Today at Alpine was not too bad. Got out at about 8:30am, and it was worth it. Thought it was a bit early and the snow wouldn’t soften up until later, but it was good timing. It got down to 31 last night, but the temperature inversion that goes on around these parts kept the mountain from freezing.  All the Southern aspects were great in the morning. The Sisters, Beaver Bowl, Palisades, and the “adventure run” to the lookers right of Summit Chair were sick. Cruise down the Sisters towards the gully to skiers left of Summit and you’ll find a hip and 2 QP booters that you can get some air off if you keep your speed up. Below the Palisades there is still remnants of the Standard Films shoot that went down last weekend. A rail off Crash and Burn cliffs. Pretty sick.

Rail off of Crash and Burn, thanks Standard Films

The parking lot was empty and the lift lines were the same. Perfect, more for us. The park, meh. It was super hard in the morning and the speed was questionable. The bottom jump is pretty kicky, and a lot bigger then last week. I’m not sure anybody hit it.  It seems it took most of the day to get the lip shaped up, and the inruns early were sketch. Reminded me of an early morning at Mt. Hood where you question how many beers they had before grooming.

Snow is definitely fading

The snow is fading quickly though. It should be a fun weekend but it seems Summer is almost here. Nothing like shreddin in the AM and then headin to the beach for the afternoon. Life sucks around here I guess!

Beach after shredding is money

The video above is from some Tahoe kids that moved East to Jackson this winter. Pretty impressive skiing and a sick edit, so check it out!

“In many ways, I’ve always said that Squaw Valley is more of a love story than a success story in any other way.  It really is, it’s a love story.”

It’s always fascinating to learn more about something you love.  Especially when it’s something you think you already know everything about.

Just image buying all of Squaw Valley for $60,000…

Squaw is something that’s become so contemporary that we forget all the ancient history and how fascinating it is.  Squaw didn’t become Squaw overnight.  The history of Squaw reveals discovery, controversy, death, good looks, birth, swindles, big business, Olympics, douchey pros, and the birth of the American ski industry.

This trailer has got us all pretty excited to see this movie.

“For more than 10,000 years its peaks have inspired. Its beauty has refreshed. Its life, sustained. It was the summer home of the Washoe Indians for more than a hundred centuries. And fifty short years ago, against all odds, it played host to one of the greatest Winter Olympics in history.

Today it is simply known as Squaw.

Most people know of Squaw Valley’s world-class skiing. Many are aware of it’s Olympic heritage. But there is so much more to this incredible place than what is seen on its surface.”

Yep, we know we’ve posted this before.  We thought we’d put it back up in case anyone missed any of it.

I’m not sure who had the most G.N.A.R. points at Squaw this winter, but Aaron Fox had to be close. If you want to know what it feels like to ski a lot of the Squallywood lines at Squaw, the POV of it is right here. It is 6 minutes long, but there are a lot of the lines in Squallywood in this edit. Skip to the :53 second mark to get to the actual skiing. Hatchett Line at 1:10, Smooth air at 1:16 looks perfect, Straightlining Box chute the way its supposed to be skied at 1:19, The Gate at 1:25 My air at 1:33, Colemans alternate slides at 1:44, Ring Finger at 2:11, Jt’s Air at 2:36,  Center Line in the Chimney at 2:41, Rock Maze at 4:55, Smooth air POV at 5:03, Voltage Rock at 5:17, The triple at 5:10,  Center Line in the Chimney again at 5:21, Diving board at 5:28, and POV of the Gate at 5:41.

This edit was also dedicated to Benny Brackett. RIP BUDDY.

…and it was pretty damn fun.  As we all know, KSL closed Squaw Valley the earliest it’s been closed in recent memory this year (April 29th).  But, KSL allowed Squaw Valley’s Alpine Meadows to open this past weekend.  Thus, the Squaw crew had no choice but to ski Alpine.  You could tell who was from where by clothing color patterns and affiliate gang symbols worn (aka squaw or alpine stickers).

Do Squaw skiers have attitude, or something?

The weather was gorgeous, the wind was crisp, and the snow freaks were happy to be out skiing again.  The wind was a bit of an issue on Cinco de Mayo.  It was gusting 40mph up top and it kept the snow hard most of the day.  That wind provided a healthy rodgering at the top of the Summit Chair.

The crowds were non-existant on Friday, noticeable on Saturday, then mellow on Sunday (Cinco de Drinko hangovers to thank here).

