UnofficialAlpine.com For Alpine Meadows Skiers Riders

Time 2020-10-30 14:09:06

Web Name: UnofficialAlpine.com For Alpine Meadows Skiers Riders

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My first exposure to the Mountain Gazette was in November of 1976. I had completed my first backpacking trip that summer and wandered into The Mountain Air, a high end outdoor store. I was supposed to be in school, but instead I was dreaming about my next mountain adventure and a new backpacking stove. Entering the store, I picked up issue number 51 of the Mountain Gazette because my journalism teacher had mentioned it had an article by Edward Abbey. I had just finished Desert Solitaire and was already a huge fan. I took the counter copy and headed over to the display tents and found myself a cozy nest. Over the next half hour, I was deeply absorbed by Abbey s treatise about the death of Telluride. Fortunately, I managed to finish the article before a friendly salesperson wandered over, shook the tent and said Can I help you? I should have grabbed the subscription card but instead I hurried out of the store and pedaled back to school. Thinking back, reading that one article became a cornerstone of my life. Since then I ve written countless articles regarding the overdevelopment of our area.Fast forward to the year 2020, and I read an article that described ski writer Mike Rogge s plan to revive the Mountain Gazette. If you have spent much time reading ski journalism of any sort, you should be familiar with Rogge s name. He s written for Newschoolers, The Ski Journal and Powder magazine, to name just a few. Rogge relocated to the North Lake Tahoe area around 2011 and now is the executive producer at Verb Cabin, a media production company which is the new owner of the Mountain Gazette.This will be the third life for the Gazette, the previous two runs being from 1966-1979 and again from 2000-2012. The magazine is known for several traits. It has long accepted articles from serious outdoor writers that have something important to say, and it s been willing to publish those articles at full length. This is not a magazine written by some copy kooks hoping to fill a 750 word space by next week s deadline. It s also been known for its commitment to outstanding photography.I’m allergic to list-icals like “Top 10 Hot Tubs in Aspen,” but gravitate toward the dirtbags and ski bums who made the United States, Canada, and Europe must-visit destinations. Mike Rogge, new owner of the Mountain GazetteThe new version should be spectacular. The format is 11 inches by 17 inches. It won t fit into your standard magazine rack. Spread wide open, it will nearly cover most coffee tables. It s probably better to think of the new Mountain Gazette as a coffee table book, published twice a year. Issue number 194 is shipping in November, after the election rush. I can t wait to receive mine.Normally, I like to do interviews on a chairlift. Since the chairs are not spinning yet, and I wanted to get this article out, we did this interview via a few emails. I still hope I get a chance to spin a lap or two with Mike soon. Here s the interview:Skiing is a gift my father gave me. My mom, sister, and I traveled many wayward adventures with Dad. He’d drive us four hours deep into Vermont to find a Christmas tree or show up at the house with a three-wheeler death machine to play with. Dad’s always been this way, so chucking me in rental equipment at 5 was par for the course.Skiing is part of the fabric of my life. Virtually every “first” in my life happened at ski area—first friends, girlfriends, heartbreaks, beer, etc.I participated in after school clubs that allowed me the freedom to explore our little local mountain from 3:30 pm until 10 pm each night. Work study and free periods were scheduled in the mornings so I could do homework before class leaving nights for skiing, Monday through Friday. I lived off of cheese fries in the lodge for a lot of years.I fell in love with skiing through my friends, early issues of Freeze, and VHS/DVDs of Poor Boyz and Level 1 films. I devoured skiing and found my people whenNewschoolers.comwas launched by three ski nerds in Montréal.The New Canadian Airforce was a huge influence. Ski media puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of The K2 Performers. That was before my time. JP Auclair, JF Cusson, Vinnie Dorian, and Mike Douglas made me want to ski a certain way—mostly backwards. Although I’m only 35, I do remember a time when twin tip skis were a novel idea.For a huge part of my life skiing was an activity performed at night with close friends. It took me a long time to move West and find powder skiing. That experience is deeply personal and something that fuels my soul.Losing resort spring skiing to COVID was harder on me than I care to admit. It’s shameful, in a way, because the world has serious problems and I’m in a