What Jeremy had to say:

“It’s June, and today I skied powder for the first time in June in my entire life.  It was really good too.  I hiked a whole bunch of laps up at Alpine Meadows and I put a few of them in this short video.”

There will be some light snow with the cold front but this is coming down from the North over land again so it is pretty dry.  Then the cold core associated with the main low comes down the coast Thursday and Friday.  This is a pattern that has been known to bring some bigger snows to the area, but it depends on how far over the water the low tracks as to how much moisture it can pull in.  Expecting snow showers most of Thursday and Friday. 

Models are back and forth on the liquid amounts and snowfall.  Right now it looks like at least several inches up to a foot on the moutain.  We will have to watch this closely this week as to the exact amounts of liquid we can pull in.  This will be a nice fluffy mid-winter style powder, another amazing treat here late season.

Saturday and Sunday stay cold but about 10 degrees warmer into the 30′s and 40′s as a very brief ridge builds back in.  By Monday night we could see another cold front move through with light snow.  Models are all over the place long-range but right now it looks fairly unsettled and cool next week with some more shots of snow.

We have a strongly positive AO (Arctic Oscillation) right now which we have had since February.  Normally that keeps the arctic air over the Arctic for the most part, but we have some stratospheric warming going on over the pole right now.  That is in the layer of the atmosphere above the surface and when it warms it will displace the cold underneath to the South.  That should cause chunks of Actic air to surge South this month.  That is why we will have a see-saw of temperatures with these shots of cold air.

Another brief ridge could build in for the weekend of the 15th before we could have another cold trough the week of the 18th.  I’m still waiting to see if we can get the wavelengths to lengthen around mid-month and get some more more moisture with one of these storms.  We still have a chance here at one more big storm with these surges of cold if we can get the jetstream a little juice.  BA

The storm moving in today could be the strongest since mid-February when we had a 24 hour snowfall report of 37 inches on 2/18.  With liquid amounts of 1.5 inches or more we could easily pick up 3 feet up top by morning.  It is windy this morning as the storm approaches and the  heaviest snow will push in this afternoon.  We should see snowfall rates of 2-4 inches per hour this afternoon with up to 2 feet possible just by tonight.

Snow showers will continue all day Friday into Friday night dropping another 1-2 feet by Saturday morning.  I’m expecting snowfall totals of 3-4 feet at the base and 4-5 feet up top by Saturday.  That is on top of the 136 inches we already picked up the past 6 days.  We have a couple more smaller storms that keep the snow going Saturday and Sunday.  We could pick up another 1-2 feet over the weekend from the Saturday and Sunday storms bringing the 5 day totals to 7-9 feet by the time we start the calculations Monday morning.

There will be a lot of calculating to do next week as we see where we stand compared to other epic winters.  The good news is that we will be doing it under sunny skies and nice temperatures as the ridge moves back in finally after being absent for almost 6 weeks.  We should have nice weather most of next week with highs in the 40′s and maybe even 50′s at the base and an unbelievable base to start with this spring.

That won’t be the end of the snow for the season but it should be the end of the massive storm cycles.  With a progressive flow I’m expecting small storms to hit us every so often with quick shots of colder air and snow starting as early as the first weekend in April.  If you love powder get your fill this weekend and if you love spring skiing it’s just around the corner.  BA

The National Weather Service reported a pressure reading in the center of the storm around 2 a.m. of 981 mb.  That is a category 1 hurricane pressure and one of the lowest recorded pressures recorded in the past several decades according to the NWS.   This has caused the high winds that closed the resort for the day.

The center of the low is moving northeast through Northern California and is pushing a cold front toward the Sierra.  That will increase the snowfall intensity this morning.  Heavy snow will continue through the day and into tonight as the front is slow to move through.  Once the cold front clears the snow becomes showery overnight and into Monday.

Total liquid on the models through Monday morning is  at 2-2.5 inches, so expecting an additional  2-3 feet on the mountain.  Snow ratios above 7000 ft. will be around 15:1 so light snow but not as light as the last storm.  Weekend storm total on the mountain should end up around 6-7 feet.

A cold, unstable air mass and a continued moist flow off the Pacific will continue the snow showers into Monday night.  We could pick up several more inches Monday and Monday night.  Tuesday looks like the one short break before the next storm moves in as early as late Tuesday night.

The first wave in the next series of storms pushes in by Wednesday.  This first wave doesn’t look as strong with several inches likely.  Next wave moves in on Thursday and is strong and lasts through Friday.  This one could drop around 2-3 feet.  The third wave moves in on Sunday and models are not in agreement on the strength.

