Doom and Gloom…

Even with the sun shining day after day, a cloud still lies over Tahoe.  On the 4^th of January we received about 8-10 inches of snow on upper mountain.  That was the only measurable snow for the entire month of January.  That officially makes it the smallest historically recorded snowfall for the month of January.  This is especially sad considering that the early season snowfall was also pretty slim.  While we received a handful of footers in December we have yet to get the typical Tahoe sierra cement super dump.  We haven’t even received a lowly two footer this season. 

Personally I am still very optimistic.  The usual troublemakers at the hill claim my positive outlook on the weather is skewed.  Many have correctly pointed out that even though the mountain was ravaged by rains last year and that we didn’t get any major storms until March – we still had an adequate base before the storms came.  In fact, truth be told, after the rains we received several sizable storms in January that put the mountain back into a serviceable state.  The point is, that traditionally even though a Tahoe ski season might be defined by the month of March or even April; we have never had a snow pack that is this far below the norm, this far into a season and still achieved and average year.  Snow forecasters with credentials are claiming that history proves that this year will inevitable be a below average year. 

Consequently, the Doom and Gloom preachers are growing in numbers.  They certainly have a lot ammo to work with.  June mountain has actually closed for the season, yes closed not to open again until next year.  Offhand Condition reports at Mammoth are reportedly miserable.  Upper mountain is scoured and mostly unskiable and while lower mountain has snow, the winds have apparently peppered it with the local lava rock, making a mess of things.  At Tahoe, we are skiing on inches.  There is no doubt that the snow pack is as thin as I have ever seen it this time of year.  When Tahoe has a bad snow year it has a huge affect.  Skier numbers are down.  The only resort still bringing in the usual crowd is Northstar.  Northstar caters to a groomer friendly clientele.  Northstar also has the best snowmaking in Tahoe and this year it is paying off big for them.  Otherwise, town is quieter then usual.  The ski shops, and all the local businesses that cater to tourism are starting to feel it.  Some say that the only part of the service industry still prospering are the bars.  Apparently, no snow sends a lot of customers their way - locals and tourists alike. 

Still, somehow the Tahoe mountains have figured out a way to make the most of the meager snow they have.  Fortunately, that three weeks of unbearable cold (still about 10 degrees warmer then Vermont usually is) had the effect of locking that thin layer of snow onto the mountain.  I have been cutting turns on the same snow for weeks and it never seems to dissipate.  Consider the conditions at Alpine Meadows.  The entire mountain is skiable.  Off-piste conditions are mostly firm, but edgeable with a sugary coating.  In the sun we are skiing springuary conditions.  Most of the hikes are accessible and in decent shape.  Somehow the traverses are holding snow. Alpine, actually deserves a round of applause for how they have maintained the groomers.  They have milked their limited snowmaking to it’s maximum.  The groomers are actually taking the time to push the snow up hill and have kept the corduroy rolling daily.  Today, was actually a sad day at Alpine because they closed Sherwood chair.  The groomer on Sherwood is now admittedly unskiable and it is hard for them to rationalize keeping it open when the groomer is totally spent.  But until today, Alpine has been kind enough to keep the Sherwood running so we could enjoy the great spring snow on High-T that is skiable all the way to Grouse.  One thing of great interest to me is that there is no ice on the hill.  If we were on the east coast, with these temperatures and no snow the you could fix your hair or more likely adjust your Le Maske in the reflection of the blue ice.  Sure, conditions are firm, but they are not icy.  The other extremely odd thing that I don’t know how to explain is that off-piste terrain is mostly smooth.  When you don’t have snow for a month, typically the mountain turns into a giant bump field.  Heck, it usually happens in a week.  But for some reason the bumps refuse to get big enough to even get a passing glance from Johnny Moseley.    There are no freshies and that is certainly sad.  But as a friend concisely put it today, if the east coast had our current conditions they would be ecstatic. 

In all reality, considering the warm weather coming this weekend I think we have about one week left until we are actually in a four alarm crisis.  But I believe the mountain will ski great right up until we have to start panicking.  Personally, in the last decade that I have skied Tahoe I have never seen a truly bad year.  Sure, I have heard the myths of the great drought years where Emerald Bay turned into a lake because the water level dropped so low.  But, until I see a bad snow year first hand it will only be a sad fairy tale to me.  So, I still have hope.  Despite the historical facts, this is the weather we are talking about and it is one thing that is completely unpredictable.  It isn’t out of the ordinary for Tahoe to throw down a four day storm that makes the whole season. That storm could be next week.  My best advice is to hide your fatties in the closet to get them off your mind.  Sharpen your edges and enjoy the conditions we have.

And just think things could be a lot worse.  We could be Colorado, where the city of Denver has more snow than Vail Village.