Sharon
New member
Mt Baker saturday was frozen up our first morning. We warmed up our dormant ski muscles on the groomers which were few and not very well-groomed...I kept saying "this is definitely not Okemo". Skiing off the groomers was like skiing on a dry coral reef, refrozen crud which was loud, bumpy and jarring, yet carveable and skiable, though just not super pleasant. Never saw a patch of ice the whole time. We had some decent light for photos in the morning, but then the precip started. Rain at the base and snow on the mtn. The rain was quite soaking. We really got a taste of PNW weather. The Goretex got a good work-out. On the mtn, the 1" of creamed cheese frosting softened the coral reef and made for quieter skiing. The next day there were 2-3" of cream cheese, that turned into large curd cottage cheese as it got skied up. But this made surfaces more enjoyable to ski and we were able to ski all over the mountain. We skied the Chute, the Canyon (from the steep chutes above it), and the steep face off the Pan Face, as well as a number of shots off chair 4. BC conditions were iffey, and w/o local knowledge, we didn't feel as though it would be wise to venture beyond the ropes, even though we had the gear to do so. Whiteout conditions and lack of knowledge of the terrain made the decision easy to stay in-bounds, though we drooled at the lines visibile from within the area. Some day I'd like to check out that terrain I've been oogling from Chair 8. It is right there in your face. The BC is what Mt Baker is all about. The 500 in-bounds acres do pack a punch, but there is so much more to explore beyond the boundaries. Some day we'll get back to do that. Really loved the vibe of that ski area, and we totally enjoyed the funky little hamlet of Glacier. Had a fabulous dinner at Milano's and a few beers at Grahams. The Wake n Bakery was an excellent start to our eastern standard time sleep schedule. It was the first thing open at 7:30. We'd been up since 5:30. The Glacier Lodge was a disappointment. The good thing was that it was cheap and in the hamlet, and probably one of the closest places to stay, but still 25 miles from the mtn. But the rooms were teeny for 2 platonic friends to share, the hot tub was broken, and they didn't serve breakfast until 8:30. We were already at the mtn by that time, though we got a good breakfast cooked to order up there. And, the coffee at Mt Baker is super strong. My hands were shaking as I tried to eat my salmon chowder at lunch.
Monday was a tough day for me. I was sore and tired and it was pouring cats n dogs at the base area of Crystal Mtn. We stayed at the Alpine Inn, which was pretty decent ski-to lodge, but sadly, no hot tub for my aching muscles...but at least there was a bar in the basement. The upper mtn was closed due to wind. We went out in the morning to see what the snow level was and made the best of it. The snow started at about tower 8 off the Chinook lift. We skied the trees off the Forest Queen. Snow was very heavy and sticky. After 2 runs, I had to go in and wax my skis. My quads just couldn't deal with the drag that the wet snow was causing on the runouts at the lower parts of the runs. It was so wet I could ring the water out of my gloves. They were goretex but water seeped in the seems. It was like wearing sponges on my hands. I tried to dry out for a few hours and waxed my skis once they warmed. Went back out after lunch. The snow was piling up. Near white-out conditions kept us in the trees. Still the snow was heavy and it was much deeper as well. The turns at the top of the runs were very nice powder turns in untracked snow. As we got lower the turns became more laborious. I didn't last too long, but Frank mustered up 6 more runs (after 6 in the morning. He was determined to master the conditions. I just told him "knock yourself out, just don't hurt yourself" and skied back to the room to take a hot shower before heading to the Snorting Elk for a few microsbrews. It was a very smart move, as I knew I needed to save myself for Tuesday. It was surely going to be a powder day.
