2011/12 Tahoe Weather & General Discussion - Page 18

Friday, April 27, from all reports that I received, was an excellent, smooth powder day at those two resorts near South Lake Tahoe that had enough elevation to get 3-4" new and re-opened for the weekend. Sat. and Sun. were also very good with below freezing temps overnight. For way too much detail and pictures, see http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10209

Kirkwood announced one more weekend, re-opening Friday to Sunday, the first weekend in May. That will give those who were not ready to celebrate the closing another week to prepare. Those that were ready will probably be out of control by next Sunday. My plans are to be at Kirkwood on Friday, Alpine on Saturday, then back in San Jose for Cinco de Mayo.

I'm 90% sure to spend Friday at Alpine....

Kirkwood was pretty nice today. Runs off of 11 were groomed and pretty hard until about 11AM, ice cream after that. Zachary was soft all day, and never slushy. Solitude stayed frozen until about 11AM, and then softened up nicely. Didn't see that many folks on 10 (maybe a handful all day) so I decided to stay off of it. Small crowd all day, especially in the early morning, barely had to wait for a chair all day.

Hitting Alpine Meadows in the morning.  

I'll let you know how amazing it was!

Ar both Kirkwood on Friday and Alpine on Saturday, the skiing was great. There were hard freezes both Friday and Saturday nights with temps below 25. If you snoozed, you missed the last weekend with two ski areas open at Tahoe and probably the last good lift-served freezes as lows next weekend may be high 30s or even 40.

More details with pictures from Alpine only so far at http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10213.

There's still plenty of snow in dem dar hills.

I got my Taco Mama stuck in 3 feet of soft serve off of Jackson Meadows (the road is covered about halfway in and impassible unless you have a monster truck, ATV, snowmobile or CAT). Took me 30 minutes of H4 and L4 shuffling, shoveling, and engaging the Rear Diff to get unstuck (thank goodness I had my avy shovel in the back of the truck otherwise it would have been a 7 mile hike back to the Hwy to flag somebody down to tow me out!).

As for the past w/e, AM was solid F/S/S/ It was a bit mas firma on Saturday (not to mention crowded as all the weekend gapers, I mean warriors, decided to show up for last dibs). Saturday was equally firm over on Rose (I hiked The Chutes 2X after AM closed). Sunday was nice all around. I hooked-up with a mixed crew of TC and her friends as well as some co-workers of mine and we skied all over and then slammed Hamm's in the PL apres. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dookey67 

There's still plenty of snow in dem dar hills.

I got my Taco Mama stuck in 3 feet of soft serve off of Jackson Meadows (the road is covered about halfway in and impassible unless you have a monster truck, ATV, snowmobile or CAT). Took me 30 minutes of H4 and L4 shuffling, shoveling, and engaging the Rear Diff to get unstuck (thank goodness I had my avy shovel in the back of the truck otherwise it would have been a 7 mile hike back to the Hwy to flag somebody down to tow me out!).

 

As for the past w/e, AM was solid F/S/S/ It was a bit mas firma on Saturday (not to mention crowded as all the weekend gapers, I mean warriors, decided to show up for last dibs). Saturday was equally firm over on Rose (I hiked The Chutes 2X after AM closed). Sunday was nice all around. I hooked-up with a mixed crew of TC and her friends as well as some co-workers of mine and we skied all over and then slammed Hamm's in the PL apres. 

It was pretty awesome on Sunday at AM.  

When I get back from Colorado, I'll touch base with you.  Maybe we can hike some, eh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dookey67 

 I hooked-up with a mixed crew of TC and her friends as well as some co-workers of mine and we skied all over and then slammed Hamm's in the PL apres. 

I thought P.B.R was the drink of A.M.? 

PBR is the apres brew of choice amongst many here in Tahoe. I'm trying to change that! The crew who were apres with me all thought Hamm's was crisper and cleaner tasting than PBR and commended me on the switch. Times they are a changin'...at least until I can find some 15-packs of Stroh's or Schmidts or Lucky Lager...

The corn has arrived (at least in a few spots).

Did a dusk patrol 3-run stint out on Carson Pass last evening and the snow was creamy goodness. 

