Quick Visit To Silver Star

When the base is deep, the weather cold, the powder packed and chalky, and there’s mid-week January emptiness, Silver Star is a very desirable place to be.

Start with sustenance in Bugaboos, where the breakfast sandwiches are delicious and the coffee is Sydney standard. Then cruise the front side groomers to warm the legs and carve manicured pistes before the 9am ski school classes hit the slopes. The blue-marked bumpy glades off the Silver Woods chair are well worth a peek, holding good snow with their more northerly aspect.

By 10am, some warmth may be penetrating the intimidating terrain in the Putnam Creek area. Silver Star’s real gems lie here. Plunging, narrow snow-filled creek beds like Three Wise Men, Doognog and Spirit Bowl await, along with numerous other choices such as Freefall  to instill caution and even a little fear. There’s a fine selection of steep black groomers too, and even the odd blue run for those wanting a relaxing cruise. But with the Powder Gulch Express to whip you up 560 vertical meters in a few brief minutes, and sometimes more lifties than punters at the base, this isn’t a zone for those taking it easy. It’s exciting, thrilling terrain that can turn legs to jelly in just a few runs.

Silver Star is one of those mountains I feel I’ve acquainted rather than know. I must fix that one day, hopefully when snow is falling from the sky. This would be an amazing place on a powder day.

12,200m, 8900m vert

Season Totals: 42 days, 18 powder days, 394,300m vert

Whitewater and Red Mountain weekend

With a high pressure sat over most of the northwestern US, it was time to head north. Weaker sun, less daylight, colder weather – all ingredients to keep existing snow in best conditions possible. Schweitzer to Whitewater is less than 3 hours, so it was a natural destination, especially as the base was deep and mostly northern aspects would keep the conditions tasty.

It’d been the best part of a decade since our last visit to Whitewater, and the prospect of exploring the terrain served by the new triple chair was as attractive as episodes of Swamp People. And we weren’t disappointed. The new area was a 2000 feet vertical mix of cruising groomers, bumpy and gladed single black diamonds, and steep-as-crap tight trees that were Red Mountain-esque in nature. A novelty, and great skiing, was the lower ungroomed blue runs that mostly involved hopping around massive, snow-covered boulders resting between filled in creek beds.

I dream of being here on a mid week powder day. One day maybe.

Conditions at Red Mountain weren’t dissimilar. Anything vaguely north-facing held stryofoamy, packed powdery snow that skied beautifully. Huge bumps. Tight trees. Scary no-fall zone steeps. The base was as good as I’ve ever seen, with most of the usual messy cliff bands covered and easily negotiable. So we did the usual exploring, poking around in trees, never quite knowing exactly where you are until you find epic lines buried in the woods. I suspect the locals like it this way.  And I don’t mind it either.

Whitewater 8800m, Red Mountain, 8100m, 8200m vert

Season Totals: 40 days, 18 powder days, 373,200m vert

Schweitzer snow, sun and vert-a-thon

Wind is such an influential sculptor of ski mountains. This can be especially true at Schweitzer where the wind, we like to call her Bree (Olson), whips snow off the back of the mountain to load the bowls, and drives storms into pockets of the mountain where deep stashes quickly build.

This is exactly what happened on Monday when we arrived. Constant snow during the day deposited a reported 3 inches. But around Stiles and Headwall, double this amount piled up due to Bree blasting snow into that corner of the mountain. This made for an afternoon of powder riding on a mostly deserted ski hill.

The snow continued into the early evening, ensuring the powdery fun persisted well into Tuesday. And then the temperatures slowly warmed to respectable levels (ie in the 20’s), and the sun came out. Bree kept blowing lightly, aiming her efforts at North Bowl, where the conditions remained primo all week. If you can’t get freshies, these conditions are an excellent second best. So we kept skiing, from open to close, with fast lift, no lines, great on and off groomed snow, and incredible weather. Beers at the end of the day were certainly well earned.

