Taken from the Stevens Pass Facebook page
First a little intro: Hi, everyone, I’m Nicholas Efthimiadis, a new blogger at the WeatherOn! I’m a student at the University of Washington. I’ll be devoting my blogs to weather conditions up in the mountains, specifically on ski resorts in Washington.
Back at the end of October, condition in the mountains quickly improved (i.e. a building snow pack) and many people hoped that an early start to the 2012-2013 ski season would result. However, the first week and a half of November seemed to throw those hopes out the window. I was pretty bummed in the beginning of November…. That is until the past two weeks turned out to deliver just enough snow, so that most resorts over 4,000 feet have or will open!
I’ll first talk about the conditions in our major ski areas:
The Summit at Snoqualmie: Currently, nothing at Snoqualmie is open (including Alpental). However, they should be very soon. I bet they’ll announce on Monday that they are opening sometime between next Thursday – Saturday (29th-1st). They have about 15” on the ground.
Stevens Pass: Stevens was the first to open in Washington (surprising me!), on the 20th. They have 25” at the base and 27” at the top. They have limited operations, 9AM to 4PM.
Crystal Mountain: Crystal opened on the 21st. They have 19” at the base and 36” at the top. Currently, 6 out of 10 of their lifts are operating and operating hours are between 9AM and 4PM.
Mt. Baker Ski Area: Baker also opened on the 21st. All lifts and runs are open. They currently have the highest base (Heather Meadows) snow than anywhere in North America, at 54”. Pan Dome, which is higher up, has 67”! Baker has by far the most superior ski conditions in Washington right now. That looks like Snoqualmie in February/March!
I’ll first talk about the conditions in our major ski areas:
The Summit at Snoqualmie: Currently, nothing at Snoqualmie is open (including Alpental). However, they should be very soon. I bet they’ll announce on Monday that they are opening sometime between next Thursday – Saturday (29th-1st). They have about 15” on the ground.
Stevens Pass: Stevens was the first to open in Washington (surprising me!), on the 20th. They have 25” at the base and 27” at the top. They have limited operations, 9AM to 4PM.
Crystal Mountain: Crystal opened on the 21st. They have 19” at the base and 36” at the top. Currently, 6 out of 10 of their lifts are operating and operating hours are between 9AM and 4PM.
Mt. Baker Ski Area: Baker also opened on the 21st. All lifts and runs are open. They currently have the highest base (Heather Meadows) snow than anywhere in North America, at 54”. Pan Dome, which is higher up, has 67”! Baker has by far the most superior ski conditions in Washington right now. That looks like Snoqualmie in February/March!
Taken from Mt. Baker’s website
Of the remaining ski resorts, Hurricane Ridge, Loup Loup (December 1st), White Pass (Sometime next week), Bluewood (Sometime next week), and Mt. Spokane (Sometime next week) are currently closed. Dates in the parenthesis indicate prospective opening dates. Both 49° North and Mission Ridge opened on the 23rd.
Now, for the outlook:
Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday will be quite dry and clear, so no precipitation of any kind should fall. Temperatures will be on the cool side throughout, ensuring that what snow has fallen, will stick around. Wednesday night through the weekend will be much more interesting, with several storms rolling through. Right now, the heaviest precipitation looks to be on Friday. Snow levels in the Cascades will start out around 4,000-4,500 feet, gradually working their way up to 6,000 feet or so on Saturday, before quickly crashing to around 4,000 feet on Sunday. I won’t go further out than that. That should be enough of a boost to get much of the remaining resorts open!
If you do go out skiing or boarding, remember, early season conditions do exist, so use caution! (Oh, and have fun!)
Now, for the outlook:
Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday will be quite dry and clear, so no precipitation of any kind should fall. Temperatures will be on the cool side throughout, ensuring that what snow has fallen, will stick around. Wednesday night through the weekend will be much more interesting, with several storms rolling through. Right now, the heaviest precipitation looks to be on Friday. Snow levels in the Cascades will start out around 4,000-4,500 feet, gradually working their way up to 6,000 feet or so on Saturday, before quickly crashing to around 4,000 feet on Sunday. I won’t go further out than that. That should be enough of a boost to get much of the remaining resorts open!
If you do go out skiing or boarding, remember, early season conditions do exist, so use caution! (Oh, and have fun!)
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