Mt. Baker Ski Area in Washington has received more than 190
inches of snow in the past three weeks to provide excellent
early-season conditions. Photo: Mt. Baker Ski Area
While fans of cocktails like to say that "it's always 5 o'clock somewhere," fans of skiing can say that "it's always a powder day somewhere." The "Powder Chase of the Week" selection is based on recent or forecasted snowfall (preferably both). If you have a trust fund or timely dot-com cash-out, feel free to chase the powder at will.
Week 1: Mt. Baker Ski Area, Wash.
At a time of the season when most resorts tout openings on "white ribbons" of man-made snow, Mt. Baker Ski Area in Washington has a base of natural snow that many resorts do not reach at any point during the winter.
Snow totals 190 inches in past 3 weeks
As of Tuesday, the ski area had received more than 190 inches of new snow in the previous 21 days for a base of 88 inches at the bottom of the mountain and 100 inches at the top. When the area opened on Nov. 12, the resort even had to issue a "deep snow and tree well alert" for the safety of surely delighted first-day visitors. The early-season snow totals are high even by Mt. Baker standards and those standards are quite impressive. The ski area received a world-record snowfall of 1,140 inches during the 1998-99 ski season. By comparison, Utah resorts known for lots of snow average about 500 inches a season. The season average at Mt. Baker is 647 inches.
More snow, but with some rain, expected
The snow has continued during the first couple weeks of operations for Mt. Baker and is expected during the coming week. According to Snowforecast.com, the precipitation may unfortunately come down as light rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, before turning to snow later in the week. Like many resorts in the Cascades, the base of Mt. Baker sits at a relatively low elevation of 3,500 feet, so rain can be an issue during warmer storms.
Nonetheless, once the snow starts falling again, the conditions at Mt. Baker and other Washington ski areas such as Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass will be hard to beat at this time of year.
Mt. Baker Opening 2009 from Doglotion.com
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