MAKE TAHOE DEEP AGAIN ~ 2016/17 OFISHUL SNOW/FOOD/WHINE & STOKE THREAD

[reid]

Flying into Sacramento next Wednesday the 11th. Current plan is to stay at the Mellow Mnt Hostel and ski Kirkwood or heavenly. Worried about being able to get to the mountain though. Is driving from South Lake to Kirkwood going to be impossible in snow? Will have chains for the rental. Also, anyone stayed at the hostel? Odds I get bed bugs or HIV?

Supposed to dump all next week too. Take it easy over 50 getting to south lake. Carson Pass is almost always open, you'll be able to get to KW but likely those chains will come in handy. I'd get something AWD if possible just to make your life less terrible.

Bed bugs are hit or miss. As for the HIV, if you've got the talent, you can pull it off.

[powdork]

Also, anyone stayed at the hostel? Odds I get bed bugs or HIV?

Maybe you'll get lucky I've heard you can get HIV from bedbugs too.

[powdork]

8' crowns inbounds, deep persistent slab problem being triggered remotely from starting zones, massive flooding forecasted, and some of you guys are bitching about sidecountry gates and lift lines???

and the shoveling. all the goddamned shoveling.

[spnce]

I already had something in the works and had been discussing it with certain folks, but was going to wait until closer to the spring to launch - now I'm motivated to move things up a bit.

Even buying some SEO for the unofficial guys might move the needle. Shit, I bet you could find somebody to do it pro bono.

In other news I just started the drive to alpine & turned around because of traffic in downtown truckee. I guess the out of towners are still in town.

[4matic]

bitching about sidecountry gates and lift lines???

Heavenly was basically 100% open yesterday if you were willing to hike.

[BGnight]

I'll pile on with my biggest new pet peave at AM. The scaredy cats keeping people in the breeze way on powder days because OMG THE GREAT SLIDE OF 1984 IS GONNA KILL US ALL!!! (we could care less about the lifties though!) And then the retards running Summit line make people line up behind the fucking gates instead of allowing us to put our skis down in line which has been S.O.P. forever and is still standard at Squaw. This in turn causes a huge, chaotic scene of people running from the gates to the front of the line like lunatics. The last few years the lines at AM have actually been more chaotic and unruly than squaw.

[4matic]

Also, anyone stayed at the hostel? Odds I get bed bugs or HIV?

I quit staying at the bottom end joints after getting respiratory infection from a molded heater. Good luck.

[neufox47]

Supposed to dump all next week too. Take it easy over 50 getting to south lake. Carson Pass is almost always open, you'll be able to get to KW but likely those chains will come in handy. I'd get something AWD if possible just to make your life less terrible.

Bed bugs are hit or miss. As for the HIV, if you've got the talent, you can pull it off.

Awd is $1k for 6 days. Front wheel drive and chains will have to do. Thanks for the info. Will be traveling solo with some Heady Topper if anyone is looking to make some turns.

[4matic]

Awd is $1k for 6 days.

I was gonna say. Especially if you were talking hostel. I'm planning on Kirkwood about mid week depending on storm and roads. I'm a butt slider.

Hmm. That doesn't sound too good.

[hercule33]

Im with tahoejay and old goat. The upside down snowpack is fuck and a lot to deal with but they've done it many times before in years past. Money is simply getting spent else where. Ive been skiing squaw and alpine since the early nineties but I wish I had bought a pass else where this year. I definitely will next year.

Glad to know they are under some investor pressure. I hope this whole thing goes sideways for ksl and they are all bent over for this bullshit.

Yesterday at Northstar I ran into a Squaw skier who for the first time got a Vail pass. He really missed the terrain of Squaw and was not too familiar with Northstar's terrain. I showed him an untracked gladed run on the backside and that was around noon. If he talks to his friends at Squaw or Alpine, he won't be so sad anymore.

[skier666]

Carson Spur opened this morning...good account to follow is District 10 Caltrans on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/CaltransDist10/s...02026485108736

Watched some Insta vids from Kirkwood yesterday and it looked like the entire frontside popped. Saw clips of Upper Cham, Once, etc.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO6F1Erh7x_/

Maybe the higher elevation/geography helped out with the snow stability?

Current forecast for my Sunday trip to da' Wood looking unlikely. Not sure I want to take two kids to ski in 'Heavy Rain,' sure there's that K-factor chance that it will be all snow...but it would be wet regardless. #1stworldstress

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...2#.WG_V8X253ns

Loving this shot from Moment Skis from Rose yesterday though:

[gageyk]

I in no way want to defend KSl however I think many of you are not taking into consideration the real danger that is out there. KSL has ruined Squaw Alpine no doubt.

Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley bomb the most of any ski resort in North America.