Alpine Meadows as seen from the Summit Chair

WHAT WAS OPEN:

- Summit Six

- Round House

- All hikes to the North were open.

Everything but the Southern terrain was open

ALPINE SNOW CONDITIONS THIS WEEKEND:

- May 4th – Hot, Sunny, Slushy, & Windy (open 8am-1pm)

- May 5th – Cool, Sunny, Harder, & Really Windy (open 8am- 2pm)

- May 6th – Cool then Hot, Sunny, Slushy in spots, Hardish in sports, Windy (open 8am-1pm)

- Groomers were fast and fun

- Off-piste was smoothish and very fun with a few poppy windlips (when it was soft)

slight frosting Thursday night left trees like this up top

TERRAIN PARK:

- The terrain park was built at too low of an elevation so it was slushy, beat up, and just not good

- They did build one big feature up top for Standard Films that we weren’t allowed to use

Traverse to Beaver Bowl

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend of skiing at Alpine.  A lot of old friends and happy people were observed at every corner.  

Squaw Valley’s Alpine Meadows will be open again this weekend Friday, Saturday, Sunday …and that’ll be all she wrote.

You comin’ up for closing weekend?

Standard Films big boy jump at alpine

It’s Cinco de Mayo, so grab your favorite Mexican beverage or a Mint Julep because the Kentucky Derby is also today. Nothing like a Tequila and Bourbon buzz. Kind of funny these two “holidays” lay on the same day. If you were in Kentucky right now you most likely wouldn’t find any Cinco de Mayo parades. It’s also the biggest full moon in 500 years so it sounds like a party. Anyway, the skiing at Alpine today wasn’t bad at all. Once 1030 hit the snow softened up quite a bit, and fun corn turns were to be had all over the mountain.

Jason Dobbs sprayin some corn in full gaper getup

Hot Wheels gully skied pretty well and was pretty fun until the snow softened too much at about noon 30. Dog Leg on idiots also went today, and the snow was just what you expect in spring corn.

Idiots Dogleg went

The park was also fun today. The jumps aren’t quite amazing or even medium sized really, but they’re still fun. It would be nice to have some larger jumps right now, but the snow is melting fast. There were a lot of kids in the park today though so the takeoff’s got a bit rutted out by afternoon.

Kaya Lampe gettin that Octo grab

Only Roundhouse and Summit were operating so there were a few lines at Summit. They disappeared at about noon though. Lots of gapers, lots of pirates, and a few sombreros out today. Go celebrate the “holidays”in the sunshine ’till you can’t remember, just make sure you make it up tomorrow because it should be another party.

Kaya Lampe getting rad in the park

Every ski resort has some hidden treasures that must be worked for. The goods may require hiking, a long traverse, and may only be open during certain times of the season. No matter the case, when it’s open…you go get it. This little nugget of joy isn’t at the top of the mountain. No Squallywood here and you certainly won’t be getting much in the way of GNAR Points. What you do get is one big fat smile.

Yellow Sign + Blue sign = Green Light

I found out first hand why it’s called Smoothie and I own one the many smiles awarded at Silverado Chair for the ride back up. I compare it to the old wooden roller coaster. It’s not high speed, there are no loop de loops, or flashing lights. It’s a fun cruiser and good old fashioned skiing in a beautiful environment. It’s packed with flowing turns, rollers, and trees as gates. Of course, there are rocks everywhere to get some air. Unfortunately, you’ll need to bring your own audience cause Smoothie is tucked away from the crowds. The required work to get there keeps a lot of folks out and only the truly motivated snowboarders would attempt it. Thus, resulting in you guessed it…not too many tracks back there.

Some people rave about it, some people don’t care, and others might not know what is really going on past that sign. Find out for yourself, go past the sign. I’ll see you on the traverse next year. I’m a fan!

-RT…

Remember that lightning storm that closed Squaw Valley last week?  This video is taken from the same day albeit a different exact zone of the Sierras.  But, this gives you a good idea of what it was like in the Sierra Nevada that day.

The video doesn’t really get going until the 1:00 mark.

From April 23rd, 2012:  

Squaw Valley shut down today due to lightning strikes at about 2:30pm.

“Lightning and thunder have us shut down for the day. If you are on the hill, time to come down. Thank you.” – Squaw Valley at 2:45pm today

A strong cell just moved thru lake tahoe:

AT 208 PM PDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR SUGAR PINE POINT STATE PARK AND MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH.

FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING…SMALL HAIL…AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH… ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. – noaa.gov

If you’re on the lake, get OFF of it now.  If you know someone on the lake, call ‘em and tell ‘em to come in:

IF ON OR NEAR LAKE TAHOE GET OUT OF THE WATER AND MOVE INDOORS OR INSIDE A VEHICLE NOW. DON`T BE CAUGHT ON THE WATER IN A THUNDERSTORM. STRONG WIND GUSTS AND LIGHTNING NEAR THUNDERSTORMS POSE AN IMMEDIATE DANGER TO BOATERS. – noaa.gov

The whole point of this vid is to convince you to buy a season pass next year…but you’ve gotta give props to Squaw for putting together a pretty fun little edit, huh?

Squaw/KSL’s new focus is families and their dollars.  This video doesn’t speak to families.  It speaks to the unbridled GNAR-Sauce that boils deep down in the hardcore NorCal skier/boarder.

Good strategy, right?  The people who buy season passes are locals and weekend warriors from The Bay who love to ski pow and throw double backflips under the chairlift.

We eagerly await the family-style video they make for the fly-in tourist families they so long to attract.  Will that video feature the new high-octane propane fire pit?  We can only hope so…

So, lets hear it:  Are you gonna buy a Season Pass @ Squaw next year?

Last season’s Cushing Crossing went down on 4th of July weekend.

It looks like Squaw is trying to blow up this Cushing Crossing thing.  Jonny Moseley on the mic, celebrity judges, registrations fees, & cash bonuses.  The original pond crossing event returns to Squaw Valley this Sunday.

This is always a classic and a helluva good time.  It’s really the ultimate spectator event.

the real deal

CUSHING CROSSING 2012:

- 1pm start, $20 registration fee for first 50 humans

- MC Jonny Moseley on the mic

- Celebrity Judging Panel:  Michelle Parker, Erik Roner, Tamara McKinney, Sherry McConkey, & Andy Wirth

- Grand Prize = mid-week season pass for 2012/13

- $100 bonus to best skinny ski (70mm or less underfoot) run

- $100 bonus to most creative run/costume

from Squaw Valley

This year the Cushing Crossing is going to be bigger and better than ever! With emcee’s Jonny Moseley and Uncle E on the mic and a celebrity judging panel including Sherry McConkey, Andy Wirth, Michelle Parker, Tamara McKinney and Erik Roner.

Judging is based on style, grace, creativity, and of course, successfully crossing the lake. The grand prize is a 2012-13 Adult Bronze Season Pass, and $100 cash prize will be awarded to the winner of each class – Men’s & Women’s Ski, Men’s & Women’s Snowboard, and Unlimited. Bonus categories include a $100 bonus for highest scoring contestant on skinny skis (70mm or less under foot) and a $100 bonus for most creative (successful crossing not required).

	Time	Details
Registration	9am	Register on the KT Base Bar. Open to the first 50 registrants with $20.
Crossing	1pm	Let the games begin!
Awards	3pm(ish)	Awards on the KT Base Bar.

So today Squaw was closed. The “Tram” or “Cable Car” or whatever the hell you want to call it opened today for a bit. Then it closed just as quickly. Today was a sit at home and watch movies day. It’s been a mixture of rain, sun (for a few minutes), sideways hail and rain, sleet, and now turning to snow precip. It looks like it’s trying to snow but I wouldn’t exactly call it snow.

Rain Rain Go away

It’s hard to say how the mountain skied considering it didn’t open?? Really? We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings. Hopes of deep pow are non-existent but we might get a little bit of snow. NOAA.gov says no accumulation but who believes that crap anyway. The report is below. Wear your boxers or panties backwards, do a snowdance or whatever else you need to to turn this shit to snow. My truck says it’s 33 degrees outside so there is hope of a few inches. Not much, but a few days from May a dusting might make for a decent final weekend. Thoughts of the Chimney opening this weekend are unfounded.

This blew onto me within 5 seconds of opening my truck door

Sunday is the Cushing Crossing and the weekend should be fun though. Lets just get this garbage weather out of the way and enjoy Squallywood as it closes. Check out the park video from earlier this week when it was the middle of summer. Lets hope this shit turns to snow up top!

Red dog looks meh... come on snow

Late Afternoon: Scattered snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 43. Windy, with a west wind around 35 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Tonight: Scattered snow showers before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Windy, with a west wind 30 to 35 mph becoming east 10 to 15 mph. Winds could gust as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. East wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 57. East wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 59.