privileged position. We lost a great deal in 2020. I miss long, mindless laps on Summit. I miss taking my boots off after morning laps and going straight to my sandals. I miss arguing with friends about the best time of day to get great snow. Perhaps it’s shallow of me to think this way now, but this is who I am and losing a spring of skiing was a tremendous loss.You certainly have a passion for writing about skiing and the outdoors. Who inspired you to become a writer?Without a doubt, Norman Maclean is my personal hero. It’s a shame so many folks only know him from the Brad Pitt film. The book is better. A River Runs Through It and Other Stories is the bench mark for outdoor writing and it’s an American classic. We gave our son the middle name Maclean. I developed a relationship with Norman’s son, John, who I hope will be contributing to Mountain Gazette. He’s a brilliant writer.In the ski world I relied on my peers to share with me what was happening on the glaciers in Whistler or Mt Hood each summer. I fell in love with early blogs and how many different ways a writer could experience skiing. In the early days of the twin tip movement a new trick was born in seemingly every video part, but to understand those tricks we needed words. The guys at Freeze put what I was seeing into context for me. I fell in love with the quirkiness of Warren Miller’s early writing. It’s dry humor. Later, I would discover the treasure trove of writers in the Powder archives in San Clemente. I’d grab a stack from the 70s and head to the beach on Saturday for a formal education in the history of ski bumming. I’ve joked for a while that my undergrad was English Literature and my Master’s was in Powder magazine.I never wanted to be anyone other than myself, but like all writers I’m influenced by what I read I’m a devoted reader. My writing has become more personal over the years. I assure you everything I write now is something I felt in a moment in time when it was written. That’s probably why I don’t write a lot of gear reviews anymore. It’s hard to get a deep or even a shallow feeling from a binding.I wanted to make a magazine that would speak to what my community cares about. I wanted a space for other writers to do the same.Outdoor titles are in large part stale and boring because they’re trapped in an endless vortex of gear. Gear is great and all, but reflecting the culture in our pages seems to me to be a higher calling.Bringing back a relic takes time and care. I don’t want to eff this up for the folks who loved Mountain Gazette. Learning and respecting that legacy has been important. I’m taking that information and building on the foundation lid by Mike Moore and John Fayhee which is no small task.I casted a broader net in finding contributors and in defining what an outdoor title can be. For our editorial purposes a Mountain Gazette story can happen anytime one walks out their front door. That freedom allowed me to assign more progressive, thought-provoking pieces in issue 194.We’re going to release two issues per year. Everything is so in your face now. I find bi-annual to be the right frequency. You don’t need to have MG be part of every three seconds of your life. There are plenty of low-grade, all-the-time options out there. I’m a fan of them too, but I think we can be a healthier, more substance-based part of a balanced media diet.New contributors, young writers and photographers will keep me young at heart as I get older in this position. This isn’t Mike Rogge’s Personal Magazine. It belongs to the people and our young writers and photographers will keep it fresh.In a word, everything. Alpine Meadows feels like home. I get a lot out of riding the lifts with folks I don’t know. I cannot wait to teach our son how to ski there.What is your go to run at Alpine Meadows, your every day favorite, given average conditions?Hot Wheels Gully, for sure. If you just moved to the area, I encourage you to only ski Hot Wheels Gully for a few seasons.You can never go wrong with a Gary’s proper or Rainbow Bowl.You can find out more about the Mountain Gazette here. Subscriptions for your next coffee table collection are $70, which is less than you would spend on one lunch at Northstar.Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows has released a few more details about what to expect for the upcoming season, now less than a month away. There were no real surprises for me on that list, as I ve been watching other resort announcements all summer. We published a list of unofficial expectations back on August 12th. It turns out most of our guesses were spot on.You can see the basics of the press release from SVAM President Ron Cohen at the SkiAlpine.com website. But to really get down to more significant details, you ll want to check the FAQ tab. Or, you can just check the summary below. Each item is followed with an assessment of whether our initial guess in August was correct.Face coverings are going to be required, obviously indoors, but likely outdoors as well. Single layer face coverings are not acceptable. CorrectLifts will not be fully loaded. You will likely be advised to ride only with members of your household. Expect to see a lot of doubles loading on quad chairs. Some mountains suggest they could load two singles on the opposite ends of a quad or two couples on the opposite ends of a sixer. CorrectMerging lift lines may not be a thing this year, as combining groups is something that will be discouraged. We could see the older form of separate lines all moving forward, and the front row being called out, as Alpine Meadows operated until Kate left. CorrectLift corrals will need more space at the bottom of the hill in order to provide more space between people. CorrectGroup lesson sizes will decrease and require a reservation. Lessons will only be available to those 8 yo and older. Mostly CorrectRentals will likely require a reservation, with much of the paperwork being done online ahead of time. You will likely be asked to pick your equipment sizes and enter things that would affect adjustments ahead of time. This would allow most customers to simply walk up and pick up gear and go to the snow. CorrectWalk up day tickets will not be available, limited reserved day tickets may be available Mostly CorrectNo reservations will be required for pass holders (yet). We re happy to call ourselves incorrect here.Operations could be limited due to limited staffing. Restrictions on international travel and work visas are going to impact the ski areas and surrounding communities in a big way this year. We may not see 100% lift operations, especially mid-week. CorrectThen again, if this summer is any indication, the difference between mid-week and weekends has been blurred quite a bit. Remains to be seenMost areas of the lodge will have to be open to provide restrooms and provide protection from weather on stormy days. CorrectSeating will likely be reduced to provide for more spacing. A commonly heard number is that 50% of seating capacity will be removed. CorrectSeating will focus on providing a space for eating and a respite from the cold. Guests are asked to limit time indoors to 15 minutes. Vehicles are suggested as an alternative shelter option. CorrectThere will likely be more emphasis on ready made food and self service options to reduce the amount of queuing up to order and waiting for food. CorrectAs much as possible, food service will be offered outdoors. More seating will be available. Additional umbrellas and fire pits will be added. Mostly CorrectBar services will possibly be limited to beer, wine and ready made cocktails served on the deck of the Base Lodge and the Chalet. Indoor bars may not open until Placer County is at yellow Minimal ranking for COVID Didn t see this one comingContactless payment and credit cards are the norm for payment. CorrectSeasonal lockers will be open this year Mostly CorrectSeasonal locker users are asked to limit their time in the locker room to 15 minutes. Mostly CorrectSeasonal locker rooms will have all extra movable furniture removed, including tables and microwaves. CorrectThe day use lockers are another story. Keeping them sanitized would require a small army…or an industrial fogger. Indeed, electrostatic foggers have been purchased to help in this sort of area. Maybe CorrectThe Park N Ride shuttles from Truckee used on peak days and holidays will not operate this year. CorrectSeasonal teams are on at this time, with no specific mention of limitations. One would assume that teams will split into smaller packs this season.Shuttles between Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley will operate at 50% capacity. At that, it still seems like a bad idea.The Mountaineer service will return this year, again with reduced capacity. Uhm, yeah, again, no thank you.There s a number of things on the FAQ that are specific to Squaw Valley. Dining, yes. Tubing, yes. Mini Snowmobiles, no .but you should check out the details if you re looking for something more than skiing and riding.We really hope that, with the help of us customers, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows can pull it off this year and provide us with an opportunity for lift served skiing and riding. There s no doubt that they will need everyone to work together to make it happen.Here s the big thing, the work to keep our ski season in play needs to be done now. The numbers of COVID cases and associated hospitalizations and death is rising in many areas of the country, including parts of California and Nevada. It was my intention to write a blog post about it here, but someone beat me to it. Alan Henceroth, the Chief Operations Officer of Arapahoe Basin, covered it just right in Al s Blog:We can t let our guard down now. It s not just the wearing of face coverings, washing