West Side Snow Report
Snow lovers are gearing up for another great season
West Side Snow Report
West Side Snow Report, Sponsored by Mountain to Sound Outfitters.
Fri, 11/10/2017
It is the favorite time of the year for some of us in the Pacific Northwest, the tribe of skiing and snowboarding faithful. Those of you new to the area are now living in one of the true ski towns in the Lower 48. Aside from Denver, Salt Lake City, and Portland no other spots offer the amazing easy access skiing that we have here in the Puget Sound Region. The ski culture in the region is ingrained into locals as you grow up in the area. Kids are introduced to the most horrendous of conditions in search of adventure and fun. Thankfully new technologies in fabrics allow us to be comfortable in these conditions, as opposed to the days of skiing in jeans. So here's the scoop on whats shaping up.
Crystal Mountain has announced that it will be opening tomorrow with limited operations and a $45 lift ticket, these will be the first Washington lifts turning this year! Crystal also did some major infrastructure improvements this year with investments in snow making technologies that, according to John Kircher, will guarantee Thanksgiving openings from here on out. This year we are beating the estimates with an early opening thanks to the early snow.
Mt. Baker Ski Area has announced Opening Day is this Thursday, and are expecting 15 inches of fresh on Wednesday, so looking like the first runs of the season up at Mt. Baker will be in the white room. Mt. Baker also invested in infrastructure over the summer and has replaced Chair 7, from the White Salmon base area with a faster, although still fixed, and wider chairlift.
The Summit at Snoqualmie is reporting a base of approximately 10 inches at the bottom, with 32 inches at the top of Alpental. At an elevation of just over 3000 feet at the base, the Summit needs colder temperatures to get the operations up and running, and that should be shifting in Wednesday through Friday with a couple of feet of fresh snow expected. No word yet on when they will open, it is up to Mother Nature at this point.
Stevens Pass Ski Area opened up a rope tow last weekend for a "Rope Tow Rail Session", and people were stoked. Based upon the operations calendar, it looking like they are planning on spinning lifts on Friday, with the Weds and Thursday snow, it should be a great opening.
NOAA forcast for the next 2 weeks is colder and wetter than normal, which is a great thing to get the mountains up and running. With ocean temperatures shifting towards cooler temperatures in the Pacific, we are anticipating a La Nina season, which can lead to fantastic snow pack in the Cascades.
So have fun out there early season skiers and snowboarders. Snowpack is low, so keep those tips up when ripping through the trees. Remember it only gets better as the season goes on, and take it easy so you can get in a full La Nina year of powder turns.
Here are links to local ski areas so you can visit their sites for the most up to date info. If you had a great day on the mountain, come by Mountain to Sound Outfitters and let us know how your trip was or feel free to post in the comment section.
Make sure you check the <a href="http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/camera.aspx">WSDOT Pass Reports</a> for driving conditions.
Greg Whittaker is the owner of <a href="http://www.m2soutfitters.com/">Mountain to Sound Outfitters</a> your West Seattle ski, snowboard, kayak, and paddle board experts that can also rack out your car so you can carry all that gear that wont fit in your trunk.
Alpental is filling in, and absolutely rips when she is good.
Tons of Snow at Mt. Baker
Forest Queen looking good.
Friday should be the Stevens Pass opener.
