We went up Scott again and skied to the North along the eastern boundary of Alpine. The usual ridge entry to Promised Land was burning out so I led the way down an entry that dropped towards the Backside, a side-country run I have never skied that was also open. Near the top there was untracked, but it was sun-affected and crusted. In the middle there were places where it was less sun-affected and as deep as four to six inches. There were signs at the top warning about limited exit routes and I earlier rode chair with ski patrol who also warned about the willows at the bottom so I made sure we did not go too low. After skiing the right-most chute towards the bottom, we followed a traverse that exited above Subway chair where we made a few open powder turns on low angle. We rode Subway to meet other friend who had been skiing easier runs at the lodge sundeck where it felt too much like spring. Alpine total 11 runs/15K vertical.
Sherwood Forest, the high-speed quad servicing a large area on the backside of Alpine Bowl, was not running. According to ski patrol I rode chair with, too much of it had burned out. We wanted to test whether free or heavily discounted Alpine tickets we were on allowed access to Squaw. So we made the 15 minutes drive and parked and walked to KT where the gates opened for us. We skied the Saddle, always the easiest way down, but you had to go through a gate that warned experts only. I think the only easier option would be to download although East Bowl may have not have been any harder this day. The groomed part of the run was narrow and had a lot of obstacles and some firm areas. I don’t think my friend would have wanted to ski it any firmer as he does not qualify as a expert, but he made it without taking too long.
He did make me wait a while as he had trouble following traverse towards Red Dog. We rode that up to ski Squaw Creek, where snow was excellent. If Squaw replaced the slow triple there with a high-speed lift, we would have stayed there a while. But when you only have a couple of hours, a twelve minute chair rides for a three minute run is not very worthwhile. My friend made a bad decision going down Red Dog run. Instead of following the groomed bypass, he followed me into steep and firm moguls (warning signs said advanced only) on the highest Red Dog face where he really struggled. The middle face held good snow, but the shaded last face was a little too firm and fast.
We went up the Funitel to ski Siberia. I lost my friend on the very short run between the Funitel and Siberia. He has not been to Squaw much in the last couple of years and I had 25 days there last year (although the top was closed on too many of them). I could not wait more than a couple of minutes for him to show up at Siberia chair, which for me was 30 seconds from the Funitel. So I went up Siberia by myself, eventually seeing him arriving at the base from a direction I was not looking and could not see from the base. While he took one Siberia run, I took three. The top of the groomed main face had such bad coverage it was unskiable. The first time, I went in bumps skiers right of the main run, then dropped into the main run about a third of the way down. Snow was good, but some gravel had been pushed down the run and had to be avoided. Next time down I stayed skiers left and found excellent deep loose snow along the left edge of the run. My final time down, I again skied the loose snow, then turned into the race course which was so good I would have liked to ski it again. It was perfectly fast and so carveable. It also had a couple of rollers I would have liked to have hit without checking my speed. But I had left the top at 3:10 and was supposed to be at the car at 3:15 so I joined a fast group on the mountain run and skied to the road past the tram, beating my friend to his truck. I skied 7 runs and 9K vertical at Squaw for a days total of 24K.
Conditions were best at Northstar as most runs are shaded part of the day by trees to the top, but even there some places where snow was getting thin. Alpine had the best more advanced runs open, but without more snow they will become unskiable by anyone who values their skis and in some place, body. In my limited time there, I did not find much good at Squaw besides Squaw Creek and parts of Siberia. They are predicting a couple of days of light snow showers this weekend into Valentine’s Day, but unless storm comes in heavier than predicted, I could be done until the end of the month as I have 5 night trip to Morro Bay for President’s weekend.
We were on Northstar gondola by 9:15 and headed up Zephyr chair, then took poma to Lookout Mountain. It was to be a day of excellent fast groomers. Many more runs were open than during my last day at Northstar – a powder day - two weeks earlier. I went down Martis, fast and groomed to perfection. Next we headed to Prossor, which is as long and sustained steep skiing as I have had this year. I took upper Martis twice, finding a nice chute around the rocky entrance the second time. We were joined by another friend who skis very well on telemark skis very and is trying for 13 days straight. He said Northstar Tuesday was better than Squaw Monday which was better than Northstar Sunday as it was a little softer each day. We skied Prossor twice more before moving to Backside chair where there were also more runs that I skied for the first time this year. I tested the dusting of powder along the edges a few times, but always quickly returned to the groomed as off-trail was very firm with less than an inch of new snow. We skied Backside runs five times, before trying Tonnini’s off Comstock and East Ridge. The center was good, but the edges and one of he alternates near the top were running out of snow. We went up Comstock and skled down West Ridge and went into new Zephyr Lodge about 12:30 with 24K vertical before lunch.
I thought I could hit 36K for the day, but only got to 20 runs/34.2K vertical with a couple of Backside and Comstock runs after lunch before quitting with a run down Home Run, which was about as bad as I have ever seen it, with many obstacles and some very firm patches. After a stop to help a lady who had double-ejected, we skied to within 1,000 feet of the car, which is good for Northstar. It was the most vertical for all of us in a long time. For me, it may have been my 2nd highest ever and one of a handful of over 30K days I have in the last five years.