Hit up Sunrise Bowl underneath Donner Ridge yesterday for some brunch laps. Snow was soft, supple, and entirely smearable. I was almost able to ski back to the truck, too. While not the greatest slackcountry line in Tahoe, it's easy to bang out pre/apres work or on your lunch break (it took me 1.5 hours from the truck to the top, 3 laps, and back to the bottom).

This weekend for closing @ AM should provide some solid spring/early summer conditions. 

AM is a bit burnt as of today, but what's still skiable is skiing quite well.

There's a fair amount of corn to be harvested if you know where to reap.

Wondering if there will be anything left to hike when I get back. 

^Yes.

The bowl facing Donner Lake off of Mt. Judah is nice right now.

Mt. Lola is holding nicely, as well...just waiting for the access roads to thaw.

Alpine was quite fun yesterday. Plenty of coverage (way better than December, January and February). It was surprisingly firm early but softened up nicely after a while. Off piste was wonderful and there was a sweet pitch of soft bumps on Waterfall. Go for it on the last couple of days!

I got to ski with DChan. Fresh off his L3 test, he was playing instructor games all the way down. Railroad tracking, one foot skiing and every radius carving. Wow, that guy can carve! I followed some fun leads to first corn tracks and exciting pitches - and he didn't know Alpine well! The tips he gave me were quite helpful. Thanks David.

More inspiring was getting to ski with his father. I loved his equipment - he was on Goodes too! Smoothly swooping down the hill with a huge smile and chatting on the lift up, he was a great ski buddy. Then I found out he was 80. He didn't look or move like 80. There is hope for us to enjoy our passion for quite a while. Thanks Clarence!

I had to leave at noon before it got too soft to catch a waterski set in Marysville. Warm and glassy! Hop in the Cessna to fly to the Bay Area for dinner with my parents. California is a great place to live!

Eric

Quote:

Originally Posted by eleeski 

Alpine was quite fun yesterday. Plenty of coverage (way better than December, January and February). It was surprisingly firm early but softened up nicely after a while. Off piste was wonderful and there was a sweet pitch of soft bumps on Waterfall. Go for it on the last couple of days!

 

I got to ski with DChan. Fresh off his L3 test, he was playing instructor games all the way down. Railroad tracking, one foot skiing and every radius carving. Wow, that guy can carve! I followed some fun leads to first corn tracks and exciting pitches - and he didn't know Alpine well! The tips he gave me were quite helpful. Thanks David.

 

More inspiring was getting to ski with his father. I loved his equipment - he was on Goodes too! Smoothly swooping down the hill with a huge smile and chatting on the lift up, he was a great ski buddy. Then I found out he was 80. He didn't look or move like 80. There is hope for us to enjoy our passion for quite a while. Thanks Clarence!

 

I had to leave at noon before it got too soft to catch a waterski set in Marysville. Warm and glassy! Hop in the Cessna to fly to the Bay Area for dinner with my parents. California is a great place to live!

 

Eric

This post made me smile in a big way, having spent time with all three of you......I can imagine the fun you had.  This is a great place to meet some incredible people isn't it? 

AM was solid today.

Everything up high stayed firm for quite a bit.

I boot-packed up the Lower Saddle around 10ish and it was mas firma.

Spent the rest of the day traving to lower High Yellow and dirt hiking Gunner's Knob.

Hiked up to High Yellow and hit Counterweight Gully/Chute, which was creamy.

Place was relatively empty, but there was a lunch rush on High Yellow around 11:45 (must've been like 20 people travving over that way at one point).

Back for the last hurrah on the morrow.

^^ I would try Shasta. Its just outside Tahoe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayT 

Thinking of a ski / golf day sometime soon.  Where in north shore right now would make for a good early morning hike and ski?  I know many of the various south lake / tallac / carson pass options but I'm oblivious when it comes to the north side of the lake.  Anyone interested in general?

Shoot Dookey a pm.  He does a lot of hiking.  There's till some good stuff around here. 

Hiked Rose Chutes today with a buddy.

We entered from the Slide side for lap one and dropped into Beehive. Snow was a mixture of creamy soft-serve and crusty crunch (in the shade) tossed with uneven rollovers and funky runnels.

