Worst Ski Season Ever?

I'm having a real hard time reaching back in memory and finding a more dissapointing ski season than this one. This will be the first year in 10 or so that I haven't skied at least 30 days, and with no exceptional quality days. Lucky for me I guess I've had a lingering construction project to work on over the weekends, but it sure aint skiing the pow.<br><br>We still got March, but I get the feeling its over.

It's certainly the worst in the 11 seasons I've been in Washington, yet we found all the powder our legs were willing to ski the weekend before this past one, and I've had some other great skiing this season (and the pull of a warm bike by salt water and some ski-induced joint complaints were all that kept me from a corn hunt this past weekend). Granted, I've had more damage to my ski bases than usual, which reminds me of a *good* year back in New England (I kind of forgot how to use the p-tex!), where a bad year meant no skiing other than on the man-made ribbons of "snow" at the bigger ski areas. <br><br>And if memory serves, sometime late in March is typically where we see the peak in the snow accumulation curve for the season, so it ain't over yet...

I've managed 20 or so days in the PNW this season so far, and at least 15 of those have been quality powder (and often bluebird!). We've certainly had the quality (dawn patrols and elevation are your friends), just no quantity (rocks are your friends too).

I think we're getting pretty complacent with recycled powder days. whatever happened to 2' of fresh!

Half empty, or half full?

This is the worst snow year since I started backcountry skiing in 1979. During the drought of 1976-77, my journal says I snowshoed to the ridge above Big Chief at Stevens Pass in March and dug a snow cave, just for practice. I think you'd be challenged to find enough snow up there right now to do that. Maybe things will change in March.<br><br>I think the lift areas may have been open more this year than they were in 1976-77, but that's probably due to better grooming today.

I only have data for Snoqualmie Pass, but here is the 76/77 and 04/05 in comparison:<br><br><br>

---

1976/77

---

2004/05---<br><br>Oct

---

 0"      

---

 .5"     ----<br><br>Nov

---

 2"      

---

 20"    ----<br><br>Dec

---

 19"    

---

 54"   ----<br><br>Jan

---

 23"    

---

30.5" ----<br><br>Feb

---

 35"    

---

14.5" ----<br><br>Mar

---

112"  

---

 ? ?   ----<br><br>So far I have Snoqualmie with around 120" total for the season. 2 years ago at the end of Feb. we only had 104" total, but we had no pinapple expresses that winter so all the snow we received stuck around.  <br>It was that dang warm wind from the south that has really done the damage to us this year.  Just hope for a big March like the 1977 winter.<br><br>

www.hydro.washington.edu/Lettenmaier/Presentations.html

I dont want to get in a big thing about global warming. But check out the link for a presentation on some research at the UW. They are predicting a 40% reduction in aerial extent of snowpack in the Cascades by 2020. 2020! And 80% by 2050. Not less precip, just warmer temps-more rain-less snow. Also having serious impacts on streamflow patterns, reservoir storage. All the while, population is projected to double in that time.

Time to invest in companies that construct dams?

My worst ski seasons ever were the 40 winters before I began to ski. This one's been just fine by comparison. <br><br>Yesterday: huge untracked fields of bouncy, consolidated powder (to which the cost of admission involved a couple of hours' arduous approach and retreat), and the company of friends.<br><br>YMMV.<br><br>Mark

That's a good attitude Mark. Maybe I just need to travel north and enjoy the "Baker Anamoly". Cause farther south its not pretty up in the hills. Looks like October after the first couple snowfalls.

That strategy has been working well, though it seems that plenty of others are taking it this year as well. I've never seen so many people up that way as this year.

I'm with Markharf in saying the worst winters were the 14 before I began to ride. Even though this is the worst conditions I've seen at Crystal in a while I'm still having one of the best winters. But wait...I say that every winter! ;D

eternal optimism aside here folks.......

OK,yes, I'd be psyched if I were able to do cold-smoke-powder tree skiing all January/February as I did last season. The conditions are sometimes causing me some degree of annoyance. But I still got some GREAT skiing in, even during the last 30 days (sure, some of it was stale pow, but still VERY fun to ski - go sniff it out man!), and despite the current weather forecast, I'm far from assuming "it's over."<br><br>Whereas I recall multiple years with mostly ice overlying dirt up in the northern New England mountains.<br><br>-Pollyanna

To make finding the presentation a little easier in the link I posted above.<br><br>Go to 2005 Oral Presentations.<br><br>The title is Hydrologic Changes in the Western US from 1916-

"All human wisdom is contained in these words: Wait and hope!"<br><br>Whose quote, anyone?

"All human wisdom is contained in these words: Wait and hope!"<br><br>Whose quote, anyone?

