Alpine Roll Call...Friday and/or Weekend

[skezen]

I'll be there on Sunday, Wateas, blue Langes, North Face neon one-piece, maybe?

[The Dad]

Irul&Ublo - neon Explosivs
StormDay - blue Marmot jacket, Krypton boots and silver giro helmet. Black Volkl Sanouks.
Kona12 - "same old" blue NF jacket and grey gyro helmet...
Freshies - grey cloudveil jacket, silver giro helmet, on spatulas (and probably w/2 snow boarders in line)
Sinecue - Mustard colored Marker jacket, Gray K2 Helmet and Dark Gray Descente Pants... perhaps on AlpineDad's Bros(?) or on a 180cm racing snowboard with hard boots. Answers to "Randy"
ShawnB - Nondescript except for the ugliest bright red helmet and matching red goggles.
3pin - gray jacket, green pants, wood Capital Thrashers
3pinnette - Karhu PFDs or Jaks.
OHC's non-maggot buddy Skids - green jacket, black pants, black helmet, Dynastar Bigs Flames w/ tele bindings.
OHC - red Cloudveil jacket, olive green pants, black Giro helmet w/ visor, brown leather Volkl Sumos.
skezen - Wateas, blue Langes, North Face neon one-piece (Sunday only)
alpinedad - Bros (baby blue with magenta base), jacket will be red Spyder or yellow Columbia Bugaboo

We'll see how work on the brief goes. If I'm reasonably confident, I'll put the boys in the car sometime between 7 and 8 and hit the road.

[The Dad]

Here. I look something like this only with dark pants and different goggles.

On a powder day, however, he will be sporting the identical shit-eating grin.

[StormDay]

Just got up to TD - 3hr 10min from Berkeley. I don't think Freshies had anyone announcing the need to use the toilet from the back seat.

It was snowing pretty hard over the summit, but sunny before getting to the Donner lake exit.

Snow seems a got warm and heavy at TD.

Good chance I'll be on my LPs instead Sanouk if the Alpine snow report does not sound that good.


StormDay - blue Marmot jacket, Krypton boots and silver giro helmet. Black Volkl Sanouks or LP w/ tyrolia bindings (black/gold).

[freshies]

today was good - not great - but very good, more typical tahoe snow: wind buffy, fast, stayed on top all day. was really fun. but to be honest: i/we have been really spoiled these last 2 weeks, i found myself today saying "eh, this snow is OK, etc" vs being really psyched for 2 feet of fresh...its all good.

now that the snow has stopped, alpine is pretty played-out when i left at 3. if they pop the hikes (did they open high t or estelle today? don't think they did, but i spent last 2 runs today doing the ob shot "outter outter", so wasn't paying attention). if they didn't open these, i will be back tmrw to hike. if they did, we are heading BC. Have fun out there all!

[kona12]

today was good - not great - but very good, more typical tahoe snow: wind buffy, fast, stayed on top all day. was really fun. but to be honest: i/we have been really spoiled these last 2 weeks, i found myself today saying "eh, this snow is OK, etc" vs being really psyched for 2 feet of fresh...its all good.

now that the snow has stopped, alpine is pretty played-out when i left at 3. if they pop the hikes (did they open high t or estelle today? don't think they did, but i spent last 2 runs today doing the ob shot "outter outter", so wasn't paying attention). if they didn't open these, i will be back tmrw to hike. if they did, we are heading BC. Have fun out there all!

Agreed, good but not great. Lots of fun though. Car problems kept me out of the lineup before nine but was there about 9:15 or so. I figured that if I wasn't in the lineup there was no chance of meeting a maggot and sure enough, I never got change today. As for High T it never opened but pretty sure estelle did. Never hiked it but on last two runs at 3pm did the traverse through lower beaver into lower estella and there were deffinitly tracks coming down from there. With that said it was still sick over there with some of the best turns of the day at 3 in the afternoon down to the parking lot. I don't know any of the run names over there but it was nice. I will try and get some pics up later.

