Today’s conditions were an absolute blast. Hitting the mountain in the late afternoon, taking full advantage of the longer days of sunshine – Scott Chair at Alpine was the place to be.
Report by Ryan Williams.
We had an hour to spot-check the conditions today, and the session from 3-4pm was amazing. Rolling up to Summit Chair, we looked over to Scott and saw the awesome off-piste conditions, with some great lines and drops holding amazing snow. With the temps starting to cool in the afternoon, we were hoping the hot pow and corned conditions had cooled down, and were going to be fast and fun, not manky.
It’s so lovely to have the sun staying out longer now that it’s February – which makes Summit lift enjoy more sunny laps til closing. The conditions at the top were fantastic today, with almost zero wind and soft groomers all around. We enjoyed some hacks on the side, blasting the cold snow at the top, then making our way down Sunspot. The views of the lake were stellar today, calm as can be, and views for miles. Dropping in on the groomer, the trail was smooth and fast, with very few bumps for late afternoon. The recent storms brought such great cold snow, making the groomers hold longer throughout the day and smooth.
Dipping off-piste, we were astonished at how soft and fast the hot pow had gotten; it was actually smooth and rippable, with excellent conditions. It was a blast launching off features in this style of snow.
We took the fun groomer down Yellow down from Summit to Scott. Today it was fast and smooth for big open carves over the rolling terrain. So much fun.
This lift is fantastic for scoping out lines and drops on your way up. And today, with the great conditions, the hunt was on to find a great chute with smooth snow top to bottom in the sun. It was so warm, we rode gloveless – I love it when it’s like this, it feels like skateboarding.
Dropping into the chutes, the snow was amazing, with big winter filled in terrain all around. Rolling over to the chutes, the groomers and side hits were a total blast. Sunny, springlike, and a blast to lay turns down and pop airs. It is impressive how filled in this zone is this year; the chutes, drops, and walls are riding so well and fun. The snow was cooled down hot pow that ripped like a gloveless pow day, chasing your sluff down with each turn.
We couldn’t believe how awesome the conditions were today. The rest of the afternoon, we lapped Scott chair, hitting so many great chutes and drops in fast, smooth snow. The snow didn’t get manky until the lower woods and meadow, just before the lift. Glad we waited til the late afternoon to hit this zone. So much fun, we’re going to hit it again tomorrow afternoon.
