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PNW 2016-17

Christy

Angel Diva
I'll start a whole PNW thread as there probably aren't enough of us to keep threads about individual ski areas going.

December has been very snowy and the WA Cascades ski areas are over 100 inches for the season. I skied Crystal for the first time yesterday and it was as good as it gets--lots of new snow, a good base, everything covered, and very light snow due to the cold temps. Okay I suppose it could have been blue sky too but it's still snowing so I'll take it. It was probably my best first day ever, mostly due to that hero snow, which anyone would ski well in. Bigger than usual pre-Xmas crowds (that's what you get when you get 16" in the previous 48 hours) but the great thing about Crystal is how spread out everyone gets. Baker got 28" this weekend and is up to 92"-131" for its base.

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We rode a chair with a young guy that just moved here from Indiana. He was so blown away that he could drive to Crystal for the day. Over and over he kept saying, "I can't believe this. I'm coming every single weekend." It was pretty sweet.

It's going to snow through today then be sunny tomorrow. If were weren't heading to Sun Valley Thursday I would take a leave day for sure. Tomorrow is going to be incredible.
 

vickie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
How crowded is Crystal just before Christmas ... like the 23rd, 24th, 25th? I think I'm going to Bachelor, but ....
 

Christy

Angel Diva
How crowded is Crystal just before Christmas ... like the 23rd, 24th, 25th? I think I'm going to Bachelor, but ....

I doubt very. It's not like vacationers go there, and it seems like locals would be doing Xmas stuff. Maybe at worst, if conditions are fabulous, it would be like any other Saturday, which isn't bad. I can't remember when I've skied Xmas eve--usually I'm at work-- but that sound like a great day to ski! Let me know if you go.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
White Pass today. Beautiful snow, just as nice as it could be. A very busy day for this area which rarely gets busy. But, snow+sun+holiday weekend. $39 including tax for demos! I just paid $79 at Sun Valley. Free ski check too.

We got to see our first child-dangling-from-chairlift rescue today. The chair had probably gotten 15 feet in the air. He was clutching his mom's leg and dangling from there but she couldn't pull him up. Lifties ran and got a ladder, climbed that, knocked his skis off, then were able to grab his legs and ease him down. Lots of applause for that!

White Pass is in the South Cascades which don't have the jagged pokey-peak scenery of the North Cascades. But they do have some great big volcanoes, and neat volcanic features like plug domes and cinder cones. Below, Mt Rainier, and Spiral Butte.

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Cascadia

Certified Ski Diva
Hi first post ever! :smile:

Snoqualmie is doing surprisingly well this year. I don't think they've been hit by rain at all yet so it hasn't packed down to concrete. Yesterday was my 5th week in a row and the snow is still taking an edge well. I noticed where the Triple 60 Traverse dumps into Alpine bowl was starting to get a bit dicey once all the ski school classes hit it hard just before lunch break (my class included). 3 more weeks of lessons and hope to have my skills good enough to get back to Crystal! (Used to snowboard before switching 3 seasons ago, I miss Queens Run so much!!)
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
I spent 4 days at Red last weekend but I'm having issues posting photos. Here on the east side we are at about 70% of normal on the snowpack still. Christy, send some over here!
 

Christy

Angel Diva
@geargrrl Did you get anything from the weekend? Great 72 hr totals in the Cascades but also Lookout and Schweitzer! No wonder I-90 was closed so long. This is great but I'm started to think enough already with the big dumps...I don't want it to be one of those years when hiking doesn't get going until August.

Snow.JPG
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
We got about 9" for Saturday, another 9 Sunday afternoon. I just cam down with the flu so I skied four runs with the hub on sat, all fresh, thenwent in and waited for him. He went backwards yesterday for mote but I stayed home. It's pretty warm and soft ..
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Hi first post ever! :smile:

Snoqualmie is doing surprisingly well this year. I don't think they've been hit by rain at all yet so it hasn't packed down to concrete. Yesterday was my 5th week in a row and the snow is still taking an edge well. I noticed where the Triple 60 Traverse dumps into Alpine bowl was starting to get a bit dicey once all the ski school classes hit it hard just before lunch break (my class included). 3 more weeks of lessons and hope to have my skills good enough to get back to Crystal! (Used to snowboard before switching 3 seasons ago, I miss Queens Run so much!!)

