tseeb
Well-known member
Palisades requires parking reservations for weekends (through March) to reduce congestion on road getting there. There are free reservations released on Tuesday at noon and 7 pm. When I made mine on Wednesday, only Alpine base parking was available. There are $30 reservations that I never used. If you don't have a reservation or you don't use your reservation, you can be subject to $200 fine and/or have skiing restricted. There was congestion getting through the lights leaving Truckee on 89S and some slowdowns. My friend finished plowing his 800' driveway before 7 so I could leave early, but I did a little shoveling on his deck and outside his garage so it was about 7:45 before I left. He said Northstar, where they reported 14" new but both our passes are blacked out on all Saturdays, was showing as under 20 minutes while Palisades, which reported 9" and is a little farther was 40.
I was in line for Roundhouse at Alpine at 9 AM opening. Summit had much longer line and also opened on time. I skied untracked across Yellow chair to Scott chair and took an early lap into untracked Promised Land. I did not need to go that far. Then I rode TLC and went to Sherwood, Alpine's S-facing Backside for two laps. Powder was quickly skied out and developing a sun-crust.
Some of the best snow was on my return in High Yellow, above not-running Alpine Bowl chair. I was surprised how bad visibility was at top when I rode Summit, but maybe it helped knock down long line. My two Summit laps were early entries into Wolverine Bowl and then their Palisades, passing just below top of Alpine Bowl chair. High Traverse into Sherwood was not open. Some of the best untracked I found was off Gunnars Knob, first going back towards Summit, then twice skiing Chip's Face.
This is Chip's Face taken from TLC after 11:30. I had to hike a little to get to this from top of Gunnar's Knob.
Sent this to my friend Art. Lake Tahoe barely visible under clouds. Lakeview runs from slow chair that I didn't get to on left.
I quit just after noon after 3-4 min single line for Scott chair and skiing Gentian Gully to near my SUV that was parked by Subway base. My watch counted 12.1K. There was some snow going over Donner Summit, but it was not yet sticking, and some poor visibility going down W side of Sierra. I made it back to San Jose in 4 hours.
I was in line for Roundhouse at Alpine at 9 AM opening. Summit had much longer line and also opened on time. I skied untracked across Yellow chair to Scott chair and took an early lap into untracked Promised Land. I did not need to go that far. Then I rode TLC and went to Sherwood, Alpine's S-facing Backside for two laps. Powder was quickly skied out and developing a sun-crust.
This is Chip's Face taken from TLC after 11:30. I had to hike a little to get to this from top of Gunnar's Knob.
Sent this to my friend Art. Lake Tahoe barely visible under clouds. Lakeview runs from slow chair that I didn't get to on left.
I quit just after noon after 3-4 min single line for Scott chair and skiing Gentian Gully to near my SUV that was parked by Subway base. My watch counted 12.1K. There was some snow going over Donner Summit, but it was not yet sticking, and some poor visibility going down W side of Sierra. I made it back to San Jose in 4 hours.