Alpine Meadows is awesome. Management's calls have been discussed plenty on unofficialalpine.com, so check out the forum there if you'd like. I'm powderjunkie on there, and though I'm not a tahoe local, some of the folks on that forum live a stone's throw away from the lake.
Alpine should be super sick. A contributor poster to Unofficial Alpine--Andy Wertheim--made note that he was handed the new trail map a few days ago. On it were orange ovals on Kangaroo, Terry's return, and Charity.
Look for Jonahs, or nohajs here on NS, because he's the park manager. Alpine gave him the freedom to put park features on places other than Kang, so that's what he's doing. From what he's said, I gather that he'll be building features in places you see while skiing and think "Gee, I wish there was a proper takeoff for that tree jib," or "It would be really swell if there were a better takeoff on this buttery smooth roller!"
That will be good. The college pass is sick as well, nice and cheap if you're a student.
Look for me on the mountain- 09 Gotamas mounted with Look Px12 Jibs, Burton disco pants (
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66002&stc=1&d=1255276241), an orange Marmot jacket, and a black Smith helmet.
I usually follow this sort of pattern throughout the day: Summit until the crowd builds, then Scott for a while, then Abowl once or twice, then summit when the crowds die back down. I throw in backside and the Pacific Crest Trail northward hike (to Beav, estelle, etc.) if I want to. I usually do.
I'll see you on the mountain, I try to be there as often as possible, but it doesn't always work out with Mom and Dad's schedules, but this year I have a license, so my parents might let me drive up on my own later in the season. In all likelihood, that won't happen until the winter of '10/'11.
Wow, that's a longish post for being written at 12:30.
