Spring Break in Washington

matt.rad

matt.rad

Active member
Hey guys. I'm from Pittsburgh, PA and I'm planning a spring break trip to Washington from March 7-12. Right now I'm planning on going to Mt. Baker, but I'm not sure what some other good options would be for resorts in the area. I'm flying into Seattle, so they have to be accessible from there. Sure I could use resort rankings in a magazine to decide, but I figured you guys would know better because you actually live and ski in the PNW. So what do you guys think? Where should I go? Thanks for the help.
 
Is there any chance of me getting any info from you guys in regionals? I appreciate the humor and all, but can I get some help please?
 
be more specific do u want alot of pow and big mountain or are you looking to skiing some park??? and are you staying in seattle or are u trying to stay at or near one of the resorts???
 
I'm looking to ski pow, that's my goal of the trip. I'm planning on staying at or near the resort. I know the closest lodging to Baker is like 18 miles away, but I'm really just looking for the best place for variety of terrain and deep snow. I'm definitely not ready to ski the full-blown backcountry because, living on the east coast, I have no experience of gear for that. I'm looking for more of something along the lines of lift-accessed backcountry skiing or stuff that's inbounds or that filters back inbounds.
 
stevens, baker and crystal all really have what you're looking for. crystal has lodging at the mtn which is a plus, no park, sick terrain. stevens is dope sauce and has a park. baker is just craziness when its snowing, otherwise not too hot. really cant go wrong with any
 
If you're going to spend all that money on a plane ticket anyhow why don't you just go to whistler? I say this because washington doesn't have "resorts", we have ski areas with little or no lodging. Plus, if you really want to you can still hit up baker because it isn't that far away.
That being said, i love the fact that ski areas in WA aren't giant shopping malls/condo developments. I think all the development somewhat ruined Colorado. So, if you're purely looking for skiing, fly into seattle, rent a car, drive to baker, stevens, alpental, and crystal and stay as close as you can to the mountains.
 
after you fly into seattle you could dirve to glacier, find a place to stay, and hitchike or drive from there. baker has really wet pow in march but it would still be pretty fun for a east coaster
 
if you admit that the ref's won the superbowl, and are prepared to wear a steelers jersey for the entirety of your trip i might think about showing you around baker.
 
I have no problem admitting the refs won the game for the Steelers. Honestly, I'm not even a Steelers fan. I own a Steelers jersey, but 'm not thwe kind to wear a jersey on the slopes. If it's really that important to you guys, I can bring it with me. It would be sick to have someone that knows the area show me around.
 
Well.. My family is from Pittsburgh, and we're all Steelers fans. I felt bad for the Seahawks since they did so well, but I can't really say I wish the Steelers didn't win.

Where in Pitt you from? My grandma lives in Crafton still.
 
I'm from about 15 minutes north of the city, around the Ross Township Area near Ross Park Mall. I'm a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh now.
 
That's cool... I have Nordica Zeros and Line EP Pros? The Washington regional is a very interesting place.
 
Yeah I got that. It seems like a lot of you guys are friends, which is awesome. Reason #3897634 why I hate living on the east coast because not many of my friends ski.
 
I just left for college in WA, it's like 2 hours from where I lived but NS has linked me up to so many awesome kids. I haven't met a single one that was not cooler than most everyone else I've met so far, and I've met a ton of people.Move out here dude. Err wait, no, it rains all the time and Baker sucks according to everyone I've umm talked to.
 
Hahaha, I got you. Yeah, the PNW just seams like such a great place with a really good vibe about it. I've never been further west than SLC, but I plan on moving out west after I finish up school for sure.
 
Any chance you be skiing Baker anytime from March 7-12? I'm trying to find some guys to ski with that know the area.
 
I'll probably be there. This is my first year though. But by then I can probably show you around, just not as good as some of the other kids who are here. I'll probably be skiing with some of them anyway though. We'll take some runs, smoke some blunts, whatever you wanna do.
 
Sounds awesome. I'll have to pass on the blunts though. I don't have a problem with people smoking, it's just not for me. I'll let you know when I get all of my plans finalized. So stoked I'll finally get to ski some deep snow.
 
Oh yeah nice. Well I might be able to fit you in if you're coming regardless... ;)

Marshall, no more being nice to newbies. Even though you're new. We're not encouraging!
 
It does no one any good to be an ass about this stuff. Especially in the Regionals, where everyone knows about the PNW, and that fact that all it does is rain.

NS is a great opportunity to meet new people, and get to share something amazing with them. The people here on NS are the ones I'd rather come to my hill, as opposed to tourists with no clue about the side of the sport that interests me.

When I go somewhere, I generally don't have a clue about where to go, what to do, etc. NS provides a chance for a much better experience in new places, and I am super grateful for all the guidance and fun I've had with people at places I've traveled to. Any trip I take anymore seems to involve meeting new NS folks, and having a kick ass time skiing with them. I've been offered floor space, skied great stashes, and progressed my skiing a lot because of the people on NS, and that is why I am on here.

