Kirkwood, CA 4/26, 4/28 and 4/29/22

[tseeb]

I started about 9:45 after parking on road near Timber Creek where high-speed low intermediate chair 7 has re-opened (it was closed 2 weeks ago when they were running slow beginner chair 1 instead). There was not a very hard freeze overnight, and some wind out of the SE and light clouds that increased at times during day, but usually did not block much of sun’s heat. Snow was softening quickly on both chair 7 and chair 6/Cornice, where I took 5 morning laps with more runs on Sentinel than Zachary. The bottom getting back to Cornice was getting slow especially where E-facing or flat.

I moved to the Wall about 11, when it was mostly too firm. (It was mostly too soft by 1.) I I didn’t go far enough lookers right in picture

on my first run and suffered through a lot of re-frozen bumps and unpacked snow before getting to where groomer had reached on Buckboard, a little above top of the Reut. I made it further lookers right to where snow had softened on next lap, then cut across top of Reut chair to get to Conestoga which skied well. It was already starting to get slow getting across low-angle to chair. I also tried Notch Chute where new snow needed more skiing or warm days to pack down more. I finished my 6 Wall laps following a patroller into top of Headwaters, an area I don’t think I had skied yet this year due to low coverage. Since I had already skied Wagon Trail and Short Spoke on lower 1/2, I returned to Conestoga when snow was still good although long flat at bottom was even slower. Zoom from picture before one posted above shows skier looking for entrance on lookers right of Wall. I thought about trying it to the right of him where it is very steep.

I stopped by pass office to see if they could help with Epic Coverage rollover credit as it says under FAQs for Epic Coverage Refund at Epic Coverage | Epic Season Pass (epicpass.com) on my wife’s next years pass, but it needs corporate help which I requested last week. (Her this year’s pass was quickly 57% refunded, due to 3 days use when she was injured.) I returned to Cornice for three laps skiing still good Zachary, then Sentinel before finishing with Olympic where big bumps drove me into steeps between it and Janek. I ended my day at 2 skiing to within 100’ of where I parked. EpicMix counted 22K. I was at cabin in So. Tahoe at 3 where I pulled out gas stove to check and probably will change supply line as there has been a slight gas smell even when all pilots are lit and spent some time cleaning under and behind it.

 

[tseeb]

Thursday 4/28/22 was a cold Spring day at Kirkwood. They ran all scheduled lifts, but I never tried The Wall as firm Sentinel on Cornice was scary enough. I skied 9:30-2:15 and had over 22K. The high was predicted to be 40, but my phone never showed more than 37 and it was breezy enough to blow some snow around. I skied most of the day with two guys from Sonora who parked next to me at Timber Creek on Tuesday and today. One was former Bear Valley patrol director and the other’s son is now a patroller at Dodge Ridge.

Run of the day was E-facing Zachary where sun and skier traffic softened it up. We also rode and skied Reut chair 11x. Best run was probably Conestoga although Short Spoke, the usual race course where right edge was good in PM, Wagon Trail and Buckboard, especially left edge in PM also had some good snow. Nothing got sticky and all had some very fast/firm spots. I rode and skied Cornice once with @4ster and brother and friend, but guys I’d been skiing with and I were ready for lunch break that we took outside in sun and wind so I lost them.

No pictures from skiing, but posting one of campers in mostly empty lot at Timber Creek, one of Lake near where hot tub I usually poach was closed and one from sushi restaurant where I caught Happy Hour and had $3.25 Sierra Nevada pint, Gyoza and Typhoon roll (Tempura shrimp, spicy krab, avocado, white onions topped with ceviche habanero, tuna, cilantro, tobiko and lemon slices).

 

[Sbooker]

^^^^^^
US inflation has been all over our news but Sierra Nevada seems to escaped it. The first US pale ale I got into. It was my go to brew on my first few trips to the States.
Nice report as usual Tony.

 

[tseeb]

Thanks sbooker. The beer was half-price since it was Happy Hour which runs 4-5. They open 5-10 minutes early and I ordered my beer before 4 and got charged $6.50. When I asked about it they cut price in half.

I'll have to update my title as I returned to Kirkwood today and skied from open to close for the first time this season in CA. (Some of my UT days were open to close). I returned to Kirkwood vs. going back to Palisades for the following:
1. Slightly shorter drive at 35 mi. vs. 40 with less traffic and generally faster road (although there are two passes).
2. Doing my part to support Kirkwood extending season to May 1 for first time in too many years.
3. Don't have choice on Sat as my Vail Tahoe Value pass is blacked out at Kirkwood all Saturdays.
4. Going to Kirkwood allow returns through Minden where gas is $1/gal cheaper than at Tahoe. So I drove an extra 15-20 miles including climb from 4500-7300' to save $18. Now with a full tank I can make it to Palisade tomorrow, Kirkwood on Sun then home without needing gas stop.
I also thought I could stop at Grover Hot Springs State Park near Markleeville, but when I called to check if they were open before leaving Kirkwood they said they sustained fire damage the Summer before last and have not re-opened.

My watched counted 35 lifts (tied highest I have recorded) and 35.2K (season high). EpicMix shows I rode Timber Creek 10x, Cornice 11x, Solitude 2x, Reut 7x and Wall 5x. There was a hard freeze overnight so I rode Timber Creek, near where I parked, a couple more times than usual early while waiting for upper mountain to soften. I (and a few others) tried the Wall around 11 and found it too firm. The Wall was very good from 1-2:30. All the routes I took on the Reut were good although groomed Conestoga was much better/easier than ungroomed Shotgun next to it. A lot of the ungroomed became skiable in the afternoon although it will get better when it settles a little more. Crowds were light.

 

[Sbooker]

I’ve not been to Kirkwood. I’m guessing if you were skiing late afternoon in the dying days of April that there is plenty of pitchy north facing ground?

 

[tseeb]

Kirkwood has a lot of N-facing steeps, but lowest part of Wall and Reut chairs flattens and can get slow on warmest days of if there was not a hard freeze. Between 3:30 and 4 PM the sun was low enough and there are tall thick trees along edge of many runs so snow was soft, but not sticky as it was on Tues. High temp Fri on weather.com was 54 vs. 39 on previous day (patroller said he thought Thurs high was 36). Not much to add besides a few pictures.

Headwaters was shiny at 11:10. I skied it in afternoon, coming down same widest path between rocks as on Tues.

Looking up Notch Chute at about 2:30. This was my last Wall lap. I was going to take one more, but chair closed early.

Notch Chute was much better on Fri than on Tues as snow has settled and has been more skier packed. I skied fluidly through choke after a stop for pictures.

Since I was running low on beer, I buried this in snow under tree near base of Wall in AM and drank it on the Reut.

 

[Sbooker]

Notch chute looks really nice from above. I would love to ski that. It’s funny how some terrain doesn’t form into bumps.
I hope when I get back to Lake Tahoe at some point you can show me around Heavenly and Kirkwood.

It’s not cool that you have replaced the beer with seltzer.