hands and social distancing that will save us. It s avoiding gatherings, especially indoor gatherings, of any sort. This is the year for a skipping that big Thanksgiving dinner, or not having the whole company get together for a holiday party, or not booking that little ski condo with 25 of your best buddies. Just remember, lift served skiing is worth it. So is keeping people alive.The calendar says we have one more month to go before the 20-21 season gets underway at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows. More employees are being called back in to work. Some are preparing the mountain to be ready for snow, either natural or from the snow guns. Others are busily making the changes required to make skiing and riding in a pandemic year a reality that just might work.The thing that is not quite cooperating yet is Mother Nature. The current forecast remains dry through the first week of November. While there s a well advertised blast of cold coming in over the weekend, the forecast then returns to slightly warmer conditions later in the week. Overnight lows could allow for overnight snowmaking on Sunday and Monday. But by Tuesday night, overnight temps warm again.One thing to keep in mind is that those blasts of cold weather in the fall that allow for substantial snowmaking opportunities are often due to north and east wind events. Unless those winds are accompanied by rain and snow, we get set up for extreme fire events in California. The Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa and the Camp fire in Paradise are both powerful reminders of the power of those cold wind events. Some models for this weekend show the potential for winds to exceed some of our biggest recent fire events.This is the fire weather forecast I was hoping wouldn t come to pass, given all that has already transpired in 2020: Very strong offshore winds, coupled w/exceptionally low humidity record-dry vegetation, will bring extremely critical wildfire risk Sun/Mon. 1/3 #CAwx #CAfire pic.twitter.com/phtnhb806r Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) October 22, 2020At least we have been enjoying one of the best fall color seasons in recent memory this season. Over the last few years, early hard freezes turned everything brown before we got to progress from light green to yellow to orange to bright red. Here s my view this morning. Crystal clear days that begin cool, and soon warm up, make for perfect fall days that are surrounding us in Tahoe. Aspens, Cottonwoods, and imported Maple Trees are sporting brilliant colors. The cool mornings bring thoughts of winter, although the forecast according to my weather guru is not promising for the immediate future.Let’s take advantage of the beautiful fall weather and get on the lake for late morning paddle boarding and kayaking. It is perfect weather for hiking or hitting a golf ball and off course biking.A couple of weeks ago we took a hike to a view point, overlooking Frog Lake, which is now in the hands of the Truckee Donner Land Trust. This lake was a private estate for many years and is now being opened to the public. The Land Trust is constructing small huts that will be used as overnight lodging for backcountry skiers.I believe they will be installed this month and perhaps available this winter by reservation. The hike to Frog Lake overlook is not easy, as it is a pretty good uphill walk. We parked at the Donner Summit Rest Area located just before the exist to Boreal. The rest area was closed do to Covid. Although I have parked at this spot many times to hike in the area, if may not be legal to park for too long. Thus, parking can be found at the Pacific Crest Trail parking area on the south side of the Freeway or just off the Boreal exist.The trail that you follow to gain access to the ridge that is to the east of Castle Peak which allows you to look down onto Frog Lake is actually known as the Warren Lake Trail. We followed the trail from the east side of the rest stop parking area which runs into a couple of intersections along the way. Look for a trail sign that indicates the Warren Lake Trail that will head north. You are on the Pacific Crest Trail for awhile and the Donner Rim Trail (which turns west toward the Hole In the Ground Trail) one direction and Summit Lake the other direction.You can look up the Frog Lake Overlook Trail at https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/frog-lake-overlook-trail. The trail is approximately 7 miles round trip with about a 1,400 foot elevation gain. You can continue on to Warren Lake which is about another 3.5 miles further. Warren Lake would be about 14 miles round trip. This hike is considered strenuous, but worth the effort.Real Estate in the area continues to be very active with inventory remaining low. If you happen to be seeking a home in the Bear Creek Subdivision then you may want to consider this listing. It