If you want to hate on the tourists with no clue, go for it. They are helping to pay for your pass and keep your hill running, just like NSers who visit. But as far as I'm concerned, NS means that someone else was at least passionate enough to get on a website and ask, and they at least deserve to be treated nicely, because that's what anyone wants when they are out of their normal surroundings.

That said, it's looking like I might be up with this crew for some of their time in March. I can't wait.
 
^Woah woah, don't get me wrong, if they're actually coming, I'll gladly invite them over to come ski. My point is that if they're a maybe, or if they just want to know about the mountain, I'm not going to help. This guy is obviously coming, so when he's here, hell yeah I'll show him around, but 'til then, he gets to stay in the dark!

 
I think you should check out stevens pass. crystal's nice for 'lift-access backcountry' but there is some gnar stuff there too. not saying stevens isn't gnar either but at crystal the life accessed bc isn't marked at all, really. I haven't skied many of the other resorts much (crystal local) but I do know that alpental has a good mix of everything. I recommend you find a place in seattle and hit up snoqualmie/alpental, which has a good mix of park and steeps. they're not as steep as crystal or baker, but for an east coaster I think they should be pretty good (not trying to be condescending or anything).

have fun out here, it does rain a ton though. especially in the spring...bring your tarp!
 
I still feel like if someone is on NS, they deserve to be treated as family unless their reputation suggests otherwise. That extends to people wondering too. If not in a thread, then do it by PM, but making NSers feel welcome and telling them how it is is a high priority for me.

I'm not asking you to give up your stash. Of all the people to come to my home mountain, I'd rather have NSers.
 
That was my logic for being nice.

PNW guys are really chill in general.....Brian being the exception

jk man you are way sick.
 
you're just trying to cover up the fact that YOU'RE the real douche here

lawlz another jay kay. im tired and probably shouldn't be posting.
 
I have yet to meet an NSer (in real life) who was not a chill, fun person. I just think coming off as an ass online isn't helpful to anyone.

And I'm not on a crusade, this is my opinion, and it's probably wrong. Whatever.
 
washington's "problem" is that our ski areas do not have the destination resort base with multiple lodging and dining choices.

if you're coming with your family, then it might honestly be better to go to whistler. if you're willing to bend away from the "normal" ski vacation where there's a hotel 2 seconds from the lift, then you have explorations here. crystal honestly might have the most "public on-hill hotel rooms" available in the state.

although it would be funny to punk someone into taking their ski vacation to echo mountain (above chelan) or the loup.

and i hate liftlines.

 
so im just gonna ask about a couple points in this post, firstly if it is indeed "lift accessed backcountry" then why on earth would anyone mark it? Secondly I believe Alpental has the steepest lift-accessed in North America, or so they tell us at our jobs. I could be mistaken, but Ive skied Alpy for some time now and It has very good steeps.
 
I am about to chew you apart.

First off lift accessed backcountry being marked? its not backcountry if it is marked. And south country is hardly backcountry. the amount of control that goes on back there, not to mention how frequently its patroled. You still should have all your shit togeather and knowledge of the snowpack before you go back there. but really? just because they don't groom it does not mean it is bakcountry.

As for having more 'gnar' stuff then alpental or being steeper, thats complete bull shit, There are a hand full of lines in South Back that are steeper then some of the in bounds at Alpental. Come ski International durring the early season before it gets filled in. As for unmarked stuff, do you think the alpental patrol, marks anything out there? they occationaly bomb it but most of the time just leave it as is, definatly never marking anything. If you don't know what your doing or your way around it is very easy to end up cliffed out by 40-50ft cliffs with no landings. In the overall scheem of things Crystal and South Back are pretty damn tame (yes there are really big cliffs but it is not hard to miss them).

 
Oh and I would say the vast majority of people who I don't want trying to ski in the same areas I do, lines up pretty closely with the vast majority of people who make up the members of newschoolers.com

they tend to overestimate their skiing ability, They don't think to much before they do something stupid. They often underestimate the dificulty of skiing technical terrain, and way underestimate the power of nature.

Most seem to think themselves invincible, and never really consider the consequences to themselves or to others, of their actions.

If we popped all the jiblets from the east coast, summit country, and park city to the PNW, do you have any idea how many search and rescue missions there would be every fucking week. "Dude it just dumped 2 feet, lets go hit the back country" "ya!" and there they go right past the boundery rope, lets pretend they get past the great scott traverse alive, and now since they really never bothered to scouth out the area from pictures or learning from some one who knows, they drop down the back side to go hit that cool cliff over there, and next thing you know they are 200 ft below west bound I90 while its getting dark with no food, water or shelter, and mommy is getting woried.

Generally I would much rather prefer that the population of NS stays in their parks or goes to someone elses death traps.
 
sometimes i poach my own lines.

on billy's subject, southback at xtal is much easier to scout than alpy backcountry. (exhibit A)

and northback at xtal.....oh man, riding the northway chair this past christmas and seeing all the lollies cliffed out who were obviously coming down morning glory or brand-x for the first time.
 
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