<br><br> www.google.com <br><br>....but impressively erudite nonetheless.

Well that's cheating, Mark: akin to snowmaking or going to Tahoe.

Sounds like the quote comes either from a real estate investor or a 19th century french writer.

I am with Mark on this one. Being close to BC powder and willing to drive makes for good skiing. Although the horrid conditions in Jan. were a little hard to take. 30 days of excellent backcountry touring so far this year. Next year I am hoping for a normal snow pack to spread everyone out a bit. Baker has been a bit too crowded for my tastes this season.

Well that's cheating, Mark: akin to snowmaking or going to Tahoe.

<br><br>Google is aid?

While I suppose having one location (Baker) to ski with clear skies is nice. Depending on one locale kind of runs counter to what I value in backcountry skiing in general and especially in the Cascade region. First, for me backcountry skiing is less just getting in a bunch of yo-yo face shots. Its as much about exploration and experience of the backcountry as the number of vertical. I rarely repeat a ski trip in a season, like to move around and learn new things. I do go back to favorite spots, but usually in subsequent years after the memories fade a bit.<br><br>I skied lift at Mt. Baker with my eight year old son last week just to break up the monotony for him, and I was not that impressed with what I saw of the so-called Baker bc (or maybe better termed front country). There were more tracks on Table than on the bumps serving the top of the lift area. And for a mid week, the flicker of sunlight off of bc skiers climbing up Table and environs, rivaled the numbers taking the lifts.<br><br>For me and others like myself, who have to juggle work, family and other committments along with what we define as backcountry skiing, this year has hit really hard. The so-called change in the forecast expected for this week turned into the same old split flow we have had all winter and at this point likely spells the death of a any semblence of a spring/early summer season, let alone what was to be winter.<br><br>I will ski the Baker bc this year, hopefully even find some solitude, but if I am forced to do it more than a couple of times, for lack of options, then it will mostly be just for getting some exercise. I guess what I am trying to say is that this season is severely restricting a sort of freedom to roam that I am sure that most who do this type of skiing understand.<br><br>Alan

Thanks Alan, for expressing my sentiments so much better than I can.

I was not that impressed with what I saw of the so-called Baker bc (or maybe better termed front country)..... I guess what I am trying to say is that this season is severely restricting a sort of freedom to roam that I am sure that most who do this type of skiing understand.

<br><br>What you saw of the local backcountry is, of course, a tiny fraction of what's easily available. It's true that much of what can be reached in 15 minutes' walk from the lifts is crowded and tracked out...but that wasn't where you really wanted to spend your time anyway, was it?  We skied wonderful snow in a truly spectacular spot (which happens to be featured in the usual  skier's guidebook) just out of sight, and there was enough untracked powder to last another three snow-free weeks.  Friends headed off in the other direction and reported that, while the powder was wind-hammered, they exhausted themselves skiing almost-corned wet slop on SE exposures: again, a spectacularly scenic spot which has been widely written about.  What was our problem again?  <br><br>I feel the same sort of frustration at our limited snowpack as others.  However, I've had a fine season so far, with lots of high-quality skiing in a variety of locations, and I have no intention of sitting at home complaining just because the weather isn't behaving precisely as I wish it would. Like you, I enjoy exploring different routes and destinations, but I also greatly value smaller-scale exploration: taking a right-hand line rather than the left-hander I took last time through; cutting around the other side of a peaklet; following a riverbed where previously I stayed high on its banks.  Enjoying terrain at a relatively local scale helps keep me gleeful within a smaller geographical area than might otherwise be possible.<br><br>It's also the case that there is a lifetime of skiing available in the North Cascades right now....for anyone willing to spend a couple of hours hiking to it.  To some extent, what we're complaining about it the lack of good snowpack within easy reach of our favorite parking lots.  This is all good and well (and again, I've done my share of complaining), but I think we do well to keep things in reasonable perspective. Even with washed out bridges and closed gates, I could easily describe eight or ten distinctly different day tours off the Mt. Baker Highway right now, each with its own special terrain, views, and routefinding adventures. Some of them require significant effort, and most are not quite as convenient as they would be in a "normal" winter. <br><br>Note that if I relied in any appreciable measure on ski areas for my winter pleasure, I'd be profoundly depressed right now.<br><br>enjoy,<br><br>Mark

