February 17, 2009 Alpine Meadows Again

The report for Homewood was 6” at the base and 12” up top in past 24 hours. We pulled into the parking lot and Jill could see tracks from yesterday. She said “No way am I skiing that stuff on a powder day”. WOW, Grandma Jill at 64 is a powder diva. Ok, ok, ok. The report for Alpine Meadows was 15” at the base and 20” on top in the past 24 hours. So we turned around and drove to Alpine, with chains on, and found a deserted parking lot at 8:15. A quick breakfast in the van and we were at the 6 pack for the first wave.

Powder Diva admired the untracked slopes and I reaffirmed “great call, babe”. The wind was ripping during the ride, and as we slid off the chair the wind caught us so that we stopped sliding and had to skate away. Once off the upper Peril Ridge, we dropped down the chair line in knee deep powder and headed for Waterfall. The gullies were knee deep powder, and it was fun watching Jill cut through the powder.

Today’s snow was deeper than yesterday’s and there were a lot fewer skiers. Could be because it has continued to snow and blow all day! We returned to Lakeview chair where we just cycled the powder. We got a wee bit greedy and traversed out past the boundary for a deserted line in the trees towards the cliffs. Unfortunately it required a long trail-break back to the chair. It was a “guy thing”, but guess who came along for the ride. Sherwood Express was quiet and the open slopes were wind affected while the trees and protected gullies held boot deep powder. We finished the day with a line down Reily’s Run in knee deep powder that only had 6 other tracks. A truly memorable day. The storm is winding down tonight with another 4” of snow forecasted. Then some sunshine Thursday & Friday. Jill’s torn meniscus is acting up and my patellar is achy –we’re icing the knees and consuming anti-inflams. But it sure was fun! Just the fix that I needed.