10,600m, 13,400m, 14,700m, 12,400m vert

Season Totals: 37 days, 18 powder days, 348,100m vert

49 Degrees North weekend with the Desert Ski Club

Great snow and ski mountain, generous and fun ski buddies, frigid weather – a recipe for a fine weekend at 49 Degrees North. So few people ride this mountain that the remnants of Thursday’s 9 inches of pow were plentiful all day Saturday. But man, it was cold, hovering not much above the 8F low all day. The upside was the views, the deep blue skies and the sparking snow and ice crystals that floated in the air throughout the day. We rode the many tree shots all day long, lapping up soft fluffy piles of snow. And tracking down steeps and bumps, trying to keep warm.

Sunday was colder, cloudier and quieter due to NFL play-offs. It seemed like there were less people skiing than Stockport County fans at away matches. Conditions were slightly firmer where yesterday’s sun had shone, but with additional groomers and great snow in the West Basin, Cy Glades and Hole in the Wall,  our Desert Ski Club crew kept rocking all day long.

Saturday 7700m, Sunday 7900m vert

Season Totals: 33 days, 16 powder days, 297,000m vert

Cruising the Cascades in early January

The only place in striking distance where new snow was forecast was the Washington Cascades, so that’s where we headed for the first weekend of 2013. First stop, Mission Ridge, delivered it’s usual mix of soft packed and wind blown pow, shredding groomers and  little treasures lurking in the nooks and crannies of the mountain. And due to the NFL Playoffs, it felt like we had the mountain to ourselves.

Next stop was Crystal Mountain, where the storms were due to hit big time. On Monday we benefited from 3 inches overnight, and constant snowfall in the morning. This started to freshen a somewhat frozen front side of the mountain, while on north facing slopes we found fine powder skiing as plentiful as dykes at a Florence + The Machine gig. It kept snowing lightly into Tuesday, and propelled by wind, Powder Bowl was a billowing powfest and groomer pow was everywhere and wonderful, even on the surprisingly finely manicured Glacier (aka Middle Ferk).

The big storm was due Tuesday night, but like the Republicans acceptance of tax hikes for the rich, it arrived somewhat late. But when it arrived at 7am, it turbo dumped. Northway had been closed the previous day, so as the new snow built up on yesterday’s freshies, the skiing was amazing. So few people were competing for the terrain, virtually top-to-bottom lines of deep untracked were available for the picking by mid-morning. The wonders of midweek skiing had me smiling like Ted Nugent at a gun rally.

We headed home via White Pass, where we hoped the remnants of the storm would be available for the picking. First lift rides confirmed these hopes, but the frontside untracked and wind blown layer hid mine fields beneath. The groomers rode like semi-freddo, but angular frozen bumps and steeps with death slide potential lurking off groomed soon made us enthusiastic to explore the newer terrain off the Couloir Express. The difference was remarkable. Additional altitude kept the base soft, and the lack of crowds kept the pow plentiful. Low angle cruising through the trees in the beautiful, cold sunshine kept us happy for the rest of the day.

Mission Ridge: 9600m, 8400m vert

Crystal: 9500m, 11200m, 10200m vert

White Pass: 7400m vert

Season Totals: 31 days, 15 powder days, 281,400m vert

New Year at Mission Ridge and Stevens Pass

Cold, stable air moved in over Central Washington for New Year. Not exactly conditions conducive for new snow, but the frigid weather kept the goods on the ground in darn fine condition. Mission Ridge skied beautifully for 2 days, and as the photos show, the scenery was rather spectacular. Even the New Year debauchery was top quality 😉

Stevens Pass lies little more than an hour from Wenatchee (at the base of Mission Ridge), and that’s where we headed after New Year for 2 days. Stevens is one of those places we’ve visited only 2 or 3 times, and never hit good conditions. This time we had our local tour guide, ‘Rus, a perennial season pass holder, a base worthy of February, and a mostly deserted mountain that was skiing beautifully.