Alan expressed my frustrations with this winter pretty well. What I have really missed this winter is the forest touring, especially around the Stevens and Snoqualmie areas. I'm a skier coming from a hiking background, not a climbing background. For me, there's nothing like getting "lost" in old-growth forest that's buried in snow. If there are turns available, great, but if not the trip can, for me, still be very rewarding. With a good snowpack there are almost endless possibilities for exploring through such forested terrain, and each year I have expanded my knowledge of new areas.<br><br>I like turns, but I consider "skiing" to include more than just turns. The term "turns-all-year" doesn't really reflect how I view skiing - "ski-all-year" would have better reflected my view, but hey, I do know a little marketing. Most of my favorite trips have been long tours through pristine terrain, typically starting with skiing in the forest and extending to above treeline, some with virtually no turns to speak of.<br><br>The thing that really bums me out about this winter is that not only has there been little chance for winter forest tours, but it is now almost guaranteed that there will be very little chance for spring forest touring as well. Many road gates will remain locked until the usual time, and by then the snow will be completely gone from many of my favorite spring touring areas.<br><br>But...there's always next year (that's what keeps most sports fans going, right?).

Mark, I don't dsagree with you at all. I particularly love skiing in the areas just beyond Table. I am actually hoping that the silver lining of this season will be that I will get out there earlier than I normally could have considering my circumstances. (I supposed the same can be said of HWY 20.)<br><br>It is hard to figure out how I can completely agree with Mark's sentiments and at the same time agree with what Charles reflects. I can say that the type of skiing I most often do, is reflected in my comments and with Charles. And of course the Baker area offers that type of skiing, supreemo.<br><br>I will most definitely try to fight this season till the bitter end when the conditions tell me I can't ski quality anymore, and while that quality is probably going to be in the Table/Coleman area, I am sure going to miss trying that slog to Big Snow Mtn. I have been dreaming of for the last two years!<br><br>The other thing I hoped to accomplish is to continue introducing my son to backcountry skiing. I had him at Paradise once last year. Got some gear for him then, and hope to do that again. I think I will be able to, but for a shorter time this year. Charles and his friends with kids (the postings from last year especially) have inspired me.<br><br>Alan

Mark - Alan was right, the touring up by Baker ski area sucks, is just an extension of the ski area, is totally oriented around yo-yoing, always gets tracked out w/in a day of a storm, and no one should bother making the incredibly long drive, but if they do, they should just stick to the lifts. <br><br>While I share Charles' sentiments (I particularly miss skiiing 3K up, mostly through old growth, followed by 3K down with maybe an extra lap thrown in depending on mood and energy, all while seeing nobody else's tracks, all within an hour of my home), I still come back to the fact that through some compromise (including a lot more fossil fuel use than normal) I've gotten in some great skiing this year, including seeing new places with great views and decent access. I guess living in the northeast for 3/4 of my life, where as noted above a bad winter means absolutely no BC skiing outside of perhaps skinny-skiiing a farmer's field in a few inches of snow which was still a 3 hour drive from my house, leaves me more concerned about our water supply than my skiing options. I guess I'm still amazed at the bounty we share here, and that it isn't more widely considered to be a great BC-ski destination. So don't get me wrong, I wish for a more typical season, but it's hard for me to see a reason to be jonesing either.

Once again, I find myself perpetually in agreement with Mark. The decent-to-good snow conditions found near Mt Baker Ski Area can be found in DOZENS of areas throughout the North Cascades. The higher you get, the better the conditions get. I've skied more low density powder in the BC this year than I ever have in the northwest before this year. The only difference this year is that a bigger initial effort is required.<br><br>I find myself not minding this at all, because a lot of the high peaks in the North Cascades have approaches through steep, dense forests that you couldn't ski anyway. <br><br>I understand that Charles has raised a different issue. I would agree that he has a legitimate complaint, but that kind of skiing just hasn't been my bag so I'm not so upset about it. This year we've lost the opportunity to ski what Lowell dubbed, 'Personal Discovery Zones'. Maybe in the long run that's good, since I've heard reports of people 'moving back to Colorado' because of our terrible year.<br><br>So here's a picture from the weekend before last that reflects life through my rose-colored sunglasses. Three separate lines, not a ski area within sight for many miles, and the conditions were powder, powder, corn:<br><br> <br><br>Maybe it would help to look at it the same way people recommend choosing terrain suited to avalanche conditions. Adapt! And if you can't do that, wait and hope! And I guess if none of that floats your boat, vent your frustration on the internet ???

Jim,<br><br>Maybe not everyone has the time to do what you have been able to do. Consider yourself lucky. And yes living in Seattle makes it easier to access B.C. skiing than driving from New England, but then lets call a spade a spade. Thats kind of like saying skiing in the Chic Chocs is great New England skiing for those who live in Boston.<br><br>I have my eye on Baker, I'll be there, sorry 'bout that.<br><br>Hey, I am also a displaced New Englander and I know that this year here is better than many a year back there. Maybe I have been living out here too long......<br><br>Alan