On Wednesday, we started at Alpine which reported 1” new at the base and 2” at the top. I told my friend, who we had stayed with and did not come out, it skied more like three quarters. There were places, where it was smooth underneath and a little deeper where you could ski the ungroomed, but there were also barely covered obstacles that I hit a couple of times. Also the wind that was in the Bay Area did not make it to the Sierras so I couldn’t find where snow had drifted much deeper. The friend that I came up with and I started skiing at 9:30. We skied Roundhouse, then Summit three times, then Roundhouse again. I was able to get off the groomed in some places and leave tracks, but don’t think it qualifies as a powder day. Some of the best snow I found was on the edge of D-6 chute, and next to Alpine Bowl groomed run, and on either side of groomed run skiers left of Roundhouse.
The friend, who is going for 13 days in a row cooked us an excellent dinner the previous night, has Squaw/Alpine pass to go with Northstar pass he has for storm days and joined us about 10:30. We skied Wolverine, the large bowl you see at the top to the right when riding Summit chair. It was in the sun, and after surviving the soon to burnout traverse, had very good soft snow. The first two times we ended up on the Face, my most challenging run so far this season. The snow was OK to good, but the bumps were not cut to my liking. The third time down we stayed farther skiers left and got into steeper and more exposed Waterfall. Snow was very good, but it was no-fall as trees and rocks and other strainers were below. We went up Summit again and skied skiers left of Alpine Bowl, where the snow underneath the inch or two of new had softened and it skied very well. I lost my friend as he was on a long phone call getting off the chair. I mistook someone else for him to the point of talking to the wrong person at the bottom of the steeps. We were able to meet up at Scott’s chair, one of Tahoe’s steepest lifts. Scotts Chute was closed, but the Chute That Seldom Slides was open, with one choke point and a lot of obstacles. Snow was good where sun had softened it, but there were places in deep shade where it was survival skiing. We went up Scott again and skied to the North along the eastern boundary of Alpine. The usual ridge entry to Promised Land was burning out so I led the way down an entry that dropped towards the Backside, a side-country run I have never skied that was also open. Near the top there was untracked, but it was sun-affected and crusted. In the middle there were places where it was less sun-affected and as deep as four to six inches. There were signs at the top warning about limited exit routes and I earlier rode chair with ski patrol who also warned about the willows at the bottom so I made sure we did not go too low. After skiing the right-most chute towards the bottom, we followed a traverse that exited above Subway chair where we made a few open powder turns on low angle. We rode Subway to meet other friend who had been skiing easier runs at the lodge sundeck where it felt too much like spring. Alpine total 11 runs/15K vertical.
Sherwood Forest, the high-speed quad servicing a large area on the backside of Alpine Bowl, was not running. According to ski patrol I rode chair with, too much of it had burned out. We wanted to test whether free or heavily discounted Alpine tickets we were on allowed access to Squaw. So we made the 15 minutes drive and parked and walked to KT where the gates opened for us. We skied the Saddle, always the easiest way down, but you had to go through a gate that warned experts only. I think the only easier option would be to download although East Bowl may have not have been any harder this day. The groomed part of the run was narrow and had a lot of obstacles and some firm areas. I don’t think my friend would have wanted to ski it any firmer as he does not qualify as a expert, but he made it without taking too long.
He did make me wait a while as he had trouble following traverse towards Red Dog. We rode that up to ski Squaw Creek, where snow was excellent. If Squaw replaced the slow triple there with a high-speed lift, we would have stayed there a while. But when you only have a couple of hours, a twelve minute chair rides for a three minute run is not very worthwhile. My friend made a bad decision going down Red Dog run. Instead of following the groomed bypass, he followed me into steep and firm moguls (warning signs said advanced only) on the highest Red Dog face where he really struggled. The middle face held good snow, but the shaded last face was a little too firm and fast.
We went up the Funitel to ski Siberia. I lost my friend on the very short run between the Funitel and Siberia. He has not been to Squaw much in the last couple of years and I had 25 days there last year (although the top was closed on too many of them). I could not wait more than a couple of minutes for him to show up at Siberia chair, which for me was 30 seconds from the Funitel. So I went up Siberia by myself, eventually seeing him arriving at the base from a direction I was not looking and could not see from the base. While he took one Siberia run, I took three. The top of the groomed main face had such bad coverage it was unskiable. The first time, I went in bumps skiers right of the main run, then dropped into the main run about a third of the way down. Snow was good, but some gravel had been pushed down the run and had to be avoided. Next time down I stayed skiers left and found excellent deep loose snow along the left edge of the run. My final time down, I again skied the loose snow, then turned into the race course which was so good I would have liked to ski it again. It was perfectly fast and so carveable. It also had a couple of rollers I would have liked to have hit without checking my speed. But I had left the top at 3:10 and was supposed to be at the car at 3:15 so I joined a fast group on the mountain run and skied to the road past the tram, beating my friend to his truck. I skied 7 runs and 9K vertical at Squaw for a days total of 24K.
Conditions were best at Northstar as most runs are shaded part of the day by trees to the top, but even there some places where snow was getting thin. Alpine had the best more advanced runs open, but without more snow they will become unskiable by anyone who values their skis and in some place, body. In my limited time there, I did not find much good at Squaw besides Squaw Creek and parts of Siberia. They are predicting a couple of days of light snow showers this weekend into Valentine’s Day, but unless storm comes in heavier than predicted, I could be done until the end of the month as I have 5 night trip to Morro Bay for President’s weekend.
