Alpine Meadows
Saturday 11 March 2000

Weather

Driving up from San Francisco, the weather was pretty miserable. In San Francisco, it was raining pretty steadily. From Sacramento into the foothills, there was intermittent cloud and drizzle, and persistant warnings of snow over Donner Summit, and possible chain controls.

Arriving at Alpine Meadows, there was sunshine at the base area but thick cloud over the Summit. This was more or less the pattern for most of the day with cloud blowing in from the West over the ridgeline resulting in poor visibility, but better at lower altitudes.

Conditions

At the start of the day, the conditions were pretty firm. On the groomed slopes there was a dusting of seriously wet snow. Off the groomed trails, the surface was frozen. Gradually, the warm temperatures took effect and the surface melted to heavy "Sierra Cement"

The Story of the Day

I arrived at Alpine pretty early in the morning after a clear run from San Francisco. Visibility was pretty grim, with heavy cloud obscuring the Summit and flat lighting. After a warm up run from Roundhouse, I took Summit Lift. Visibility at the top of Alpine Bowl was almost non existent. With no trees to define the trail and a complete white out, it was difficult to know which way was down and to judge speed. One run was enough, so I cut down Weasel road and took Scott lift towards lakeside. At least I could more or less see the top of the lift.

Scott Chute had always looked impossible to me, being steep, narrow and often with a lot of rocks and trees showing. As I rode the lift, I could see that snow conditions were very good and I started to get tempted.
However, for the time being, discretion being the better part of valour, I headed for Lakeside lift, where the sun was just beginning to break through.

I took two runs off Lakeside enjoying the view towards Lake Tahoe. The surface was tricky. In places it was wind groomed and in places there was thick powder. Meanwhile the Summit area was still enveloped in clouds.

The runs under Sherwood lift and South Face were in good condition; not too hard, with some soft snow on top. I took 6 runs off Sherwood before taking the short steep Expert Shortcut back to the top of Weasel Run and Scott Chair.

 




I looked carefully at Scott Chute again and took Scott chair. Still undecided, I skied carefully to the entry to the chute and before I could change my mind dropped in to the top section.

This was definitely a challenge. The top section was not too steep but very narrow requiring tight controlled turns. Luckily, as the slope steepened it also widened a little so that it was more forgiving.

I got to the bottom under control (with only 1 turn leaving me careering across the slope faster than I would have liked).

I had taken Scott Chair many times over the years and never dreamed that I would be stupid enough to try the chute under the lift. It left me with a great sense of achievement, perhaps the most challenging run I had ever taken!
After a stop for a drink, I headed back to the Summit where visibility was getting better. The first run down Alpine Bowl was a cruise. The rock in the middle of the bowl is a great measure of the amount of snow around. I used a picture taken in December 1998 as a wallpaper for a while. A similar photo now shows the rock to be almost completely obscured.

After Scott Chute, I took Alpine Bowl lift and Palisades, one of the steep chutes from that lift before calling it a day around midday.



As I changed out of my ski boots into more normal footware, I could still see Scott Chair and Scott Chute. I tried very hard in these photos to convey the steepness of the run.
The day was far from over. I was not able to get accommodation on the North shore, so had to drive the 25 miles or so along the West shore of the lake down to South Lake Tahoe.

On the way, I stopped at Emerald Bay. In 1992 we stopped here as a family and walked the mile or so down to the bay. In March 2000, the parking area was closed with deep snow and a snowman. The bay was as beautiful as ever and Tahoe Queen was just leaving for the main body of the lake.




Eventually, I stopped at the Quality Inn, Lake Tahoe, to find a party of British tourists already in residence and their Cosmos coach in the car park.

Runs

Lift Vertical Easy Runs Intermediate Runs Advanced Runs Expert Runs
Roundhouse 980 Red Trail, Rock Garden, Red Ridge
Summit 1555 Rock Garden, Weasel, Alpine Bowl, Loop Road
Scott 1053 Winter Road, Standard Run, Scott Meadow
Lakeview 840 Outer Limits
Lakeview 840 Shooting Star, Ray's Rut, Outer Limits
Sherwood 955 Robin Hood, Sherwood Run
Sherwood 955 Robin Hood Sherwood Face
Sherwood 955 South Face
Sherwood 955 Robin Hood Sherwood Face
Sherwood 955 Sun Bowl
Sherwood 955 Return Road, Weasel Expert Shortcut
Scott 1053 Meadow Scott Chute
Break
Summit 1555 Rock Garden, Alpine Bowl
Alpine Bowl 960 Banana Chute, Sandy's Corner, Red-Green, Rock Garden Palisades
End of day
Total vertical 14566

Last updated: 22/01/2001