Summary of the Weekend
The weekend in Tahoe was very interesting
The Unofficial Alpine Meadows Ski Report
Produced by Andy Wertheim
Tahoe/Truckee Realtor
Email: andyw@sierra.net
Office website: www.tahoeriverfrontrealty.com
Hello skiers,
The weekend in Tahoe was very interesting, at least as far as snow conditions were concerned.
Saturday morning was rather miserable with low visibility, rain or very wet snow falling, and strong winds. Many lifts were on wind hold until the late afternoon. I must admit that I did not venture out on Saturday, however a number of those of you who did spend time soaking up the wet weather reported very good skiing. Snow fell, at least in the upper elevations during the morning. Winds subsided and the white drops slowed their fall in the afternoon. The sun even broke through for awhile. Summit Chair opened around 2:00 p.m. allowing skiers to enjoy the thin fresh layer of snow that fell in the morning. All of those who skied in the afternoon reported excellent conditions with few skiers on the hill.
Sunday morning the sun was out all by itself. Clouds had disappeared leaving us a beautiful day for skiing. The overnight temperatures dropped into the low twenties. I walked out my door and discovered a layer of smooth, very firm, snow covering the ground next to the house. The kind of surface that you might not want to try and cut and edge into early in the morning. I was expecting very firm, icy, conditions with death cookies on the groomed runs for the first turns. My thoughts were that the warm temperatures predicted would soon create a nice spring corn surface.
I was wrong, as were a number of those standing in line at Summit prior to the opening. It turns out that the cold overnight temperatures dried up the surface leaving the groomed run with a very nice packed powder topping. Off piste the surface was smooth and chalky. It appeared to be smooth wind buff over most of the untracked areas of the mountain. Lower down the mountain I broke through the surface just a little bit keeping me on my toes. High Traverse, South Face, Expert Shortcut, Palisades, Peril Ridge, High Yellow and most other runs were a joy to ski. I imagine the turns got better where we broke through the wind crust as skiers packed out the runs. Although the temperatures rose into the warm range in the afternoon, I do not think the snow transitioned into corn.
This morning, Monday, the sun is out again and the afternoon temperatures are supposed to rise to 50 degrees. Overnight temperatures were below thirty. Sun and warm daytime temperatures are forecast for most of the week. We should have some great spring skiing in a day or so.
Enjoy your day. Andy