The snow pack is currently in a situation unseen in years. Squaw patrol director himself quoted as saying things are moving that he's never seen before.
Dumb asses trigger a major slide in Fireplug closing Mt Rose Highway.
Mt Rose Highway closed most of previous day due to extreme avalanche danger. Hmm what effect will that have less than 24 hours later on snow pack?
Significant in bounds slide at Kirkwood yesterday.
http://unofficialmtrose.com/wp-conte...1-1024x768.jpg

Dumb asses ski into CLOSED terrain at Mt Rose killing one of them. 'Experienced back country skiers"

The Chutes at Mt Rose are closed and have been since Friday. Have you heard any complaints about this? Only partial opening today. Poor management, being too cautious? I don't think so. The snow pack is unstable and doing things that experienced professionals have not seen in years. I was one of those wondering why the Chutes at Rose did not open sooner than they did this season. After they partially opened and skiing them it became very apparent that there was an "icy" layer on the steep sections that snow was not adhering to. I saw parts of the Slide side slide in controlled blasts that I've never seen propagate where they did before, 30 plus years on the hill

The professionals know what their doing. We're all just a bunch of armchair experts who read stuff on the internet and think we know all.

Do you think the events at Rose earlier this year, Dumb-asses on Fireplug yesterday, slides occurring and running longer than experienced patrollers can recall, many slides and a few deaths throughout North America already, are not having an affect on patrol and management decisions? Let's not even mention the fear that our litigious society may sue because our family member skied into a closed area and got killed.

The Sierra have just experienced their largest storm cycle in 6 - 7 years. Temps were all over the place during the storm cycle. Winds were up to 137 MPH!!

I know many of you have taken AVY1 and maybe even AVY 2 courses and are "experts". I laugh every day I hear of people BC skiing on steep exposed faces within 12 hours or during a major snow/wind event when the Avy danger is considerable.

I'm perplexed when I see people making plans to drive from CA into Tahoe this weekend. Do you read the forecasts? What terrain do you expect to be open with the current forecast?

You don't have to agree but you should respect experienced avalanche experts, patrollers, etc when they make the decisions they make. The internet has ruined skiing just as much as KSL.

[neufox47]

I was gonna say. Especially if you were talking hostel. I'm planning on Kirkwood about mid week depending on storm and roads. I'm a butt slider.

Hmm. That doesn't sound too good.

Yea, was debating staying at a hotel but the reviews for the hostel look pretty damn good. Was debating staying at the base of Kirkwood but not too psyched on spending $175 a night when solo. Also, walk to Heavenly gondola from hostel seems sweet. $67 for a private room at the hostel.

[teledad]

Best move ever, best days so far by far have been at Sugar Bowl and I'm about to have another.

Shh...

Yesterday at Northstar I ran into a Squaw skier who for the first time got a Vail pass. He really missed the terrain of Squaw and was not too familiar with Northstar's terrain. I showed him an untracked gladed run on the backside and that was around noon.

One of my best inbounds days started with being first "chair" on the poma lift to Lookout after a 2 foot overnight dump.

[lepistoir]

I have zero info on staff levels at squaw Alpine. I'm just saying that cutting costs there is SOP for private equity. So I wouldn't be surprised if the delays and closures are in part due to reduced manpower. On the other hand, all the downed branches from this elm by the lake shore show that this was a pretty epic cycle that hasn't hit the area this hard for a while.

[TahoeJ]

I in no way want to defend KSl however I think many of you are not taking into consideration the real danger that is out there.

Yes, this was an unusual storm and we've seen some slide activity that is unprecedented, but it's not just about that. They've been fucking things up royally for a while now. Opening AM in mid December when there's plenty of snow and closing it early. And the money holds have been a god damn joke. I've only ridden ABC at Alpine a handful of days since KSL bought the place, including days where there have been LONG lines at Summit. Several days spent skiing sweet conditions under the Solitude chair and having to hike back over to Shirley. But there's always some fucking excuse. Bullshit. Things like lift issues occurring... which, well, yeah, that happened after they fired all of the experienced lift people (who knew the quirks) to cut back costs. No more excuses - sick of it.

Go back in this thread to Wednesday morning where I said they would pretend to open Squaw just to pull people into the village, then wait a few hours, then call it a day with nothing opening. That's exactly what happened. They're trying to squeeze out every dollar they can like a bunch of money grubbing assholes. There was NO WAY in hell those lifts were going to spin.

Most of us know people who work there... surely I'm not the only one who's heard firsthand complaints of short staffing.

