Home > Trip Reports > April 5, 2011, - Alpental Dawn Patrol

April 5, 2011, - Alpental Dawn Patrol

4/5/11
WA Snoqualmie Pass
11922
18
Posted by JPH on 4/5/11 3:50am
Arrived at Alpy to lots of fresh snow in the parking lot and put skins to snow just after 6am.  Made good time up to the traverse off of Armstrong and skied Eisfallen from the traverse to the flats in awesome boot top+ pow.  Decided to maximize the ski time and did 5 laps on Eisfallen before skinning up one last time to ski Dom and head out.  Each run was better than the last with all the snow that was falling and face shots were plentiful on the last couple runs.  My skin track from the base was nearly gone by the time I skied to the car a little before 10 and  I was surprised to not see anyone else the whole time.

The real winner for the morning was my dog.  She pretty much had white room conditions for the whole time!

The upper mountain is probably amazing right now, but I didn€™t feel comfortable heading all the way up by myself with all the new snow, even though it did seem pretty stable.  Go get it while it€™s good!

Sorry I couldn't make it, kid duty on Tuesdays. :(

Glad you still made it out.

author=JPH link=topic=20444.msg86883#msg86883 date=1302029407">
My skin track from the base was nearly gone by the time I skied to the car a little before 10 and  I was surprised to not see anyone else the whole time.


Perhaps this is why? ("Gib" is Rob Gibson of Alpy Patrol)  I'm not trying to take a position on skinning at Alpental; there are good arguments for/against.

author=Gib link=topic=18091.msg76637#msg76637 date=1290712377">
So...  when we pick that date, we post our winter signs and the in-season policy begins.  From that day until we remove the signs in the spring there is no uphill travel allowed in the ski area permit boundary unless the area is open for customers and you make contact with our patrol dispatch prior to the ascent.  The dispatch can pass on some info on what has been going on with the snow lately and will either approve your travel plan for the day or suggest an alternative which better fits into our area operations.  Too many variables, and conditions change too quickly to predict in advance what will be allowed on any given day but we'll work with you to try and let you achieve something you're after.  Bottom line is that the Forest Service puts us on the hook for guest and staff safety and we have to manage as best we can so this is the agreed on winter policy until further notice. That means no dawn patrol or midnight laps, we’ve had too many close calls and aborted control when there are unknown users out and about.


Click the quote link to see the full post.

If patrol was there working I would have gladly gone elsewhere, but the lights were off (and they weren't coming on this morning) so i figured WTF, I'm skiing. 

Maybe that doesn't follow the letter of the law, but I hope no one is going to lose any sleep over it.  Sorry to Alpy patrol if I've upset them...

yeah, I was going to call this week and check-in with patrol about early or late skiing at Alpy.  Anyone got contact info, I couldn't find any?  If there's no one there to check-in with, then it's kinda tough...

Get those april goods!


You can try sending a PM to Gib here -- not sure how quick he'll get it.  I know there are a number of Alpy patrollers that swing by here from time to time.

Gib's TAY profile:

http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?action=profile;u=582

Let's not forget that Alpy had every opportunity to be open today.    Some might even say a moral obligation  ;).  That would have kept JPH away.  Policies do sometimes change, and we can all hope for changes that benefit skiers.  Acts of peaceful floatation could help inspire such changes.

Oh I would have been there, only I would have grabbed an extra 2 hours of sleep and would have skied the upper mountain! :D

author=alpentalcorey link=topic=20444.msg86898#msg86898 date=1302043261]
Policies do sometimes change, and we can all hope for changes that benefit skiers.  Acts of peaceful floatation could help inspire such changes.


Absolutely. :). I mostly posted above to help decrease the likelihood of a negative skinner/patrol interaction. Alpental patrol are more tolerant toward uphill traffic than appears to be required by the current FS permit, and I'd love to see that continue as for as long as possible.

Sounds like fun JPH, way to get the worm!

If the resort was closed and no one was working.  well never mind.

author=alpentalcorey link=topic=20444.msg86898#msg86898 date=1302043261]
Let's not forget that Alpy had every opportunity to be open today.    Some might even say a moral obligation  ;). 


Is there some reason that Alpental is closed so much this spring? I found no explanation on the Summit website, but looking at the Hours page (http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/Mountains/Hours) it's clear that something has changed:

In 2010, Alpental ran daily (Tues-Sun) until Sunday April 11, then reopened for the final weekend April 17-18.
In 2011, Alpental ran daily (Tues-Sun) until Sunday March 27, then switched to Thurs-Sun only operation the next week, and that is what is scheduled for the first week of April (this week), followed by weekend only on April 16-17 (final weekend, or not?).

So I guess it's really only 4 days less of operation (Tues-Wed for 2 weeks), but it seems more significant, in that the switch from full winter operation to "partial" operation took place 2 weeks earlier.

