What surprised you last ski season?

[jimk]

Did you get surprised by anything last season, good or bad?

I went to ski in the North Lake Tahoe region in early March. It was right after that 80-90" storm. My ski days were M-F, March 4-8. What surprised me was that the crowds weren't too bad at Palisades-Tahoe. First time skiing there in about ten years. The first day at Alpine Meadows was harsh as the big storm was still winding down. And to be honest, the 90 inches skied more like 9 inches due to compaction and strong scouring winds. Next two days at Olympic Valley side were MOST excellent packed powder conditions. I skied mid-week, perhaps that helped? In Utah, the first few days after a big storm are usually very busy in recent years. This made me wonder about general crowd patterns at Palisades? Are the crowds typically limited to Saturdays and Sundays? The other place I skied was at Diamond Peak, a beautiful, but smaller mountain. It was fairly quiet there on Thurs and Friday. I assume it's like that most of the time?
Mar 2024 Alpine Meadows

Olympic Valley chute 75

First tracks at Diamond Peak, fellow in silver is age 84.

 

[ChrisC]

What surprised me was that the crowds weren't too bad at Palisades-Tahoe.

There are not really that many destination skiers at Tahoe. Traffic patterns are much more akin to those in the Northeast. Boston and New York skiers slam Vermont and New Hampshire on the weekends, and no one is there on weekdays. Things even start clearing out by Sunday PM. On weekday storm days, a crowd will form at KT22 but quickly gets dispersed into all of Palisade's expert zones.

When I had a ski house in North Tahoe, I always tried to steal a few weekdays - especially in grad school.

Also, I think Heavenly gets more destination skiers than Palisades since they did more outreach, even pre-Vail ownership.

And to be honest, the 90 inches skied more like 9 inches due to compaction and strong scouring winds.

It's almost always that way. Very few storms do you sink much past 6-12 inches, no matter how many feet of snow have fallen. Also, snow density is quite high in most areas around Tahoe. Kirkwood will most likely have true powder snow storms where you can ski Utah-like snow. Basically, if snow levels are at 3000 ft, you are in for a powder storm for most of Tahoe.

The other place I skied was at Diamond Peak, a beautiful, but smaller mountain. It was fairly quiet there on Thurs and Friday. I assume it's like that most of the time?

Diamond Peak is a nice little mountain that offers some great tree skiing. However, it sits well beyond (east) the Sierra Crest and can suffer snow-wise most seasons. Typically, it takes an epic blizzard to build an adequate base. The proof is its large snowmaking facility. Until that storm comes, it can ski quite bony off-trail with lots of obstacles. Nearby Mt. Rose generally offers a much better experience.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Not a surprise, more a reminder of how big Europe's mega resorts are after skiing France's 3 Valleys and Val d'Isere consecutively.

 

[ChrisC]

Did you get surprised by anything last season, good or bad?

I am surprised by the increasing number of resorts charging for parking and requiring reservations. This can add $100s to any EPIC or IKON pass - almost negating benefits.

I find it a bit insulting if a resort cannot offer 'free parking' even from a far-off lot.

Interesting: resorts can solve the mountain's capacity issue through more high-speed lifts, lodges, trails, and terrain expansion. In some cases, parking has remained frozen at capacity since the 1980s. This is especially problematic at higher altitude and mountain pass resorts.

 

[Harvey]

Nothing really surprised me.

I think this season reinforced my recently acquired belief that good Eastern seasons are 100% possible, even if you work full time. Study the weather, and work to predict opportunity. The farther you are from the snow, the farther out you look.

I watch the GFS 240 every day, especially when "nothing is happening." It tells me when to pay attention.

A good season all told.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I think this season reinforced my recently acquired belief that good Eastern seasons are 100% possible, even if you work full time. Study the weather, and work to predict opportunity. The farther you are from the snow, the farther out you look.

Didn't you post a NYSB piece about your official eastern best practices? You should provide a link. I'm sure Tony will have some

I'd argue that the "even if you work full time" part is a bit misleading. You have an extremely flexible full-time-work setup, both parentally and professionally, that many people don't enjoy.

 

[Harvey]

Didn't you post a NYSB piece about your official eastern best practices? You should provide a link.

I don't remember doing this. It could be a good idea for a blog post. If I did, help me find it?

I'd argue that the "even if you work full time" part is a bit misleading. You have an extremely flexible full-time-work setup, both parentally and professionally, that many people don't enjoy.

I don't consider my schedule all that flexible. I got 22 days this year, not exactly world beating.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I don't consider my schedule all that flexible. I got 22 days this year, not exactly world beating.