You sneaked in your first post! Welcome! Hope you enjoy the company here.

Anne
 

Christy

Angel Diva
We got about 9" for Saturday, another 9 Sunday afternoon. I just cam down with the flu so I skied four runs with the hub on sat, all fresh, thenwent in and waited for him. He went backwards yesterday for mote but I stayed home. It's pretty warm and soft ..

Sorry about the flu but glad to hear you are getting snow!

Alpental ended up getting 5' since Friday. They are still digging out the lifts and couldn't open on time today.

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Christy

Angel Diva
The DOT is keeping the Mt Baker Hwy closed again today, not just because of the 100 trees and countless limbs down, but because the snow removal equipment needed to clear the highway is needed in the lowlands--the Puget Sound area and especially the Bellingham area got snow yesterday. The ski area is at the end of the highway and there's nothing else there, no other businesses, and there are employees stuck up there. They are either having the most amazing time ever, or have begun to cannibalize each other. I wonder how much food is on hand at the lodge in any given time. Hopefully there is power! There's certainly powder (28" in the last 48 hours).

Here's the highway.

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Baker's full announcement:

The ski area will remain TEMPORARILY CLOSED today – Tuesday February 7th due to the DOT’s closure of the Mt. Baker highway from Glacier east to the ski area. The weather conditions of the past few days have caused trees to fall along that section of the highway.

However in addition, there is another twist. The big mountain snow removal equipment necessary for the large amounts of snow up here at Mt. Baker area is now needed in the lowlands of Whatcom County due to the Northeaster and large amounts of snowfall that hit the lowlands the past few days causing large snowdrifts.

Both the equipment and crew who normally work the upper Mt. Baker Highway have gone to help clear roads in the County and help get things back in shape in the lowlands. At this point we are not sure when those resources will be able to return to work on the trees and highway up toward the ski area, but we will be in contact with the DOT as their work progresses today and will update this report by 3:00 this afternoon with further information.

It’s been staaaaacking up here on the mountain while these storms have moved through the past few days and our crew has been continuing to prepare the ski area for operation with anticipation of re-opening on Wednesday! Once again, we are dependent on the progress of the DOT crews and will let you know this afternoon if we are on for tomorrow. Stay tuned!
 

Christy

Angel Diva
All 3 cross state routes--Snoqualmie, Stevens and White Passes--are blocked by avalanches or closed by high avy danger tonight. It's been a while since that happened. A group of my husband's coworkers were night skiing at Snoqualmie and they are stuck until state patrol decides it's safe enough to take them down in a convoy. He's pretty glad he skipped out of the outing!
 

geargrrl

Angel Diva
Mt Spokane today, courtesy DH

Wow. Exceptionally horrible skiing today. Anything not covered in rubber is soaked after one run down chair three. Foggy. Pouring rain. Windy. Big holes from the groomer. And it's supposed to get worse.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
They say La Nina is over but this year continues to be so nice! Last weekend at Crystal was KILLER. Yesterday was supposedly the best day of the year, with 15" overnight and cold temps (I wouldn't know, sniff). The forecast all week looks great.

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Christy

Angel Diva
Another super nice and snowy day/weekend/week at Crystal. BUSY though. Crystal has, for 101 straight days, started running lifts 15-30 minutes early to try to disperse people. That's nice for those that can get up a bit earlier though it's hard enough for me to get there by 9...

They didn't technically get as much snow this weekend (15" Friday night to Sat night) as last but it felt deeper in spots and you never knew how deep it was until you were in it. For the first time in ages I took some really hilarious spills, soft and fluffy spills, the kind that make me laugh really hard. Rob thinks I am having a breakthrough as suddenly I'm skiing powder confidentially. It feels more to me like I'm just skiing well again as opposed to like crap but he may be right.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Hmm. I've kinda shifted into spring mode. We're heading to Orcas Island for the weekend. But now there is this. I hope someone else can get after it!

Expected snowfall totals Thursday through Sunday are 11 to 23 inches at Mount Baker; 6 to 11 inches at Stevens Pass; 4 to 7 inches at Alpental at Summit at Snoqualmie; 9 to 20 inches at Crystal Mountain; and 5 to 10 inches at White Pass.
 

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