For lap 2 we entered from the Summit and hit up The Saddle. Snow was much more consistent here and the choke, while a wee bit narrow, is still doable.

There's still a few other lines to be had, but now it's mandatory dry approach (i.e. hiking boots) and exit. 

Get it while you can.

In terms of JayT's query, stuff is getting pretty baked and anything you do will take a few hours to get to the goods. Rose Chutes are still holding, but won't be for much longer if the warm weather keeps.

While Rose Chutes are quickly getting burnt, there's a few quick and easy lines across the road on the hike out to Hour Glass/Tamarack. I've been eyeing a couple of the lines for the past few weeks and they are right on the Hwy and could be easily banged out in an hour and some change.

I haven't scoped out Donner Pass lately, but the bowl facing East off of Mt. Judah looks pretty damn bueno (but that's at least an hour-and-a-half hike one way).

I haven't scoped Sunrise Bowl in more than a week, but reckon that it's getting cooked and might not be worth the trouble.

I haven't been to Alpine since closing w/e, but ran into a kid who hiked to the summit on Thursday evening. He said it was starting to get sun-cupped. That said, if you were to hike up to the gullies (High Yellow, Counterweight) they might still be holding.

Carson Pass is still decent with a number of options right off the road and easily accessible and quick (3 hours for several runs).

Hitting up Ebbetts Pass on Sunday and will letcha know how that's holding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philpug 

Have to head to SJ today. 

SierraJim?

Did a little recon in the truck today up around Donner Summit/Pass area.

Poop Chute up on Donner Pass is busted. It's burnt at the top and the bottom.

However, there's still a few visible lines up on Mt. Judah facing East that should hold for a few more days.

There seems to be a few lines up around Castle Peak facing North East, but not sure about how long the approach would take (it's a dry approach).

There looks to be a few lines amidst the trees facing North East up behind Boreal (approach would be from the PCT parking lot behind the Boreal Inn), but it's hard to tell how much skiing one would get from these lines.

Going to be checking out how the Rose area is holding up on Tuesday, so will have something to report on that after then.

Right now, however, most of the goods still to be had are higher up (Carson Pass, Ebbetts Pass) and need a wee bit of hiking to access.

The big bummer is that while the snow up in the hills is melting, many access roads are still blocked.

Phil Pug and I skied a couple of gully lines on the Mt. Rose Hwy yesterday.

We were originally going to meet up at 9 am, but Phil called to say that it was crazy windy in Reno.

I countered with the fact that it was calm as all in Truckee, so we opted to meet later at 11.

The drive from Truckee to Rose was mellow (i.e. no wind), but once atop the summit it was kind of windejo. Phil smiled with that "I told you it was windy over here in Nevada" kind of smile, but we suited and booted anyway.

Thankfully the north facing gullies I had chosen were not only easily accessible from the highway, but also wind protected. 

We boot-packed up in about 20 or so minutes and our first run was a slightly wonky, super sun-cupped, and runneled affair. The best snow was actually lower down in the trees nearer to the highway.

We boot-packed up again and hit the second gully and it was much more consistent and creamy.

We were able to ski straight back to the highway, which was literally to the truck/car (we had to cross the highway since that was the only turnout closest to the gullies).

For lap 3 we drove Phil's car up to the legit summit parking lot and actually hiked the Mt. Rose Trail to the ridge and dropped in and schussed back down to my truck.

Stuff is melting fast, but this little area should hold for the next week. The winds definitely are keeping the snow from melting as fast and allowing it to set up nicely for mid-afternoon laps.

Weather forecast for Tahoe today, June 4th, is windy with precipitation, snow likely at higher elevations. 

We most definitely need the precipitation.  Fire danger is uber high. 

Seriously overcast in T/D at the moment...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekchick 

Weather forecast for Tahoe today, June 4th, is windy with precipitation, snow likely at higher elevations. 

 

We most definitely need the precipitation.  Fire danger is uber high. 

The problem with these systems is if they are accompanied with lightning, they can cause fires.  Get used to the dry...that is the summer norm here.