Unofficial Rose

 Skied my last day of the season today in perfect weather and ripping snow conditions. Spring cord was everywhere and in an inverse ratio to the crowds... which were non-existent. Skied bell to bell enjoying the empty runs and was able to still find little shards of cord at 3:30 on a weekend which was a treat. In contrast to the rest of the season mostly skied right onto the chair.  Skied by the snowpack measurement post on Bronco and it tells the story quite well. There is less than 2 feet of snow laid in there and it will be gone soon enough. We made the most of both meager snowfall and a pandemic and considering all that, I gotta say there were a lot of smiles out there in spite of all the BS. But thats hardcore skiers and riders for you... we will make the best out of whatever we've got.  We have two more days of warmth and then the freezer box returns to a mountain near you. Hope you get out before the Deep Freeze midweek with some possibility of snow, not enough probably, but

 If you work in or around Rose you have enjoyed the benefits of Miss Sparkles. She brings candies to the lifties, she brings cookies to the lifties and this time of year, a Bottle of Rum and Wine for Sven to keep him posting...  We need to clone Cindy Sparkles... this is what a good American looks like. Reaches out, tries to help others, applauds and supports hard work, is gracious and thankful. From everyone who benefits from your efforts Cindy, thank you. You sparkle in every sense of the term! Sven

Ok, maybe thats a little dramatic but I know we would all agree Mt. Rose lost one its most dedicated and most experienced groomers this last month. Although Scott Jones can still be found in the late afternoon on the deck with a mug in his hand, you won't find him in the Captain's seat of a groomer anymore. I sat down with Scojo recently and heard tall tales of trees falling on cabs, runaway slides and pushing snow from under chairs and downhill rides that would have had most people looking for another job. Not this guy. While everyone is home having another beer in front of the fire, watching the game or nestled in their cozy bed dreaming of pow the next morning, Scojo and the rest of the catskinners are out battling the elements, removing snow here, pushing it there, cutting slopes and forever splitting their attention between where they are going and where they have been. Its not like mowing the lawn... there is an art and science to grooming that takes years to polish. When

 Hands down the Award this year goes to: Mimi Longballa for getting her little grandson Dane into most corners of the resort including The Chutes. Her support, coaching, safety and fun loving attitude has changed this little guy's life in a HUGE way. He just doesn't know yet what a lucky boy he is to have a Grandma that is willing and able to spend that amount of time with him in a vertical environment. We should all be so lucky! Congrats to Mimi Longballa: Skier Grandma of the Year Seen here in Nightmare, ready to rename it "Easy Street" for this young man. Watch out Olympics 2030! -Sven

 Although most of us are switching over to Summer Mode with mtn biking, climbing, hiking and fishing more on our minds than skiing and avalanches... I just became aware of a PBS Avalanche Special that has some great footage and some basic info that might be helpful for those that don't have a lot of BC experience. I would say its worth a watch for the nice drone footage alone taken by Solitude Patrol on their difficult mitigation efforts. Its worth a look if nothing else... paste the address into your browser below if it doesn't come up automatically for you on your screen.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0vdizILy38&list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1E8_NAy86laii9p2j22jkS9&index=11 Sven

 If you are a Chutes skier you won't find conditions much better than they are during these warm spring afternoons. If the sun has done its thang for the day, you will be in soft forgiving snow rolling along with you on the steeps and deeply fun in the bumps.  Yes, the Chute tops are a little hairy to get into with lots of rocks to thwart most folks but once you are in, you are like a dirty sock on laundry day, you will have a clean and wonderful run down. So, remember, there are rocks and stumps, especially up top, but once you are in the gut you will be blessed with soft forgiving bumps and probably find yourself as the only one in that particular chute. No crowds and no worries. With lift lines non existent this is some of the best skiing of the season. Enjoy them while you can, their days are numbered for sure! Sven

 Fantastic warm weekend of spring skiing for all. There were smiles all around with lift lines only in the morning both days, perfect cord followed by perfect chutes with no one around to get in the way. Felt like old times out there skiing right onto the chair. The limited bar was open on the slide side with beer, cider and wine and that felt real good at the end of the day. There were lots of smiles and lots of miles... what could be better? The only way to make it better? Put more eggs out for the kids with just candy inside so they don't go home crying and empty handed... luckily I had brought a bunny hat and pockets full of chocolate to make it all better. Otherwise, perfect skiing experience this weekend. Hope you were there! Sven Addicus tears it up at top of Yellowjacket... turn after turn, run after run.  Think they are happy now, should have seen them skiing! Nothing like Common Hibiscus Cider post ski  (Drinks by Nate) Zephyr was deserted more than it was skied! Last pic

 It felt almost "normal" up on top of Lakeview last night at Han's Bunker. Great food by Beth and Hella, excellent selection of beverages by Ryan, live music at sunset, dancing into dusk, a little West wind to cool us down and a LOT of smiling faces happy that NW was still running. Hard to ask for more really, well, a little top shelf Prosecca would have been nice, but wait a minute, GOT IT. You might be able to bitch about Rose not doing this or that but I've never heard any complaints about the wine, beer and liquor selection. Rose has'em all beat thanks to Ryan sourcing libations from all over the world.  If you were there, you had fun. If you weren't, you shoulda been.  Sven

 Noa Selby, rookie groomer at Rose this year uses his past park experience to check out each machines capabilities. 

 Mt. Rose will once again host a wine sunset up at the old Han's bunker site above Lakeview unload tonight. In this quest for normality plan for a nice sunset and ski down on what meager snowpack we have. The numbers came out today from the April 1 snow survey and Cali ended up with 59% of average snowpack and I am positive we are way less than that on our side of the crest as the March storms would dump a foot on the crest and a couple of inches over on our side, repeatedly! In any event the evening should be fun and harken back to better times when we locals could hob knob with one another over a beer or glass of wine high up on Mt. Rose knowing life was good... and of course, it still is. Hope to ski you there.  Sven