lowell@fluke.UUCP (Lowell Skoog) (11/06/85)
This is an attempt to get some useful information circulating. Most ski
areas in this country are clustered, for example around Denver, Salt Lake
City, Lake Tahoe, Seattle and so on. To plan a trip, one can head for a
skiing center, then pick and choose the areas to spend time at. I would
like to hear what people think of the ski destinations in their region.
To start off, I'll describe the place I know best--Washington--and hope
other skiers on the net can follow up with their respective areas.
First an apology. Nobody comes to Washington for a ski vacation. Period.
So this information will be of limited use to most of you skiers out there.
Still, the humble resorts listed here are all we've got, and the biased
nature of this review may get some lively debates going.
Snoqualmie Pass
Snoqualmie Pass is really four areas: Alpental, Snoqualmie Summit,
and Ski Acres (jointly operated) and poor neglected Hyak another mile
down the road. The biggest asset of the pass is access--it is only an
hour from Seattle. Another asset is night skiing, some of the best in
the country. The biggest drawback is low elevation. It rains a lot.
Snoqualmie Summit is very gentle and very smooth. It is an excellent
place for beginners, intermediates, and somewhat surprisingly, red-hot
ski racers. Some of the best racers and coaches in the Northwest spend
their time wacking bamboo on its groomed slopes.
Ski Acres is characterized by smooth flats and short, steep mogul runs.
This terrain has made it a spawning ground for hotdoggers. With
excellent lighting on all of its slopes, Ski Acres has the best and
most extensive night skiing in Washington.
Alpental is the highest of the Snoqualmie areas. It is known for its
steep, narrow runs and challenging backcountry. After a cold storm,
Alpental offers some of the best powder skiing in the state. Alpental
skiers get used to avoiding cliffs.
Hyak always seems on the verge of bankruptcy. Though it is officially
known as Pacific West Ski Area, it will always be known as Hyak to
Seattle old-timers. With reasonably long, consistent mogul runs, it
is a cross between Ski Acres and the Summit. Since they are usually
trying to attract skiers, lift tickets can be very cheap.
Mission Ridge
Located on the east side of the Cascades, Mission Ridge gets drier
snow and more sunshine than the other Washington areas. Some Seattle
skiers call it the poor man's Sun Valley. Most of the runs are
gentle and well groomed, but there are some short mogul pitches and
intriguing back bowls. Mission Ridge manages to avoid the "greasy
spoon" atmosphere of many of Washington's other areas. For a small
resort, it has class.
Stevens Pass
Stevens Pass is to the city of Everett what Snoqualmie Pass is to
Seattle. Actually, this comparison is not quite fair. Stevens is
higher, gets better snow, and less rain. Most of the area is
intermediate terrain. The steepest and most renowned run, Seventh
Heaven, suffers from its fame. The run is usually in poor condition
because of ruts caused by people who shouldn't be up there. The
lighting for night skiing is poor.
Mt. Baker
Located near the Canadian Border, Baker is popular with Vancouver
and Bellingham skiers. It is characterized by vast amounts of snow
and short, rolling runs. Baker powder skiers have learned to savor
their turns a dozen at a time.
Crystal Mtn.
Crystal Mountain is the largest ski area in Washington and my
personal favorite. It has steep, sustained slopes, extensive
backcountry, and a good selection of groomed intermediate runs.
Sunnyside, the centerpiece of the area, is one of the great mogul
runs in the United States. Crystal attracts good skiers. The
crowd of regulars that tears up this mountain every weekend is
like none I've seen anywhere else. There is night skiing on
some good intermediate slopes.
White Pass
I am embarrassed that I have never skied White Pass. As the home
area of Steve and Phil Mahre, this little area merits recognition all
out of proportion to its size. Unfortunately, White Pass is somewhat
remote from Seattle (3-4 hours). Perhaps someone can fill me in on
what I have been missing.
North Cascades Helicopter Skiing
Centered in Mazama, in the Methow Valley, the helicopter skiing
offered by Liberty Bell Alpine Tours is one good reason to come to
Washington to ski. Mazama is on the east side of the mountains and
like Mission Ridge has dry snow and decent weather. The helicopter
flies to a variety of slopes, from scraggly tree runs to wide open
glaciers. Obviously, this is a more expensive way to ski, and you
take your chances on conditions. But when it's good, this is the most
spectacular skiing in Washington.
There are more ski areas in Washington on the east side of the Cascades
and near the Idaho boarder. They tend to be smaller than the ones I have
described. I haven't skied any of them.
Lowell Skoog, Seattlerees@apollo.uucp (Jim Rees) (11/11/85)
I think this is a great idea, reviewing your local slopes for those of us who might want to ski there some time. Would someone please like to do Colorado next? I'm going there over Thanksgiving, to Steamboat. Did I make the right choice? My only comment is that Stevens is much nicer than Snoqualmie. We used to drive all the way to Stevens rather than go to Snoqualmie, which is much closer to Seattle. Crystal is still my personal favorite, but it's pretty remote from Seattle by Northwest standards. Something I would like to see in a ski area review is an estimate of how far the slopes are from 1) lodging and 2) a town big enough to have a movie theatre and some restaurants. One reason you could never consider Washington for a ski vacation is that none of the areas have lodging or towns anywhere nearby. The one time I went away for a ski trip was to Big Mountain in Montana. Very nice, and accessible by train (a big consideration for me), but there isn't any way to get into town from the lodging at the slopes.