This series of storms Wed-Sun is going to drop several more feet on top of the massive amounts we have already received in the past week.  Looks like we could finally have a break after next weekend, but it may not last as we could see storms return the first week of April.  BA

Watch an experienced freeheeler make a perfect tele-turn, and it’s like art. And thanks to Jason Layh, coach of the Tahoe Freeheel Youth Program at Alpine Meadows, it’s not a dying art.

Last month, team members Bennett Drummond and Kami Abi-Nader won the Junior Divisions for the Mountain Hardwear Big Mountain Telemark Festival, skiing Keyhole on day one and The Buttress on day two.

They dominated at the Grand Targhee tour stop too.

“We’re headed to Crested Butte in two weeks, and if they do it again they’ll have swept the entire national series,” Layh said.

The competition runs March 17-19 at Crested Butte.

The program started 5 years ago, an offspring of the Freeride Program, Layh said, growing to 15 members this year.

“It’s just different, something new to try,” Abi-Nader said. “It hurts more,” she added with a smile.

Telemark skiing allows the team to really move around the mountain into different terrain, so a big part of the program has been teaching the team mountain awareness, Layh said, and many athletes have there Avalanche 1 certification.

“They need the head skills to match the foot skills,” Layh said.

Abi-Nader said she thinks Alpine Meadows is a good fit for the team, with diverse terrain accessible by traversing or hiking a little away from the lifts.

“We’re broadening the things we can do rather than just staying in the same runs,” Abi-Nader said.

Competing at Alpine Meadows, Drummond said he liked the Keyhole on the first day of competition, where the juniors were able to tackle the same terrain as the pros.

To learn more, go to the Tahoe Freeheel webpage here.

Freeheelers tackled The Buttress, dropping cliffs, straight-lining shoots and making perfect tele-turns. One may have made a call to his mother mid-line (GNAR points) and another rocked a helmet, boxer shorts and knee pads for his run.

Keep an eye on the Tough Guy Productions page for results, and check back here for video of all the action.

Dance Party at the Ice Bar!

You gotta be good to hang in a hula hoop contest while wearing ski or snowboard boots.

Oh yeah!

The Band Wagon brought the beats.

Snowball fight!!!

Drink specials were flowing…

… and the barbecue was cooking.

The crowd.

Game on!

These snow artists created an Alpine Meadows logo and a chairlift.

And these kids managed to sculpt a free-standing A!

On the other side of the mountain, Alpenglow Sports put on a demo day with the latest and greatest in alpine touring and telemark backcountry gear.

Jason with Dynafit shows off Dynafit skis, bindings and boots.

All sorts of telemark and alpine touring boots were on hand.

Getting ready to try out the fat Black Diamond Megawatts!

In case you haven’t been watching, we’ve got a video of some sweet tele turns:

An epic powder day:

And even footage of the new Kids Camp:

Keep up with the latest vids from Alpine Meadows at skialpine.com’s multimedia gallery.

If you forgot to pack the party this is where to find it.  The Ice Bar is renowned as an unparalleled Tahoe experience where friends gather and gatherers make friends while basking on the south slopes in the winter sun for which the Sierra’s are famous.  Kick back here because the atmosphere is well, kicked back.  Get down, literally to the bottom of the Sherwood Express Chair on the Backside, and look forward to getting down with the Alpine Bandwagon.  This hybrid snowcat sound stage makes regular appearances at the Ice Bar to help the party happen.

You should have the sunscreen already, we’ll provide the lounge chairs and everyone will just have to imagine the beach is just off the steps with the chill (not to be confused with chilly – it’s supposed to be warm and sunny) attitudes and ambiance, barbecued bratz, an occasional snowball brawl (think getting splashed by that person who thinks they know how to be flirtatious while kickin’ it poolside).  However you shred your mountain, there is good times to be had by all.

If you are wondering where the crowds are on the Frontside, on a Friday, over the holidays it can mean only a couple things; 1 – The Abominable Snowman was discovered! …At Alpine. 2 – The secret ingredients to the Colonel’s chicken was reviled at the local KFC. 3 – The Ice Bar is open for business.  As with most multiple choice tests with only 3 answers, go with the last option.  When there’s more then three choices the statistics change dramatically and the best guess isn’t just given away for free.  Sorry all you college students, if your professors do multiple choice tests beyond 3 choices, you’ll have to earn those degrees on your own.  Enjoy the best off the beaten path place to chillax this season starting today at the Ice Bar.