[54-46]

I've been skiing Squaw and Alpine for 40 years. There have been a lot of storms much bigger than this one and stuff opened a lot faster. Still no KT or Oly, Granite, or Headwall. Sherwood is supposed to open--tomorrow, but it won't because it will be storming again. It's not cheap passes that are the problem--they are selling enough of them to make up for the lower price 5 times over. It's pretty clear that the money is going into hiring lawyers and lobbyists and PR flacks to try to get the village development through and not into operations. Think of the money they spent to stop incorporation and to bribe the AG into dropping their opposition. KSL's way of sticking it to the locals who oppose their plans and who won't be the ones buying luxury condos in the village. The excuses for the non-openings posted on the web site are just a bunch of lame bullshit--they aren't spending the manhours it takes to get terrain open in a hurry, it's as simple as that. BTW--I wonder if the gazex's are a way for Squalpine to hire fewer patrollers. They were billed as allowing them to get the mountains open faster. What crap.

My prediction--operations will continue to deteriorate, KSL won't get their village any time soon and won't be able to pay back their investors, and will sell, probably to Vail. Vail may be another big evil corporation but at least they seem to be willing to spend the money to actually operate.

QFT

[hercule33]

I have zero info on staff levels at squaw Alpine. I'm just saying that cutting costs there is SOP for private equity. So I wouldn't be surprised if the delays and closures are in part due to reduced manpower.

I agree. KSL seems to be running a ski resort like just another company and that's not a horrible thing if you know how to run a ski resort. Too bad they don't. Take the water park for example. It could be sold to investors as a great way to make Squaw/Alpine a year round resort but investors don't know that locals and people in the Bay Area don't really want a waterpark and I doubt people from all over the U.S. will come to Squaw for that.

In the meantime though, KSL is really pissing off their pass holders including families. When I was in Northstar yesterday, I ran into multiple people from the bay who were staying there for a few days midweek. They got great storm skiing on Tuesday, wet snow on Wednesday and a partial bluebird powder day with an upside down snowpack on Thursday. They also got a running mountain.

Now imagine a family that hears about the 7 foot storm and books a room at Squaw Village midweek. How does their experience compare?

[hercule33]

Yes, this was an unusual storm and we've seen some slide activity that is unprecedented, but it's not just about that. They've been fucking things up royally for a while now. Opening AM in mid December when there's plenty of snow and closing it early. And the money holds have been a god damn joke. I've only ridden ABC at Alpine a handful of days since KSL bought the place, including days where there have been LONG lines at Summit. Several days spent skiing sweet conditions under the Solitude chair and having to hike back over to Shirley. But there's always some fucking excuse. Bullshit. Things like lift issues occurring... which, well, yeah, that happened after they fired all of the experienced lift people (who knew the quirks) to cut back costs. No more excuses - sick of it.

Exactly. The problem is not this one incident but that this is a consistent pattern of behavior with KSL. Alpine is my favorite resort at Tahoe and Squaw is awesome but ever since KSL bought them I don't want to ski them anymore. I just prefer to remember the awesome days I had there.

[meter-man]

I think of Alpine as my home mountain but my fun level there just keeps plummeting. For various reasons I ended up shelling out for a midweek Sugar Bowl pass in addition to my Squalpine silver this year. Best move ever, best days so far by far have been at Sugar Bowl and I'm about to have another.

That's ridiculous. SB's terrain is flat, boring, and super short. Might as well be skiing Homewood. There's a reason people go to Alpine and Squaw in droves - the skiing is better.

[LightRanger]

^^^ What he said. All my days at Sugar Bowl have been terrible. Flat light. Poor lift layout. Etc.

[SchralphMacchio]

Cosumnes forecast for Sunday night looks pretty serious:
http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydro...sto&gage=mcnc1
http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydro...sto&gage=mhbc1

I'll keep up my Debbie Downerism, but I think given the serious impacts of flooding and downed trees/powerlines to communities not necessarily directly on HWY88 but around it (Fiddletown, Ione, Rancho Murieta, Elk Grove, etc) I'm gonna keep my car off that road on Sunday/Monday and leave it be for the people and potential emergency services vehicles that may need to use it.

Stay safe everyone, I hope everyone is having good clean fun and won't be seriously impacted when shit hits the fan on Sunday.

[Marshall Tucker]

Awd is $1k for 6 days. Front wheel drive and chains will have to do. Thanks for the info. Will be traveling solo with some Heady Topper if anyone is looking to make some turns.

Im in this same boat, in/out Sac Airport with 2wd minivan (family of 5). If it looks like a storm on our days I cipher I'll buy chains; any recommended outlets between Sacramento airport / SLT? figure it's not wise to try buy ahead of time make/model etc.

thanks!

[neufox47]

Ive never had a hard time finding chains unless it is late. I have a pair of cheater chains I fly with though. They fit most car tires with 15-16" wheels.

[StormDay]

Alpine this morning:
I have been to the promise land and it was good...for the top part