is near the pond with 3 bedrooms 3 bathrooms and garage. The house is in very good, move-in condition. Asking $1,200,000. Here s the link.Attached are a few photos taken from the Frog Lake Lookout, as well as recent photo along the Sagehen Trail and one taken while paddle boarding along the east shore from Sand Harbor.Enjoy Your DayAndy Share this:TweetEmail No CommentsSquaw Valley Alpine Meadows fired up the snow guns for the first time of the season this week. I wouldn t start waxing your skis just yet. They re just testing systems to make sure that everything is ready when the weather is ready. The weather is not ready yet.Although recent cold overnight temperatures have allowed system testing, daytime temperatures are still too warm to allow any of that snow to stick around and build a base. There s no sense making it, just to have it melt again as making snow is energy intensive, and therefore money intensive.You can see that in the coming days, it s even too warm overnight to make snow at Alpine Meadows. When we start seeing overnights consistently into the upper twenties and daytime highs only into the 30 s, making snow will make more sense.Posting pictures of snow making now is probably somewhat of a marketing stunt. But this year it also serves the purpose of letting people know that SVAM is serious about being open for skiing and riding this season. I am still surprised at the number of people I talk to that just assume no ski areas will open this year at all. I m fine with people taking a year off from the snow. That leaves more snowflakes for the rest of us.Share this:TweetEmail 1 CommentMy name is Mark and it has been 216 days since my last chairlift ride. That is far too long. Since we moved to Tahoe, most of my off seasons have lasted only 5 months. With another month of waiting likely, this one will stretch to more than 8 months. Don t get me wrong, I really miss the skiing part too, but we cannot deny that chairlift rides are not a part of the experience.I know I don t miss the wait in the lift line, nor shuffling through a maze of diamonds. Nor do I miss those moments when you realize that your pass is in your other ski pants. But I do miss the act of riding on the chair itself. While my backyard ski chair does have some swing and bounce to it, it does not have the scenic beauty, tranquility and the shared experience of a real lift ride.Each ride is different. Some are so short that you re at the top before you know it. Others may be longer, sometimes for the good, sometimes not. We ve probably all endured that ride up Scott chair early in the morning, where there s absolutely no sun and a strong west wind blowing at your back. Then the lift stops several times, as people fall on the icy exit ramp. You begin to wonder if your toes will ever defrost, and just how long does it actually take to develop frostbite.Some long rides are totally enjoyable. One sunny day last spring I was making hot laps at Sherwood by myself. The sun was warm and I stretched out on the chair reading my book via the Kindle app on my phone. As I got to the top, I found myself wishing that I didn t have to get off. It might have been pleasant to just go around the bullwheel a couple of times so I could finish my current chapter, basking in the sun.Chairlifts are also for conversations. Each chairlift conversation is completely different, depending on whom you re sharing the chair with. Some are just perfunctory, while others delve into deep philosophical questions. I like all of them. Here s a few snippets from last season:Wife: We need dog food. Me: And half half Wife: Also bread. We should go shopping after skiing. Me: Maybe tomorrowRandom gaper: Did you hear that BA says we re getting 3 feet of snow tomorrow? Me: NOAA is only calling for a 10% chance of flurriesMembers of my weekday ski posse: I m telling you, those snow covered trees look like the seven dwarves. Me: They still look like penises to meExcited Ikon Passholder: How do I get to the backside? My buddy says the backside is the best. Me: (silence)Infrequent skier: Whoa, you re using big powder skis today? Me: No, these are my every day skis. Infrequent skier: I ve been using these Salomon X-Screams for 15 years. They re still amazing.Things are not looking great for any chairlift rides soon. After being teased with the possibility of a storm last week, the models are offering up very little hope at this time. Everything continues to look dry and relatively warm. So for now, it s bicycle rides instead of chairlift rides.Share this:TweetEmail 6 Comments Subscribe The best way to make sure you are seeing our latest posts is to subscribe here. Each new post will arrive automagically by email. Your choice to subscribe is voluntary and we promise to never sell information about our subscribers. Email Address Subscribe Recent Comments

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