BC Potential on Hwy 542

G'day<br>I just moved to Bellingham, and I'm starting to get excited for the ski season. Tell me something. Is a ski pass for Baker worth the price? 500+!!! - Stevens was only $270 for a student!!<br>Is a ski pass:<br>a) worth every penny, buy one NOW!!<br>b) worth getting a job at the resort, but don't spend money for it.<br>c) not worth it, 'cause the backcountry rocks...<br>What is the backcountry like? And a little specifics - for advanced level skier, Avie III cert - what are a couple of good tours. Ones that let me see the potential? Classic routes that I shouldn't miss?<br><br> at the Pub sometime...<br>Chris

The backcountry always rocks, but is not for everyone. <br><br>All of your questions depend on you......everyone is different.

You're asking questions which lack definitive answers. I ski that area every week and seldom venture in bounds; Tim (who answered you on the Cascade Climbers forum) makes a good case for buying the pass, but he fails to mention that he's got the world's most flexible work schedule to take advantage; Dberdinka suggested several of the standard tours, each of which easily expands into a myriad of variations. The Mt. Baker backcountry is, for all intents and purposes, endless...although it helps if your standards for visibility are not stringent.<br><br>The real question involves your own interests: do you want to ride lifts, or would you rather not? If the latter, there's lots of backcountry up there. If the former, will you ski often enough to justify buying the season's pass? If so, you know what to do. If not, day passes work fine. <br><br>PM me if you're looking for backcountry partners. It's a friendly area, and easy to join other groups leaving from the upper ski area parking lot on weekend mornings. <br><br>Enjoy,<br><br>Mark<br>