And the snowpack is MUCH deeper at the Pass this year, 98" as of April 1 at Alpy and 84" at the Summit, versus only 81" at Alpy and 49" at the Summit on April 1, 2010.


author=Amar Andalkar link=topic=20444.msg86914#msg86914 date=1302064351]
Is there some reason that Alpental is closed so much this spring?

And the snowpack is MUCH deeper at the Pass this year, 98" as of April 1 at Alpy and 84" at the Summit, versus only 81" at Alpy and 49" at the Summit on April 1, 2010.


Clearly, they hate season pass holders (and they're about to have one-fewer next season).  I'm a mid-week skier and it's bad enough they're close Mondays.  Now this.  Yeah it chaps me.  Time to wear out those skins.


author=Amar Andalkar link=topic=20444.msg86914#msg86914 date=1302064351]
Is there some reason that Alpental is closed so much this spring? I found no explanation on the Summit website, but looking at the Hours page (http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/Mountains/Hours) it's clear that something has changed:

In 2010, Alpental ran daily (Tues-Sun) until Sunday April 11, then reopened for the final weekend April 17-18.
In 2011, Alpental ran daily (Tues-Sun) until Sunday March 27, then switched to Thurs-Sun only operation the next week, and that is what is scheduled for the first week of April (this week), followed by weekend only on April 16-17 (final weekend, or not?).

So I guess it's really only 4 days less of operation (Tues-Wed for 2 weeks), but it seems more significant, in that the switch from full winter operation to "partial" operation took place 2 weeks earlier.

And the snowpack is MUCH deeper at the Pass this year, 98" as of April 1 at Alpy and 84" at the Summit, versus only 81" at Alpy and 49" at the Summit on April 1, 2010.



Alpental and Crystal are both owned by the same company.  I don't know this for fact, but I would guess they made a business decision to close Alpental during the week, assuming they would pick up that business at Crystal and not have to staff two locations.

author=JPH link=topic=20444.msg86883#msg86883 date=1302029407]


The upper mountain is probably amazing right now, but I didn’t feel comfortable heading all the way up by myself with all the new snow, even though it did seem pretty stable.  Go get it while it’s good!



We set out at 9:30 after a talk with Jay Wissman about skinning policy and proceeded to skin up to the top. We pushed two wind slabs, (50'wide, 10" deep) one right above the top of Chair two and the next one(70'+ wide and 6-8" deep) at the entry of Shot six.

There was almost 2 feet at the top with variable wind effect through out the bowl. We avoided international since it ripped out 1.5 meters last week to the February crust and did not have confidence with all the other slabs we found. Great skiing high in the trees with face shots down to the lower mountain, heavy slp to the parking lot.

Felt like a day in the backcountry with that much snow, no tracks and considerable to high avi conditions present.

author=powwow link=topic=20444.msg86919#msg86919 date=1302114587]
Alpental and Crystal are both owned by the same company.  I don't know this for fact, but I would guess they made a business decision to close Alpental during the week, assuming they would pick up that business at Crystal and not have to staff two locations.


Actually no, Alpental and Crystal are managed by the same company, not owned.
CNL owns Alpental, Boyne Resorts is contracted to manage. Crystal Mountain is owned by Boyne.

author=gravitymk link=topic=20444.msg86925#msg86925 date=1302128297]
Actually no, Alpental and Crystal are managed by the same company, not owned.
CNL owns Alpental, Boyne Resorts is contracted to manage. Crystal Mountain is owned by Boyne.


Doesn't it seem to be more likely the case that Boyne would shut down operations earlier at Snoqualmie to encourage patronage at their resort then? Of course, I've never managed a resort myself...

I really wonder if Crystal is staying open until June this year to bring in as much cash flow to pay off the new Gondy and are unlikely to do so in the future.

I think it's kinda lame that the track record, and expectation, for Alpy has been they stay open every day (except Tuesday) until Cinco de Mayo and without any notice the last few years they are shutting down earlier and limiting weekday operations.

I have less faith in their commitment to season pass customers and as such don't think I'll be buying a pass anymore. Viva la backcountry!

author=Moscawulff link=topic=20444.msg87235#msg87235 date=1302485738]
...
I really wonder if Crystal is staying open until June this year to bring in as much cash flow to pay off the new Gondy and are unlikely to do so in the future.
...


I agree that the Gondola is a big reason why they are experimenting with an extended season this year.  Whether they run an extended season in the future will probably depend largely on how much wine, beer and food they end up selling from the mountain top resturant -- which I think is the core reason they built the gondola -- more for the summer season and having it as viable dining and wedding venue.

The gondola does make the logistics of managing an extended season much easier -- its a lot cheaper to run one gondola than to run both Chinook and Rex to get people to top.  Downloading with the gondola is much easier and safer once the base melts out.

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