Tuesday's snow report said 13" of fresh snow from mid-mtn on up. The upper mtn was open and had not gotten any attention on Monday. By 7:30 avi control was underway and the blasts echoed the mountain faces and throughout the valley. About 100 people lined up at the 6-pack lift at 9am. Once the lift got running the crowd was gone in 5 minutes. Got a guided tour from Wayne Greivey a pro-skier who was on the cover of Powder Magazine and who regularly hucks himself off cliffs. His biggest jump was 100 feet. We were certainly not worthy, but it was quite a thrill to try to keep up with this guy sporting K2 Pontoons. He took us all over the mountain, including the hike to the top of the Throne. The powder up there was devine and deep and the pitch was perfectly steep. We skied lots of fresh shots here and there, trees, bowls and chutes. I can't recall all the locations, as I spent most of my efforts just trying to keep up. My old achin body hadn't skied since April and 4 days of steeps and deep heavy snow really got the muscles burning. Wayne pretty much skied us into the ground. Even Frank was done at the same time I was totally spent (2:30) as we made our way through Kelly's Gap. Sadly, the BC was not open, but we skied so much awesome stuff inbounds that it was fine, as we didn't even know what we were missing, other than the knowledge that it was out there for us to come back to some day. We'd need a few days to really get to sample all the goods. This is a place we will definitely get back to. hard to believe it is so relatively unknown. It totally rocks. Oh, did I mention it has 3000' vert and 2 backcountry areas that are avi controlled and more than double the amount of skiable terrain? This place is definitely a must-do and will be up in my top 10 alongside Snowbird, Alta, Jackson Hole, Snowbasin and Red.
Looks like it's still dumping out there.
Pictures later.
-Sharon
Monday was a tough day for me. I was sore and tired and it was pouring cats n dogs at the base area of Crystal Mtn. We stayed at the Alpine Inn, which was pretty decent ski-to lodge, but sadly, no hot tub for my aching muscles...but at least there was a bar in the basement. The upper mtn was closed due to wind. We went out in the morning to see what the snow level was and made the best of it. The snow started at about tower 8 off the Chinook lift. We skied the trees off the Forest Queen. Snow was very heavy and sticky. After 2 runs, I had to go in and wax my skis. My quads just couldn't deal with the drag that the wet snow was causing on the runouts at the lower parts of the runs. It was so wet I could ring the water out of my gloves. They were goretex but water seeped in the seems. It was like wearing sponges on my hands. I tried to dry out for a few hours and waxed my skis once they warmed. Went back out after lunch. The snow was piling up. Near white-out conditions kept us in the trees. Still the snow was heavy and it was much deeper as well. The turns at the top of the runs were very nice powder turns in untracked snow. As we got lower the turns became more laborious. I didn't last too long, but Frank mustered up 6 more runs (after 6 in the morning. He was determined to master the conditions. I just told him "knock yourself out, just don't hurt yourself" and skied back to the room to take a hot shower before heading to the Snorting Elk for a few microsbrews. It was a very smart move, as I knew I needed to save myself for Tuesday. It was surely going to be a powder day.
Tuesday's snow report said 13" of fresh snow from mid-mtn on up. The upper mtn was open and had not gotten any attention on Monday. By 7:30 avi control was underway and the blasts echoed the mountain faces and throughout the valley. About 100 people lined up at the 6-pack lift at 9am. Once the lift got running the crowd was gone in 5 minutes. Got a guided tour from Wayne Greivey a pro-skier who was on the cover of Powder Magazine and who regularly hucks himself off cliffs. His biggest jump was 100 feet. We were certainly not worthy, but it was quite a thrill to try to keep up with this guy sporting K2 Pontoons. He took us all over the mountain, including the hike to the top of the Throne. The powder up there was devine and deep and the pitch was perfectly steep. We skied lots of fresh shots here and there, trees, bowls and chutes. I can't recall all the locations, as I spent most of my efforts just trying to keep up. My old achin body hadn't skied since April and 4 days of steeps and deep heavy snow really got the muscles burning. Wayne pretty much skied us into the ground. Even Frank was done at the same time I was totally spent (2:30) as we made our way through Kelly's Gap. Sadly, the BC was not open, but we skied so much awesome stuff inbounds that it was fine, as we didn't even know what we were missing, other than the knowledge that it was out there for us to come back to some day. We'd need a few days to really get to sample all the goods. This is a place we will definitely get back to. hard to believe it is so relatively unknown. It totally rocks. Oh, did I mention it has 3000' vert and 2 backcountry areas that are avi controlled and more than double the amount of skiable terrain? This place is definitely a must-do and will be up in my top 10 alongside Snowbird, Alta, Jackson Hole, Snowbasin and Red.
Looks like it's still dumping out there.
Pictures later.
-Sharon
