March 10, 2012; Maggie's, Hurricane Ridge (ONP)

Chris and I left Seattle around 6:30, aiming to catch the 7:10 Edmonds->Kingston ferry to start our day trip to Hurricane Ridge.  I had to be in Port Angeles that evening for the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club's "Second Saturday" series, which Greg Halberg has been building over the last couple of years to help promote mountain culture on the Peninsula.  Chris and I hoped to get a taste of what "the Ridge" has to offer beforehand and we weren't disappointed.


Chris skinning the wind-crust near the top of the ridge

Armed with an email's worth of local knowledge (thanks Gary!) we pulled into the Maggie's parking lot, a mile or so shy of the ski area parking, after a 9:45 gate opening.  Shortly after we arrived Greg and his brother Sean rolled up -- Greg was heading inbounds with his kids, but Sean was going to join us and show us around a bit.  A few minutes later, Lily pulled in and started chatting with Sean.  It's clear there's a small community of regulars here, which was pretty cool to see.  Lots of nods and waves all around.

Lily zipped out ahead of us while we were getting ready, but we followed in short order, Sean's ultra-marathoner long legs flying off up the skin track.  It's a quick thousand feet up from the car to access the ridge between Maggie's and North Bowl, with tons of great skiing on either side.  The cloud's were pretty thick, but every once in a while they'd part to give us a peek -- skiable terrain in all directions.


Maggie's bowl and Klahane ridge behind (I think)


Wind-blown ridgetop tree

We met up with Lily up top and, a few minutes later, Alex.  Alex and Sean decided to drop off the north side, while Lily kindly led Chris and I toward Bowling Alley, which was holding some excellent wind-blown powder on a supportable crust.  We skied right to the road, then shouldered the skis for a 5 minute stroll back to the skin track for round two.

(click thumbnails for a larger version)
http://www.pantengliopolis.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/hurricane/DSCN0575.JPG" />http://www.pantengliopolis.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/hurricane/DSCN0576.JPG" />http://www.pantengliopolis.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/hurricane/DSCN0577.JPG" />
Lily, Alex and Sean, the faces of Hurricane :)

We met up with Alex and Sean again at the top and we all took a lap down Maggie's Wrinkles, a steeper more continuous series of glades right above the cars.  Excellent dust on crust which skied really well.  Another lap was in order, then Chris and I decided to call it a day and head into town for dinner.  Many thanks to the "faces of Hurricane" that showed us around their winter playground -- really great terrain out there, with a ton more to explore and a near endless supply when the roads start melting out. 

We rolled out of town around 8:45 and were back home by 11, with fortunate ferry timing.  A very doable day trip to ski someplace new... we'll be heading back soon I think.  Thanks for a good turnout at the presentation afterward and it was nice to put some faces to names.