By Greg Whittaker

Hope you snow lovers have been getting up in the mountains during the last week. If you haven’t, it’s time to reconsider your priorities. We have had it all from sun to snow to groppel to fog to freshies to ice, and all of it has been fun.

Those of you new to the sport, whether you are “groms” (pre-teen) or just a new skier or snowboarder, have had breakthrough days where everything comes together. With the good visibility and the consistent snow conditions, those learning are starting to take their appreciation and skills to the next level. Keller my 5 year old is now able to navigate all blue runs at Alpental with the power wedge, and is incorporating the hockey stop at the bottom of the hill so he can white wash me.

With a warming trend and HEAVY rain earlier in Feb, we had a great consolidation of the snowpack, and the snow that fell last weekend definitely was needed and freshened up the turns. 28” fell at Crystal, and now we have beautiful groomers and sunshine up there today.

There was a layer out there created by the new snow which lead to a big slide on Shuksan Arm, immediately out of bounds at Mt. Baker Ski Area, however, no one was reported injured. Keep it conservative out there if you are in the backcountry.

This week and into the weekend our freezing levels are rising, and moisture may be hitting by Saturday, so we will have light to moderate snow and/or rain depending on your elevation. Don’t let that slow you down, get out in the hills, its good for the soul.

We anticipate some of the best skiing in the year is still to come. March tends to have big snowfall amounts and great powder days as well as great slush-bumps when the sun does decide to come out.

As the days run later, and the snowpack is filled in, the ski resorts are a meeting place for the mountain people to ski, celebrate life, and take in the views.

Mountain to Sound Outfitters is now gearing up for summer, and as we get all of our paddleboards and kayaks in, we need to move out the rest of our winter gear, so this is the pre-sale announcement, come in for early deals while the selection is still good.

Here are links to local ski areas so you can visit their sites for the most up to date info. If you want to contribute this dialogue, come by Mountain to Sound Outfitters and let us know how your trip was or feel free to post in the comment section.

Crystal Mountain Resort

Summit at Snoqualmie

Stevens Pass

Mt. Baker Ski Area

Mission Ridge Ski Area

White Pass Ski Area

Loup Loup Ski Bowl

Make sure you check the WSDOT Pass Reports for driving conditions.

Greg Whittaker is the owner of Mountain to Sound Outfitters your West Seattle ski, snowboard, kayak, and paddle board experts that can also rack out your vehicle so you can carry all that gear that won’t fit in your trunk.