Mt Baker, 3 days of Cascade Dreamy, 02/16-21/2012

Ruth & I are just back from the great wet Pacific Northwest. My parents live in Bellingham, WA, and just an hour east is one of the most photogenic ski areas in America, Mt Baker. This is the kind of place that ends up in Skier and Transworld Snowboarding galleries every month. Baker holds the world record for the most annual snowfall of any resort. This place, frankly, kicks ass.

We had three superb days on the mountain, and one true powder day. Our first day was a warm welcome back, clear-ish skies, plenty of white, and stunning vistas. We boarded our little hearts out that first day. We have boarded Baker in all forms of weather and made good while the good was gettin'.  I had fun relearning the stuff in the trees. Ruth just had fun.

Our second and third days on the hill were powder deluxe. I spent most of those days in the trees, hunting for the deep stuff. I spent a fair amount of time up to my knees in Cascade crystals.

Above:

Two guys headed out of bounds on the same day that four people died in two avalanches near Stevens Pass. There was a small slide just outside the ropes at Baker on the same day. This was the result of a 2-3 foot overnight dump that lay on top of a weeks worth of older snow. This was very big news in Washington. One pro skier was saved by her avi-chute (a rip-cord pops a CO2 which deploys an airbag, keeping the skier {in this case} near the top, or above the avalanche).

The previous pics above: the incomparably photogenic Mt Shuksan.

I gotta say, this pic says a lot about riding in the Northwest.

As if to illustrate the obvious, the signs were out.

Rurthy, checking out the Nooksak River.

Sadly, this little shop in Glacier is guilty of false advertising. The goodies are yum though.

"The Shop that grew with the Great Northwest", home of Northwest Riders.

Ruthy, gearing up for one of our favorite mountains.

Cascade Dreams

The resort's live-in cat. He's been around for years.

A view of Ojai, Ventura, and the Channel Islands.