20090419 Alpine Meadows Closing Day

Oh, it was a bitter-sweet day on Sunday.  After making it to morning line-up at the Alpine Meadows Ski School, Darrin shook my hand and said "Go skiing."  So off I went, in record high temperatures, skiing the "classic" lines around Alpine Meadows - High T to SP Bowl; Gentian Chute; then we gathered a crew together to ski Idiot's.  It was the first time for Karina, Ted, and Mike:

 

mike dropping in

 

ted takes the left / exposed rocks below this

photo made this start a "no fall" ski

 

ted takes a minute before skiing the lower 

half of idiots / this photo gives an accurate

image of the slope angle 

After skiing Idiots as a "warm-up", several of us went over to ski Keyhole.  The entrance was the best its been all season - no required cornice drops.  K1 was nice and tight, K2 had some exposed rock bands requiring tactical skiing.

 

khoa skiing keyhole / k1 / some of the k2

rocks are visible to the right  

The skiing was so good that we scooped up a group of visiting Jackson Hole ski instructors and took them back to ski it again!

this "closed" sign can't be for us / taking the higher

traverse to keyhole / honestly, the closed sign is for

the high t traverse

The afternoon was spent just as it should be.  First, to the Ice Bar - then the Lodge Deck, then the BBQ in the parking lot (thanks Chris and Kim!), then to a block party on Upper Bench before finally calling it a day.

 

closing time at the ice bar