What a difference local knowledge makes. Understanding of aspects that hold good snow, pointing out the best lines, and picking off unskied high-speed groomers, our guide was a font of wisdom. I had no idea that Stevens had terrain on the back side that rivals Crystal’s Northway area. Plummeting through tight trees, mini-bowls and open bump fields, this was about as good as skiing gets without boot deep pow. Corona Bowl’s razor-sharp entry bumps protected heavenly wind-blown snow on terrain where falling is as advisable as watching reality TV.  Head sharp left off the Southern Cross chair, cruise Polaris Bowl through  open trees,  and steer left along the boundary line into an unmarked creek bed/chute that is as scintillating as scary. This is absolutely mountain of hidden treasures.

The frigid weather shouldn’t go without a mention. The temperature at the base hovered around 1oF for both days. Rolling over the Cascade crest from the east was a river of cold air, a flowing mass of cloud that hugged the mountain top. At 20-30mph, this was serious wind chill. I still have minor tingles on the end of the toes on my left foot. They’ll go away soon. The memories of these 2 days won’t.

Mission Ridge 8900m, 9400m vert

Stevens Pass 8300m, 7000m vert

Season Totals: 25 days, 11 powder days, 225,100m vert

A Fernie, Whitefish, Schweitzer loop

Xmas Day finally saw the abatement of fire hose of snow that had been pointed at the Pacific Northwest for a week. With just cold temperatures and flurries in the forecast, it seemed a good time for a quick road trip.

First stop, Fernie, BC, A three hour-ish drive from Schweitzer. An impressive 91 inch base, cold weather and prospects of avoiding the holiday crowds promised two good days. First impressions were  a bit surprising though. Despite the base, rocks and shrubbery were much more prevalent than Schweitzer. Not terrible or unskiable, but noticeable. It was soon pretty apparent that the mountain was pretty much skied out, with  patches of hardpack lurking like incompetent snowboarders on a bump run. I guess this is the downside of being in striking distance of Calgary on a weekend.

Still, Fernie is a great mountain. It’s complex, bowl-strewn layout makes navigation for occasional visitors like us a little tricky, but quality goods were there if you looked hard enough. Highlights included being perfectly placed to take advantage of a clearing in the weather for 3 laps on the Polar Peak Express. One crazy steep, narrow groomer and a collection of precipitous chutes beckoned, with chalky, grippy snow making for some scintillating descents.

On Day 2, we focused around the Boomerang triple and Great Bear chairs, dropping laps into Cedar Bowl and exploring some of the superb tree skiing in this area. Like bipartisanship in the US Congress, patches of pow emerged infrequently, but were always very welcome. Slow lifts and steep terrain are sometimes just what the doctor orders for good snow conditions.

Two hours from Fernie lies Whitefish in Montana. It’s known for extensive, deserted terrain, no lift lines, fog and high quality snow. But with a lower reported base, in the 70 (top) to 20 (village) range, we were a little afraid of early season conditions. These fears were unfounded though, as the cover was great all over the mountain. Drops into Hellroaring Basin started with crazy tight trees, leading into chutes and open bowls, followed by a Mach 7 roller-coaster run out to the chair. The trees from Chair 4 held powdery, soft bumps that seemed rarely skied. The groomers were as fast as the US deficit is growing.

It was a little foggy, but never enough to cause vertigo carnage. East coast and Canuck visitors caused some lines at the base, but nothing a singles line could cope with. Even when Chair 7 broke, the lines weren’t too insane and everyone dispersed rapidly over the expansive ski area. There’s so much tree skiing here that we have to return sometime soon. Midweek. Midwinter.

And finally we scammed a day at Schweitzer on the way home. Not much had changed in 5 days. The forecast was sunshine. It snowed light snow-globe flakes all day. The locals called it crowded. We had 2 or 3 five-minute lift lines all day. And the whole mountain remained blanketed in soft, packed powder that rode like a dream. It’s been an epic season at Schweitzer so far.

Fernie: 10,200m, 10,400m vert

Whitefish: 10,500m, 8600m vert

Schweitzer 9500m vert

Season Totals: 21 days, 11 powder days, 191,500m vert