Quantity has nothing to do with flexibility. ChrisC's skiing is essentially 100% flexible but my impression is that his seasonal day count is in the ballpark with Harvey's.

But I reviewed Harvey's season recap and only found two Fridays and two Mondays; everything else was on the weekend. One of those Mondays was April 8. I presume that "Harvey Woods" means earned turns near his cabin. My biggest surprise of the season is (my head is about to explode at the idea) that Harvey was AT his cabin (which had a minute of totality) that day and left it before the eclipse????

 

[Harvey]

I disagree that quality has nothing to do with flexibility. That makes no sense.

This will blow your mind, I left 3 hours before the eclipse. I actually told you that, or at least put it in the thread on NYSB.

It was clouding up, and I didn't want to face the traffic. Neighbors said it was awesome.

But I haven't thought about it since then.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I disagree that quality has nothing to do with flexibility. That makes no sense.

He said quantity, not quality.

 

[Tony Crocker]

On NYSB I had the impression Harvey was at Gore for the weekend but not Monday.

This will blow your mind, I left 3 hours before the eclipse.

Yes it does blow my mind, and not in a good way. Not that many northeasters were as conveniently situated. Harvey's place in North Creek was in totality and he could relax or even sleep there until traffic cleared. I've been on NYSB enough to get that most of these people are homebodies who dislike the hassles of travel, especially by air. This should have made them MORE interested in seeing an eclipse that did not involve those travel hassles. Powderchaser Steve said most of the Sugarloaf skiers were locals who do not travel much and that the celebratory atmosphere was amazing.

James is comfortable with travel and I'd be surprised if he doesn't see an eclipse eventually when he has fewer family obligations.

 

[EMSC]

Yes it does blow my mind, and not in a good way.

+1 Especially with all the outreach Tony did on various forums to highlight how amazing it would end up being.

But I haven't thought about it since then.

Equally crazy, given this comment...

Neighbors said it was awesome.

Such an easy missed chance, IMO. We're all floating on a tiny blue ball in the universe and an eclipse has to be one of the easiest, most existential ways to experience that fact and provide a bit of perspective on humanities real place in it and potentially priorities for life or at least some deep musings... Just my 2c. I realize lots of people are far too stubborn or etc.. to bother which is kinda sad in its own way.

 

[ChrisC]

I am not an Eclipse chaser in the least, but would go out of my way (hours) to see one - especially if you could combine it with something else.

 

[Tony Crocker]

especially if you could combine it with something else.

That was of course Patrick's plan all along. Mexico was ideal where we were from a viewing perspective but yes it would have been great to combine with skiing like him and Powderchaser Steve.

As for ChrisC, he can check out Xavier Jubier's maps to see if there is an eclipse in a location that interests him. As for skiing, Queenstown in 2028 is the next possibility, but I know weather odds are bad, especially as it's late in the day with the sun setting over the mountains. 2033 in Alaska is March 30, which is in prime heliski season. But the area in totality is around Nome and I suspect most people will view it on charter flights from Anchorage.

Overall the next 4 eclipses are viewable from first world countries (Spain Aug. 2026, Aug. 2027 and Australia Jul. 2028, Nov. 2030) with good weather odds and worthy tourist attractions.

 

[q]

The biggest surprise was that on the 1st of February Discovery had one beginner lift spinning and not a lick of snow on the front side of the mountain. A buddy skied a few runs in the morning and played golf in 60+ in the afternoon.

Limelight opened for the season late February and the skiing was fantastic for my 4 weeks. The consensus was that what little snow was building up stuck pretty well rather than being constantly skied off all season so while the depths were low the quality was pretty high.

The other surprise was the cost of a box of Busch Light for the house. $25 locally, absolutely scandalous!

 

[Harvey]

I didn't expect you to understand it.

Look at the cloud map of the time, we were on the edge. The morning started out clear and it started to cloud over around ten. Ultimately the thicker clouds didn't move in in time to disrupt viewing, but who knew. I also didn't know the impact of cirrus clouds.

I was planning on staying the AM to meet with my builder. That was the reason I was there. The refi of our existing home and construction of our new home is the biggest investment risk I've ever taken, by a mile. It will continue to consume my attention for several more months.

I really didn't want to fight the traffic, and I didn't have the option to stay another day. It sounded like the traffic wasn't that bad, maybe doubling the five hour ride but I just didn't know that and I didn't want to deal with it.

I will never be Tony, I'm ok with that.

Re quantity/quality, sorry I misread that. I also dispute that quantity has nothing to do with flexibility. I'll be retired next year, that is some serious flexibility and my quantity should rise dramatically. Actually my quality as a percentage will probably drop, because I'll likely ski every day. But total number of good days will rise.