La Nina': Pacific North West, the Goods???

marcg · Addict Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 944 City: Salt Lake City

Well based on the temperatures and weather patterns this is looking like a confirmed La Nina year.

98/99 La Nina' year Mt. Baker appears to have broken the snowfall total for ski resort anywhere in the world.

Never been to the PNW, what are the recommended mtns??...I am trying to see if it is it worth treking across the country if there some guaranteed pow...got skunked last season with 0 powder days.

I looked at Mt. Baker's layout....for such a famous resort it looks pretty small as far a size and vertical???...I have heard so many good things about this being freeride heaven though.

Mt. Baker and Crystall a good trip??

Also please no B.C./Whistler recommendations, this basically a warm up/budget trip for December until the winter really starts rolling.

jryoung · Ladies Man Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 7664 City: Man Jose

marcg I've got the lowdown on everything northwest, Baker is a freeriders heaven, but what makes Baker so special is the BC access. Do not venture into it without the proper measures, there is a reason people die every year at Baker, it truely is a mini-Alaska. My profile pic is of hikers heading up the staircase to Hemispheres or the Shuksan Arm.

Stevens Pass and Crystal are both 1.5 hours out of Seattle, with tremendous lift access, for resort riding they are great and have an ideal location.

Snoqualmie Pass is 45 min from Seattle and has great park access, and Alpental. It has been argued by many that Chair 2 at Alpental has the best lift access of any double chair in the country (debatable for sure, but it is up there). Alpental is small, but there are so many hidden gems it'll make your head spin. The downfall is slightly lower altitude, so it'll generally get snow, but it's a bit wetter.

Let me know what you are planning and I'd be glad to give you the scoop. If you have time you can hit all those areas and have a blast.

marcg · Addict Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 944 City: Salt Lake City

Thanks for the info...yes that is the impression I was gathering about Baker and all those old Standard film videos: Back country access is incredible there.

We definitely are not trained enough for the backcountry though, never taken an AVI course etc. or anything like that.

It looks pretty incredible in the the back country there already:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97078

Are the inbound areas there pretty good as well though??

How about the Oregon area?...ever been?

Sounds like spreading it out and hitting those 3 or 4 resorts can make for a pretty good week then?? Plus my wife and I figured we would spend a day or 2 checking out Seattle.

jryoung · Ladies Man Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 7664 City: Man Jose

Yes there is some great terrain off chair 5, heading up the chair you have "The Canyon" to you left. Fun to drop into, with several spots for blind airs into the bowl. If you get off chair 5 and walk straight ahead you can access "The Chute" and "Pan Face". I've had entire days spent just off chair 5.

I've been to Timberline (in the summer) and Mt. Hood Meadows. Meadows is pretty fun, although I haven't been there extensively.

Damon · Posted: Oct 11, 2007 10:40 am Post subject:

Yeah Baker's and Crystal's BC is some of the best in the country. If it's a pow day, they won't let you through the gates w/out avi gear at Baker. Crystal is a little more controlled being that they clear the area before they open the gates. Both these mountains are like home to me, any specific questions (where to stay, what to do, etc..) let me know. Oh and for December, unless we have a really good year, December usually isn't the greatest time to go.

Oregon - I've been to Bachelor, it's pretty sick, but that was late in the season so it was mostly groomer days, but there is tons of terrain.

-Damon

Grace B. · Posted: Oct 11, 2007 11:37 am Post subject:

I've only been to Steven's Pass in WA, I went right after Christmas, it was pretty busy. But, the snow was amazing and they have some great runs, also a pretty decent park.

I mostly go to Oregon for snowboarding and highly recommend Mt. Hood. Meadows is a great place, if you go on a weekday its never really that crowded. They have a lot of terrain and good parks, its basically my favorite place to go. There is also Timberline, much smaller than Meadows, but its typically less crowded on weekends. Plus the lodge is awesome. Bachelor is nice too, they get better snow than Mt. Hood (not as wet), I've only been there once a long time ago and I was a beginner, so I can't really comment much on that.