Snow, Glorious Snow
With temperatures today solidly in the low, mid-50s and sun shining down on us, it’s hard for this Seattlest to believe that just this past weekend we were skiing at Mt. Baker in the best powder we’ve encountered.
You probably remember last week’s disgusting wet weather and cold temperatures which brought big, fat, wet snowflakes to the sea-level environs of Seattle. We sure do, since the non-sticking white stuff scared the bejesus out of every driver on I-5 on Friday afternoon so it took about an hour and a half to reach Marysville. (A friend in another car texted us to say "traffic sux. I’m starting to drink now.") Well, that mess here translated into two days of late-season beauty in the mountains.
By the time we made it up to the ski area on Saturday morning, there were at least 5 inches of new powder on the ground, all the lifts were running smoothly, and there wasn’t a line in site. Although clouds covered the majority of the sky, small breaks here and there provided glimpses of the peaks around us. It was stupendous.
Our friends went back up on Sunday, while a few of us decided to hang out at the cabin we’d rented to imbibe and recover in the hot tub. At these lower elevations, the shining sun melted the three inches of snow we got overnight, which made it possible for us to take a short walk through the National Forest bordering the community we stayed in. Although we didn’t see the bobcat we were warned about, we did see a very large paw print in some not-melted snow. It gave us the perfect excuse to hightail it back to the hot tub and the drinks.
Monday though was the crowning glory of the weekend trip. Five more inches of fresh powder were reported, but when we reached the top of Chair 8, we were greeted with at least 7 inches. We’re not the most advanced skier in the world, but this stuff taught us why the hard-core skiers and riders among us crave powder. It was the softest, driest, most gorgeous stuff ever put down on this fair Earth, and we skied it hard. Oh, and because it was Monday of the week after Spring Break, there were about 15 people on the whole mountain. Amazing.
Although temperatures at Baker are pretty warm this week, there could be some snow Friday or Saturday. You might get lucky.
