Conditions Report
Squaw Valley 1/14 Conditions
I went snowboarding at Squaw Valley this last Monday. While the snow off-piste wasn’t all that great, the groomers were really cruisy and perfect for checking out coverage before the oncoming storm.
As I rode around it was cool to see bomb holes from the last pow day. People went huge, and I saw tracks on lines that I’ve never even noticed before.
The groomers were great. The corduroy got chewed up pretty quick, but the snow stayed nice and edgeable. There were also quite a few people on them so I dipped off for some runs on Headwall and Granite Chief.
Snow on the north-facing terrain was pretty nice. It had stayed cold and dry since the last storm, keeping it soft and feeling semi-fresh. Unfortunately all of the south-facing runs were bulletproof, and there were deep moguls all around the mountain, so I decided to return to cruising the groomers.
For the first time this year the upper mountain was looking nicely covered. This means that Squaw’s oncoming storm is going to have a killer base. Hopefully we’re all done hitting hidden rocks until spring.
Snowflakes were falling by the end of the day as the storm began to roll in. The storm, which NOAA is calling for 34″-66″ by Thursday, is going to hit hard. Locals should be aware of intense winds and avalanche control that will likely impact mountain operations, and visitors should be wary of road closures and travel impacts. Get stoked, but be patient and safe.
Photos:
Ripping groomers and good coverage, last week it was good hucking snow, the week before it was EPIC base, so in other words, the skiing sucks! Who are these people who write these lies and how much are you paying them from Squaw?
Not going to get into an argument as to whether or not the 14th had good skiing or not, but for the record this was written by me, an unpaid intern. Just trying to let people know that the storm cycle (the one that is finishing up tonight) is being dropped on an already good base snowpack.