Spring Supplies Skiing Sustenance @ Kirkwood - 03/30/14

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.