Apr 8 & 9: Eclipse Snowboarding at Palisades

Report by Rene Jerez

Awesome conditions ensued at Palisades for the eclipse on Monday and the following Tuesday.

Eclipse Monday and today were fantastic days to come up to Palisades for some spring snowboarding! On Monday temps were in the low 40’s with tons of sunshine and little to no wind. The snow from the previous set of storms was in excellent shape, and coverage was fantastic all around the lower elevations and at the base. I started off like I always do with a warm-up lap down Mountain Run. After my initial warm-up lap I rode the funitel back up and then rode down to the Siberia chair to hit the ridge. I transited over to Killy’s which was super fast and fun! When I got back down to the Gold Coast Funitel station I then rode the Gold Coast lift up for some laps down Emigrant Gully. I successfully timed my third chair ride up to partly coincide with the eclipse and got off just right before the show was about to start. I of course didn’t look at it directly even with blackout goggles on but I did snap a really angled photo of the sun.

My attempt to take a photo of the eclipse

After the Eclipse I did more laps down via Mystery this time. After riding down Mystery I then rode Gold Coast back up and then headed over to Solitude for some tree and bowl riding. The snow on the backside was fantastic with tons of shade and sun protection, and the firmness made for some fast riding. Off piste there was a bit of crunch and crust on the snow with powder underneath. I did about three laps down into Solitude before taking a break for a bit at the base.

Granite Chief Peak as seen from Solitude

After my break, I rounded off Monday with a ton of hot laps down Saddle off of KT! Saddle was in great shape and it’s a far cry from how it was when the ski season first started. I did about six repetitions and variations down Saddle Bowl, with a few of those going down Saddle Face. Blasting down the Face onto Mountain Run is always a ton of fun on a spring day.

Tuesday saw very similar conditions as those on Monday but it was a bit warmer with temps in the mid-40s necessitating wearing fewer layers. Tuesday felt way more like spring skiing than Monday, and there were definite signs of spring snow appearing on the lower sections of Morningside and Mountain Run on my warmup lap. I rode a lap down Saddle via KT and the snow today felt even softer than Monday and I was getting in some really great carves while on the face. Since I spent most of Monday on the Palisades Upper Mountain I made the decision to spend most of Tuesday over at Alpine Meadows and rode the Base to Base gondola over.

Kicking Things off with the Siberia chair

Alpine Meadows was fantastic. Upon arriving I rode Treeline Cirque and got in a really fun run in the Sherwood trees down to the Sherwood chair. The backside was total mashed potatoes and felt great to be riding on. Coverage on the backside was great and there weren’t really any rocks to worry about. I did about three runs down back into Sherwood from the chair return before riding over to get in some runs on the Lakeview chair.

Sherwood Bowl on Tuesday

Lakeview was super fast, and I got in some amazing runs there. The snow in Scott Meadow was starting to turn into mashed potatoes and was an absolute joy to be riding on. I did about four laps from the Lakeview chair with my two best laps being down Outer Limits and Lakeview. The Lakeview trail via Scott Meadow is actually my favorite way to get back to the Alpine base since there’s always tons of fresh pow you can snag off-piste. After getting back to the base I took a nice coffee break at Viva Treats.

After my break, I spent the rest of Tuesday afternoon doing laps down Alpine and Wolverine Bowls. Like everywhere else at the resort conditions were fantastic on the Alpine Crest with no rocks or ice in sight. My best run of my Alpine Meadows session came on my last iteration down before heading back to Palisades in the late afternoon. I started off with a run down Alpine Bowl before veering off skier’s right down Weasel One and then I headed off down Hot Wheel’s Gully which was totally filled in. After exiting out of the gully I did a quick park run down back to the base. The park at Alpine Meadows has been greatly expanded from February and March and I can’t wait to come back and spend more time messing around there. To finish the day off I got from the base to base at the KT-22 station, and rode down Saddle for one final lap – Finishing an Alpine day off with a run down KT is so awesom

With the current conditions and weather, it’s the absolute perfect time to come get those spring turns in at Palisades. With some snow refreshers in the forecast for this weekend and the resort planning tons of events and activities, the rest of April should be one to remember!