ChrisC
Well-known member
The rain in SF did not result in any snow for the Tahoe resorts on Friday. Too bad. Like all the systems this year, it was sucked down to the southwest.
Nonetheless, Squaw was skiing really nicely.
Weather was about 45-50 and cloudless. The groomers were in top form. Off-piste was a little harder -- you needed to find areas where traffic was getting rid of the harder top surface and the the soft snow was being churned up from down below. Therefore, areas like Funnel, Headwall, North Bowl were the best.
Skied the groomers all over the mountain due to intermediate company -- from Granite Chief to Silverado, Headwall to Squaw Creek. Landbridge into Silverado was really nice -- no traffic. Women's Downhill was a treat to ski off of KT22 -- not often groomed. Otherwise, north and south faces seemed to have the best snow. Did not get to try Broken Arrow today - generally this softens quite nicely.
Squaw and crowds. This weekend seemed more crowded than most. In the last two seasons, there has generally been a lack of snow in the middle of the season (jan-march) which has killed enthusiasm. Not this year. Busy up here.
One big problem -- eateries. At Gold Coast, there was no BBQ (hello? 50 degrees and sunny?) --which shifted the burden all inside. Lines were everywhere for food. The worst part -- only 2 out of 4 cashiers were open on the main level eatery. This resulted in lines of 10-15 minutes to pay for your food. (This is after waiting about this long to get fries or soup, etc). People were actually finishing their food in line before they paid for it. It was becoming a guessing game at the register what people had ordered (Dried remnants of food on plates were the only clues -- although jalepeno and green peppers can look too similar). Lots of pissed off people.
I really believe Squaw has the WORST on-mountain food in various categories -- effeciency, cost, creativity, quality. The situation is similar at High Camp and the Olympic House. (One exception - I ate outside one year near the pool at High Camp at a table service eatery, it was pretty good.)
Should have brough lunch.
Nonetheless, Squaw was skiing really nicely.
Weather was about 45-50 and cloudless. The groomers were in top form. Off-piste was a little harder -- you needed to find areas where traffic was getting rid of the harder top surface and the the soft snow was being churned up from down below. Therefore, areas like Funnel, Headwall, North Bowl were the best.
Skied the groomers all over the mountain due to intermediate company -- from Granite Chief to Silverado, Headwall to Squaw Creek. Landbridge into Silverado was really nice -- no traffic. Women's Downhill was a treat to ski off of KT22 -- not often groomed. Otherwise, north and south faces seemed to have the best snow. Did not get to try Broken Arrow today - generally this softens quite nicely.
Squaw and crowds. This weekend seemed more crowded than most. In the last two seasons, there has generally been a lack of snow in the middle of the season (jan-march) which has killed enthusiasm. Not this year. Busy up here.
One big problem -- eateries. At Gold Coast, there was no BBQ (hello? 50 degrees and sunny?) --which shifted the burden all inside. Lines were everywhere for food. The worst part -- only 2 out of 4 cashiers were open on the main level eatery. This resulted in lines of 10-15 minutes to pay for your food. (This is after waiting about this long to get fries or soup, etc). People were actually finishing their food in line before they paid for it. It was becoming a guessing game at the register what people had ordered (Dried remnants of food on plates were the only clues -- although jalepeno and green peppers can look too similar). Lots of pissed off people.
I really believe Squaw has the WORST on-mountain food in various categories -- effeciency, cost, creativity, quality. The situation is similar at High Camp and the Olympic House. (One exception - I ate outside one year near the pool at High Camp at a table service eatery, it was pretty good.)
Should have brough lunch.