Apr 17: Corn Harvesting Season is Upon Us at Alpine

Beautiful, sunny spring conditions and wonderful corn skiing ensued at Alpine today.

Report by Claire Weiss

It was another warm spring day. We arrived in the morning and parked near the Subway. We noticed the snow in this area is melting quite fast. I’m not sure it will survive until closing day, but let’s hope snow-farming efforts help keep it open.

Beaver Bowl.

After a relaxing Subway ride, we hopped on the TLC and rode to the top. The Sherwood run was already soft enough for easy cruising. Off-piste was still firm at around 9:30 am, so we headed back to base via Weasel and Tiegel, which hadn’t softened yet. At the base, we jumped on the Roundhouse Chair.

The Western Region FIS Elite Spring Series ski racing is happening at both Palisades and Alpine Meadows now. The Roundhouse chair provided the best views of today’s slalom race. The course is set on the right side of Werner’s Schuss, along Boomerang, and Banana Chute. If you’re interested, tomorrow is the last day to watch.

Lake Tahoe.

From the top of Roundhouse, we skied down the Dance Floor. By 9:40, it was perfect for corn skiing. After a couple of laps on the Dance Floor, we rode the Summit Chair and then ventured to Sunspot, which was already in prime condition, offering buttery corn snow.

After a few runs on Sunspot, we checked out Wolverine Bowl. Both the groomed and off-piste areas were in excellent condition. The Face offered some of the best corn we found right under the lift line.

Skiing Sun Spot.

The traverse to the Beaver Bowl opened up and we ventured there at around 10:30 am. The top part of the bowl offered perfect corn skiing, while the lower part seemed past the most prime condition. It was still fun to ski. The return via Kangaroo provided the best corn skiing of the day.

The warm weather will continue for the next few days, so come early to get the best corn skiing at Spring Skiing Capital!

If you come later in the day, here are the slopes that get less sunshine and melt late: trails from the Scott, Weasel, and Tiegel runs from TLC, Charity from Roundhouse, D8, and North Peril from the Summit chair.

Wolverine Bowl.