| Alpine Meadows Conditions |
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| Written by Ryan Wexler | |
| Tuesday, 23 January 2007 | |
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Spring or Winter? The wind has changed and it has brought sunshine and warmer conditions. The weather has slowly warmed over the last few days. Today you could ski wintery and spring conditions in the same run. If you are lucky you will find spring conditions that poke in and out of cold patches of wind blown snow. A longtime snow coinnesour I know onced coined this type of snow - "Winteresting". South and East facing aspects were softened by late morning. Every year we seem to have a spring skiing session sometime in January. This year it comes as our thin snow pack recedes almost to dirt. But still, it comes at an ideal time because these sun soaking aspects that are softening early have been mostly untouched since the very first week of January. During that week we received a brief spell of warm conditions before the cold moved in. When the cold came, it left a firm surface that stayed untouched by skiers and so it has naturally smoothed itself over the last few weeks. But be careful on the soft snow because there are rocks dying to gauge your bases just inches below that buttery surface. The sun was so strong that the southface of sherwood was downright sloppy by early afternoon. Aspects like sun spot, although thin, are worth poking around early. Look for Wolverine to get soft by late morning. The southeast facing aspect of Beaver and Estelle should also be spring like. On the other hand, the snow remains wintery on northern and more shaded aspects. Sugary wind blown snow still exists, especially on northern aspects. The groomers still continue to be perfect except for the fact that the groomers are running out of snow to dig that blade into in some spots and so rocks are starting to peak through.. In these conditions, Scott chair receives late sun and can be frozen and smartly avoided in the morning. Enjoy the beautiful weather before winter starts for real! |
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