[freshies]

Agreed, good but not great. Lots of fun though. Car problems kept me out of the lineup before nine but was there about 9:15 or so. I figured that if I wasn't in the lineup there was no chance of meeting a maggot and sure enough, I never got change today. As for High T it never opened but pretty sure estelle did. Never hiked it but on last two runs at 3pm did the traverse through lower beaver into lower estella and there were deffinitly tracks coming down from there. With that said it was still sick over there with some of the best turns of the day at 3 in the afternoon down to the parking lot. I don't know any of the run names over there but it was nice. I will try and get some pics up later.

kona, do you think those were patrol's tracks coming off estelle? someone chime in if they know if they popped estelle. regardless, high t out to twin peaks hikes should be fresh tmrw, as they didn't open

[StormDay]

kona, do you think those were patrol's tracks coming off estelle? someone chime in if they know if they popped estelle. regardless, high t out to twin peaks hikes should be fresh tmrw, as they didn't open

Alpine has to start putting the status of the hikes and Promise Land ( and the previous day's status) on the snow report page. Taos does it.

[kona12]

kona, do you think those were patrol's tracks coming off estelle? someone chime in if they know if they popped estelle. regardless, high t out to twin peaks hikes should be fresh tmrw, as they didn't open

Definitely more than patrol. Lots of tracks down estella, parts of the buttress and other areas I don't know the name for. Don't get me wrong, it was still sweet over there and there was plenty of untracked left at 3. If I had more legs and time I would have went back. Kind of soupy on the lower section but up high still nice. Hi T will be completely untouched tomorrow but it was getting some sun today so might be thick. I will try and post a pick of what lower estella looked like at 3. Oh and I talked with a guy on 2nd to last lift who said there is still a good section by F tree. Second hand though.

[kona12]

Don't have my regular pc so I can't shrink these down. Turns out the was some other decent pics from today as well but will post these later. Just wanted to get this one up so you could see what Lower Estelle was like at 3. Oh, and did anyone see that crew of snowboarders from either austrilia or new zeland going huge today? Caught up with them at that cliff band straight off of top of sherwood chair and they were going huge!

[irul&ublo]

Estaelle opened late today; I came over from the backside around 2, and it was open. A few tracks in the upper portion. I cut over from lower Beaver toward the end of the day and hiked up a bit to get to bottom of Bernies and then down to where they park the snow cats. area. Pretty untracked as was Estelle, upper Beaver and the top of Bernies.

High Yellow was money, as were the sisters in the morning. Shewrwood Cliffs. Arts and Experts have been skied but are not bumped out.

High T did not open.

I thought the snow was better than just good. Heavier than last week but creamy and very fast.

I'll be there tomorrow. Early hikes are probably the call.

[kona12]

Might as well turn this into a mini tr. Very fun day today, snow was thick but very fun to ski. Multiple laps early in the sisters. Irul was that you getting first tracks on the skiers left this morning? After that traveresed over to other side of keyhole for some fun creamy pow turns and a few rock drops. Over to scott and traverse way out for some really fun runs in the trees. So good, we lap that a few more times. After that over to sherwood for some now so good turns in the think pow so back to the front side where we get to watch the southern hemisphere snow board crew (austriala? new zeland?). After that a few taverse/laps out to lower estelle for some end of day untracked!

Friend geting busy early


Sisters Pow, one of my favorite runs at alpine.


Friend getting rocky on lower yellow.


If I flap I can fly! A small cliff way out skiers right off of scott.


The next three are the australia crew going big on the cliffs straight off the top of Sherwood coming back to the front side.

[Steven S. Dallas]

I won't be there tomorrow, but Gonzo will- snowboarder, red jacket, green pants, kicking hardcore Euro/yuppie sex music beats from his helmet.

[The Dad]

Left Redwood City at 7:35, arrived Tahoe Donner at 11:05. Not bad at all.

See y'all in the am at the AM. Randy had to rent a pair of last year's B3s. I've got to drop the boys off for team at 9, but as soon as their coach is there, I'm on Summit.

[The Dad]

Skied the morning with Sinecure. We hooked up with Corky for a few runs, but lost him on the second High T -- not sure what happened there.

High T to the backside was schweeeeeet. Nice morning generally, but the two High Ts were epic.

Shouted for change at the bottom of Summit twice -- once around 9:05, once around 10 to 10 -- but all I got was funny looks.

Tomorrow morning?

