Conditions Report
In the scheme of things, with a few decent storms on top of a solid base, we really have had a ‘Miracle March.’ As with most years of unpredictably low snowfall, Kirkwood’s high elevation has paid huge dividends as compared to other nearby resorts. Ok, so I also grew up skiing there and love the place, BUT STILL!
Given the wind event on Saturday morning in South Lake Tahoe, it was quite apparent that a significant weather pattern was knocking on the storm door. Heading toward Kirkwood on Highway 88, we crossed our fingers that the upper mountain would still be in play. Upon arrival, we were pleasantly surprised to see Chairs 6 & 10 looping up and down the mountain. With the top firmly entrenched in high winds and cloud cover, we made the most of the usual protected zones of Chamoix, Oops n Poops, Dan Cliffs, All the Way, Olympic, Rabbit Runs and Lightning. MildBill even made an appearance to celebrate the wintery packed powder landings. The snow started to fall at around 2pm and didn’t let up until dawn the next day.
On Sunday, the hungry snow tires got yet another late taste of winter on the drive from South Lake to Kirkwood as Kirkwood reported 18 inches new. With a 5 year old in tow, I was able to witness starved powderhounds track up all of Chair 6 from the comfort of my high speed intermediate quad. Knowing that I missed the boat on the untracked race across the mountain, Aaron Miller and I decided to lap up the avoided goods in the hidden corridors of Cornice and Wall chairs. This tactic proved extremely well…
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Mt. Tallac on Friday evening still looked a bit thin for the end of March.
However, by Saturday morning, things were looking up as we drove over Carson Pass to Kirkwood…
A few wintery laps with the boy on the tree-lined piste of Timber Creek…
Conditions were skiing well above expectations as we found packed-powdery landings all around Chair 6…
Oops Face could use a bit more snow for a top to bottom affair…
The wind continued to work its magic on the upper mountain including zones like Ski School Chute…
Skier’s left of Olympic provided for some skiing entertainment…
The wind filled in the Fingers area to provide smooth wintery turns…
However, the Fingers still provided some problems for a few skiers caught off guard…
As the day progressed, so did the weather…
A few laps over on Lightning and then we called it a day…
Only at the very bottom of the hill did we find Spring snow…
Late that afternoon, it finally began to snow at lake level…
The next morning, Kirkwood reported 18′ of new…so I figured we should go skiing.
Dad skipped powder laps up high and taught his son the ‘toes up’ technique…
Back on the upper slopes, we sessioned Chairs 6 and 10 while others headed for backside pow…
With Upper Chamoix looking a bit too sketchy, we did a few laps on the Jim’s zone…
Aaron Miller had some fun straightlining Big Jims…
Funnel at the top of Wagon Wheel Bowl provided some fun…
So how flat is that landing bro?
Always fun to be the 100th person down Once is Enough…
Aaron Miller rips a line off the top of The Wall…
And the Carson Spur looking like winter on March 30th, 2014…
…AND IT CONTINUED TO SNOW
Full the full report:
http://www.slaythegnar.com/2014/03/spring-supplies-skiing-sustenance-kirkwoodmtn-033014/
video is from a several days back! We want kirkwood update post-Tuesday broseph