Alpine Meadows Ski Area on a warm, sunny, spring-like Friday a couple days after storms dumped almost 4 feet of fresh snow.

Automatic ticket machines were cool and convenient.

Almost all the front side of the mountain was open, but the back was closed.

We're living in crazy times when 192 cm skis loom like giants.

Carey poised near the base lodge.

Debbie perched up top.

Groom-o-rama!

Backlit icy trees looked like crystal.

Lake Tahoe is right under those clouds.

Rugged rock formations to look at.

High speed lifts galore.

Nice mix of open bowls and trees.

Different trees than the typical ski-area pines.

Exposed midriff fashion trend has even reached the slopes.

Debbie thought this woman looked like Princess Diana.

Debbie, looking pleased with the spring-like conditions.

Debbie delights in a wide, empty, groomed cruiser.

White art shot.

Debbie chases her shadow -- zoom!

Parallel carving action.

Carey, modeling the latest trends in skiwear.

Looks a bit like parts of Alta.

Uncontrollable slide, woo hoo!

They aren't kidding about "firm" conditions.

These people don't look too happy.

Sure enough, one crashed and had to be hauled down on a stretcher.

Picturesque.

Snowboarder over Tahoe.

Now that's more like it, ski tips.

Found a bit of a glade, steep but spare.

I'm parked down there somewhere.

The Ultimate Ski Car? No, but it works.

The set of tire cable chains I ordered to be ready next winter.

The Z Chains test fitted on the M Coupe.

Carey went to Squaw Valley on Saturday, home of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games.

Sled dog practice course on the approach to the area.

Sled dog area from above, with babbling brook visible.

The far left mountain of the ski area, which featured some tree runs.

Squaw base area is densely developed.

The famous tramway heads for the mid-mountain Olympic pavillion.

Central ski mountain is wide open, European style.

Mid-mountain Olympic pavillion.

Riding the renowned KT-22 lift.

"Icy conditions" turned KT-22's supposedly excellent expert terrain into survival challenges.

"Scrape, scrape, scrape"

Looked nice but was hard as rock.

This terrain would be great with decent snow on it.

I overheard these guys talking about this view off the back of Squaw...

Some private tycoon bought the land and is building a private lift from his side that ends up near the top of KT-22.

He'll have a nice view of the lake, for sure, but there doesn't seem to be much snow on that side.

Olympic pavillion and outdoor ice rink.

View from the pavillion of Lake Tahoe.

More panoramic beauty from the deck.

Cool shadows of the Olympic rings.

Over on the right side of Squaw, the Shirley Lake Express served some nice blue/black terrain.

Beyond the international flags, note the nice-looking bumps coming off the peak.

Steep, narrow, and bumpy. Gotta try that.

The bumpy pitch from above. Turned out to be pretty fun.

"Experts Only": Luckily, everyone's an expert at Squaw, especially on little shaped skis.

Expert snowboarders too.

The top of aptly-named Sun Bowl.

Classic Squaw scenery.

Blue sky ride.

Yellow sky ride.

Some seriously nasty snow. AVOID! Refrozen after rain water carved gullies down the slope.

I just had to try some of that stuff on my last run of the day.

Back on the groomed, a boarder blows past to conclude a fun day.