[freshies]

after hitting it hard yesterday, and getting very liquored up for st paddys day, today was the leisure start (as there was no new snow, no need to rally hard, fast and early). my bro and i rolled up at the crack of 11am, found a choice parking spot upfront, geared up, and headed straight up summit and started hiking out to twin peaks.

30 mins later and it we had the ridge line all to ourselves, not a soul around (this at noon!?). sun was breaking through, but it stayed cold, and snow was $$ - we hit the farthest ridge just next to actual twin peaks bowl - total solitude and sweet untracked pow, we hit the cliff mid-way down and felt like rock stars (not quite same as the k'weed guys), and then had the slog from hell back out to sherwood.

we did that 3 times today, and am spent - lots of hiking today but oh so worth it when skiing fresh blower a day after a storm and inbounds looked like a giant mogul field.

tmrw is BC day, hitting castle or donner summit. hope everyone had fun out there today, seems as if there may have been a lot mags out today. ran into OHC and his cute daughter hitting the little kids terrain park, she will be a ripper one day i am sure!

[kona12]

tmrw is BC day, hitting castle or donner summit. hope everyone had fun out there today, seems as if there may have been a lot mags out today. ran into OHC and his cute daughter hitting the little kids terrain park, she will be a ripper one day i am sure!

Yes, if finally happened for me today, I met my 1st maggots! After asking for change numerous times over the last couple of weeks in all of the likely places (summit line up, scott and some of the hikes) and getting nothing but funny looks, of all of the places it finally happened in the parking lot at the base of subway! Saw the bro's over a shoulder making their way across the parking lot so I made my kid stop so I could ask for change and it was Corkey! He was with another maggot who's handle I can't remember. Such a relief to know you all are actually real!

[StormDay]

Ended up skiing w/ a non maggot friend all day and the Mrs mid-day. Ran into OHC and Sinecure. Seems everyone was in the same mode.

We also got a nice untracked run from highT to Sherwood 1st thing. Did a south face lap (it was starting to setup) and headed back to summit via hidden knob (not too tracked up) to hit Estelle. We found really good light snow in Estelle during the morning. Not allot traffic there early today.

In the PM, we found good snow in keyhole (Mrs Stormday ripped it up), hit Idiots (it just looked sweet very time someone dropped it and it was.). Wrapped the day up on some wind blown pow in High Yellow gully/Our Father. It was very fast snow and a very sweet last run of the day. (BTW: lower High yellow gully is starting to mogul up.)


Things were really looked bumped up by 3pm. Also the snow in lower beaver was getting heavy. I think tomorrow is going to be a north facing in the trees kind of day.

I’ll be at Alpine tomorrow. me on Mantras, Mrs on AC4s. At Summit just before 9.

[avacadotoast]

Yup, it's true...Corky was at Alpine today ...

..Alpine Dad & Sinecure it was nice making turns with you....sorry about losing you though....when we ran into OHC, I was chatting about his Sumos and I turned around and you guys were gone...then I triend to high tail it to the lift but I ended up separating my pole handle from the shaft and had to hike back up to retrieve it...still high tailed it down to the lift and waited for a bit to no avail...then I remembered, you guys went for some cappuccino didn't you ...

Anyhoo, great day.....had a $$$ run (and some serious exercise) going way out the H-T (was here about noon Freshies...all alone)...


Then later on I switched to the bros and was immediately accosted by Kb1dqh, who's somewhat of a partime poster....young, nice kid who spent the winter and Jackson and is now in the Bay Area for his 1st job....we did a few runs and he was ripping on his Head iM85s so I said you have to try my Legend Pros....so I set this 155lb kid up on my Pros and the dude was ripping the shit out of Alpine with this huge grin...anyway here's kb1 comingthrough a little chuteish thing in that cliff area off of Our Father....


...kb1 & I ran into Kona, said some hellos...then I saw Kona later on and chatted for a while....Kona's a super nice guy...nice meeting you man...

All in all a great day at Alpine...I just wish I didn't lose Alpine Dad and Sinecure like that....

...I'm doing backcountry/Rose tomorrow but I'll be back next weekend (with the wife), Spring Pass in hand....see you there!!!

