Alpental Spring 2011

Gave back the ski area to the hikers and tour-ers this week.  We finished tearing down the ropes and pads and unsightly mess we put up every fall and won't be doing any more avalanche mitigation this season unless new snowfall makes uphill snowcat travel scary.  Wanted to say thanks to everyone who has tried to accept and comply with our winter uphill travel restrictions.  For the most part it worked out pretty well this season and we'll try to just keep providing all the access that we safely can. I'm sure there will be quite a bit of uphill use from now on so please just be sensitive to the facilities and our staff's safety. We do have some on-mountain project work which will be ongoing, so as always, remember that the chairs can start at anytime and there will be workers around the place, including snowcats.  Hope we get some corn this spring ! Thanks again. -G

Thanks for the update Gib, good to know.

Ah, can I ask is there a protocol for chair start?

- e.g. is there a rule that there are at least 2 people, one up and one down, in radio contact? Or can someone at the base turn on and ride up without checking with the top station?

Thanks
Ivo

Yes, someone at the bottom can start the lift without someone in the shack up top.

I was up there at alpental yesterday near the upper lift shack when a buzzer and a bell went off and the lift started turning. We were skinning up into edelweiss bowl and there were maintenance guys working in that top lift shack area when we descended.

Thanks!

I'll try not to fall asleep on one of these chairs at the top

Cheers
Ivo

Anybody know what's up with the road being closed to the public between the main lot and the Source Lake trailhead? Sign says "Emergency vehicles only" and "Gate can close at any time".

Why can't we park in the back lot for tours up towards Source Lake?