MOUNT BAKER SLAMMED BY 80 INCHES

MOUNT BAKER SLAMMED BY 80 INCHES
Check Out Story and Photos From Opening Day at Washington's Baker

Words and Photos: Joe Erfle

If folks in Bellingham are walking a little sore today, it’s because Mount Baker Ski Area fired up their lifts yesterday for one of the best openings on record. Baker’s base reported an unprecedented 67 inches with 72 inches measured at the top of Pan Dome. Thursday was not the day to bring excuses and a self-assessment report of how you would have skied this same line mid-February of last year. Rather, opening day was a day to check off your hit list and ski hard, like the day won’t repeat itself for a good long while, because it probably won’t. Well, not at least for another 364 days.

The skies were blue all day long and temperatures remained below freezing, keeping the snow from the 80 inch(!) November storm light. Of course there was evidence of Mount Baker’s committed crowd of backcountry hard-cores that couldn’t wait for Thursday’s opening, leaving their mark on damn near every quality drop on the mountain. By mid-day, the moderate weekday crowd had put a hurting to the lower mountain, and a small crowd was forming at the top of Chair 8 to do the same to the Shuksan Arm. And not surprising, they were unsuccessful at leaving plenty for the more ‘responsible’ weekend warrior crowd to enjoy over the weekend.


Forecasts for the region are predicting another six to 12 inches to fall Friday with below-freezing temperatures holding steady throughout the weekend. Have no doubts, winter just crushed fall in the northwest.