[iskipowder21]

I am up at Alpine pretty much everyday either working or freeskiing, but I have yet to meet up with you guys.... I am usually in a black jacket, black giro mx with smith triads, pistols or spats. Tomorrow I am working but might be around in the afternoon for a few laps.. I live down in the condos so I would be more then willing to do a few condo run laps!! I will try to keep an eye out for you guys and if any of you have your kids in Kids Camp in the mornings look for me, I am usually taking care of registration.

[ShawnB]

Aw man, from the Fri. shots it looks like you guys hit it just right--not nearly as nice today.

Anyway, today, Saturday, Alpine was not bad by any means--most times I'd call this kind of soft powder a dream, but after the last few weeks it's hard not to find yourself longing for that light deep stuff again.

A couple of fresh inches of decent pow on top of the soft layer from the earlier storm made for a great early morning. Sisters got hit hard, and a few passes at Peter's Peril flushed out some of the better deep powder turns of the day. But a warm front seemed to pass through mid-morning, and that, combined w/ the sun being out, cooked up all the soft and turned much of the off-piste stuff into mashed potatoes, all before noon! And then it went away and temps dropped way down again. Weird, and too bad.

Never found change although I did a lot of asking. Saw a guy in a big group on Pontoons and figured I found y'all, but when I did a drive-by I could see pretty quick what he thought I should do with that nickel. So a big strikeout w/ the maggot crew. Mebbe next time.

Anyway, High Yellow was where it was at, from what I could tell. I made four hikes over there after the warming trend blew through, and in spite of the big melt, HY just stayed excellent all afternoon, right up until closing chair.

All in all, a good day, but not particularly memorable. If you skied AM yesterday and chose to rest up Sat., you probably did yourself a bit of a favor. Take care, all; see you out there another day...

-Shawn

[The Dad]

Fuck -- now I know how we lost Corky. And I feel like even more of a doofus than usual, not having realized that OHC was there. So OHC, while you apparently met me, I didn't meet you. Weird shit.

Mark, Sinecure's non-Maggot friend: "So, do you ski with [Corky] a lot?" Us: "We just met him." Mark: "WTF?" He didn't quite grasp the maggot thing. And boy was he embarassed when I yelled for change.

But when the four of us were up on Hi-T, I realized that we had perhaps the un-motleyist crew in existence: one actuary, one CPA, one marketing consultant, and one lawyer. Crazy....

[irul&ublo]

I was at Alpine on Sat. too...one of the first 10 or so chairs off on Summit. Looked everywhere for maggots, but found none. After some warm up, did four trips to Bernie's, working skier's left each time. Snow was very good and mostly untracked, but lower it was starting to get a little worked and heavy. Was glad I decided to stay on the Explosivs.

After my hiking was done I hit the back side for a couple of runs on the Cliffs. When I started back over to the front, at the top of Subway I could see my line in Bernie's Chute, right between the trees.

All in all a great day. Sorry I missed the mags...looked for Shawn's ugly red helet all day too.

[Sinecure]

Well Saturday was a lot of fun on skis for a change. My calves are still sore. Snowboarding and skiing muscles are definitely different. Maybe it was the big compression we found off of Hi-T on our second lap. Sorry we lost you Corky and good to meet you HotChili. Skiing hurts my knees a lot more than snowboarding so I'm definitely not going to convert entirely, but I must say that having fatties on pow days is nice. Traverses and hikes are so much easier with two planks.

Sunday I had a blast on the groomers. I did a few laps on the front side before heading back to Sherwood. I swear I must have done 12 laps on Sherwood run before I had to quit around 1:00. There was still some corduroy to be had on skiers left of sherwood run at that time. The 210 race board was serving me well all day. At times it was like I had a private run back there. I was surprised to see that the parking lot was full when I quit in the early afternoon. Where were all those people? Off-piste seemed like it would have been challenging yesterday, but I wasn't going there on a 210 Super-G snowboard anyway. God I love that board. Its sort of like having a pair of 215 or 220 super g or DH skis. Big, fast, fun turns.

See you all again this weekend.

Sinecure (aka Randy, aka Sydney & Jake's Dad)

[kb1dqh]

irul-

I was on the first 10 chairs for sure at Alpine on Saturday. Slept in the car in the Alpine lot Friday night after skiing Squaw on Friday. I should of yelled for change. Met up with Corky later in the day- great skier. Too bad I missed you!