Squaw and Alpine Open Top to Bottom
Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are open top to bottom, thanks to a series of storms that have blanketed the Sierra with up to five feet of new snow. To get a grip on just how conditions were shaping up, we headed to the lake this past weekend for a sample of some of the earliest season powder and grooms Tahoe has seen in decades. Sun on Saturday and clouds on Sunday dictate our schedule. We decide to ski Alpine Meadows in the morning, then head next door to Squaw Valley in the afternoon. On the slopes, we find two icons of Tahoe's celebrity contingent and make a few runs with Kent Kreitler and Shane McConkey.
Alpine Meadows
We run into Kent Kreitler, who's back on the snow after a successful knee operation he underwent when a close encounter with a rock on the touchdown end of a 40' huck in Alaska last winter dislocated his knee. Apparently, this uber athlete has a guardian angel, considering the seriousness of his injury and his rapid return to the slopes. Hanging with Kent, who is rehabbing specific muscle groups in the most precise manner, we tag along for some carving exercises on the groomed runs and ask him how he's doing. "I'm feeling good," says Kreitler, "I expect to work on my healing hard, with my primary focus on regenerating muscle control, so I can be back in shape for filming again in February."
Although the temptation to head for fresh powder in the trees must be hard to ignore, Kreitler maintains his rehab regimen on Alpine's runs. "No way do I want to get injured again this year, so I'm going to ease into it, " he says. We bid Kreitler good-bye, and head for the trees. Two to three feet of powder wait to be crushed as we hit Sisters Chute first. Thigh deep powder has blown in for coverage all the way back to the chair. Back at the top we roll off the Summit Chair to lookers left, traversing below Keyhole for more tree action. The February freshness of the snow boggles our brains as we lap the knee-deep fluff blanketing the forest. With mid-winter coverage everywhere, the whole mountain is open to exploration for freshies. We work the trees across the mountain, then say good-bye to Kreitler, who invites us to the premier of his new movie, Reverence before heading off to Squaw.
Squaw Valley
At Squaw, we find Shane McConkey in line at the Siberia Chair. He asks if we want to make a few runs. We humbly request he show us the goods. He doesn't let us down. From Siberia Ridge, we traverse below the omnipresent Palisades and do a quick sidestep to the top of the Headwall. Ducking out over some rocks, we enter a narrow Garbage Chute, catching the benefits of a westerly spindrift spilling over rock walls, the light winds punching the ‘refill' button on this slot all day long. Sporting his new K2 Apaches, Shane trashes the fresh, then slays some soft strastrugi on the open slope below. He asks if we'd like some more. Clear skies and perfect temps make for a shirtsleeve powder day more comparable to an April surprise instead of one of the earliest openings on record. We follow Shane out North Bowl and head back to the chair.
Riding back up Siberia, huck landings and lines off Mainline stand as trademark telltales of the recent storms that have hammered Squaw. Looking left, exquisitely long, sinuous, deep powder tracks are framed on West Face, a poached reminder of what's to come when KT opens. "So how are those new K2's?" I ask. "They're great," says Shane" We hit a couple of untouched stashes with Shane, who doesn't appear to have any difficulty adjusting to his new boards after two years on Spatulas, then head out on our own after grabbing a few shots of this most famous skiing BASE jumper. A couple runs later we're finishing our day with a top to bottom run to feel the early season quad burn that tells us we are not worthy to ski in the presence two of the largest names in freeskiing – yet.
With more storms are lined to pound the Sierra, the early-season skiing has never been better. For more information on Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, get the latest conditions at:
www.squaw.com
www.skialpine.com
To order Kent Kreitler's new movie, Reverence, check out www.kentkreitler.com
For more of McConkey's latest antics, check out Yearbook at www.skimovie.com