Why Washington and Oregon Have NO Destination Ski Resorts
Vložit
- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
- The US states of Washington and Oregon offer multiple ski mountains of various shapes, sizes and terrain types. So why is no one hopping on a plane to ski or ride here?
Use our trip planning service! www.peakrankings.com/trips
Sign up for our newsletter: eepurl.com/gZAgm1
Follow us on other channels!
🏔️ Instagram: / peakrankings
🏔️ Twitter: / peak_rankings
🏔️ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/peakrankings
🏔️ Facebook: / peakrankings
0:00 Intro
0:49 Nearby Population Centers
2:56 Physical Geographic Location
4:18 Lack of Ski Towns
6:08 Mountain Access Difficulties
7:15 Limited Expansion Opportunities
8:52 On-Mountain Climate Conditions
11:16 Final Thoughts
Use our trip planning service! www.peakrankings.com/trips
Sign up for our newsletter: eepurl.com/gZAgm1
Follow us on other channels!
🏔️ Instagram: / peakrankings
🏔️ Twitter: / peak_rankings
🏔️ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/peakrankings
🏔️ Facebook: / peakrankings
Attributions/sources:
- North America map (edited with graphics on top of original work): SANtosito | Wikimedia Commons
He’s totally right about Mt Baker. It’s not worth the trip. Stay far far away.
Worked there for 3 years. Never knew people ski and snowboarding in the rain, until I was forced to ride the lifts up and get hypothermia for $11 an hour
Plus there’s no where to stay. Go to Utah
@@crnitzsche every time I go to Utah I’m skiing on trees and rocks, been to Alta, deer creek, Brian head. They all suck unless there is good snow which I never get when I go.
For the record, I still love mount baker. It has some incredible terrain after a dump in March. Especially if you like to just send it off cliffs. Very wet snow. Bad for skiing, good for snowboarding. I recommend going up chair 6 or 1 and going into the “canyon” my favorite. I would go back in a heartbeat!
I live in Vancouver and have been to Mt Baker, such a sick ass place, amazing terrain and views on a sunny day, it basically looks like the rocky mountains but only 2h from Vancouver
Growing up in Oregon I'd never really thought about our lack of ski towns, and now that I have considered it I'm extremely thankful for the lack of them. Hood Has always felt very homey and local, Bachelor a hidden gem tucked away, and I like it that way.
Amen bro. Amen
I agree, I like the idea of going skiing for a day or half day, and going home and sleeping in my own bed.
Remember some good days at Bachelor indeed!
Yeah ski towns feel like tourist traps and our resorts feel like a place for the locals to enjoy. It's nice. I really enjoy going down to Ashland and mt Shasta
@@chancemackey7100 soda mountain??
Exactly, it sucks here don't come.
Yeah! We have enough transplants and Canadians to deal with. Don't need you hosers in the mix
Lolz
All I know is that I love skiing and have done 100% of it in WA and OR.
He’s right! There’s a wild man eating clams in my backyard!
Oregon mountains definitely have a more local feel from what I've seen. I really like this because it creates local legends that are fun to spot on the mountain. Plus 99% of the people are extremely nice and just happy to be out on their weekend. No travel stress involved.
Good thing we don’t have mountains considered destination resorts up in the PNW. We have a ton of locals that snowboard/ski rain or shine so we are already very packed especially on weekends. The snow seasons are amazing here, backcountry galore with descent park terrain. Never a bad day in the PNW
shhhh
I'm from Tacoma. I love skiing, snowboarding, hiking, camping, and boating. Boating is my favorite. I get to be on the water in the summer time and contemplate where I went wrong in my life. Just joking. I love boating for the solitude and fresh sea air.
Backcountry skiing must be preserved.
Not all skiers are resort skiers.
you're the resort
I live in Spokane. Mt Spokane, 49° North, Schweitzer, Silver Mtn, Lookout Pass, Red Mtn (BC). All 2 hours, Red a little further. No lines during the week.
I’ve lived in Summit County, CO (Frisco), Big Sky, MT, Flagstaff, AZ. Can’t beat the snow up here in Inland PNW. Touch drier than coastal mtns (Alpental, Baker and Crystal). So much less crowds. Not the biggest footprints, but again, you have the whole place to yourself. Schweitzer has gnarly terrain. Red Mtn is 3 mtns with significant sidecountry/backcountry.
Also most of the resorts are on US Forest Service land, and getting permission to build on mountain facilities requires lots of administrative paperwork. Mt Hood Meadows did try to have onsite hotel plans which got quashed because of environmental impact concerns.
And good thing too. Mt Hood Meadows should have never been developed. Its crazy that those massive parking lots have no way to manage stormwater runoff either, from all the cars that park up there. Mt Hood is a national landmark and should have been treated as such, like Mt Rainier, preserving it as a national park. Instead, what we got are ski resorts, road widening, and clear cuts. Its a shame to see all that has been lost on Mt Hood, in the name of making it easier for Skiers to get to the mountain during weekend rush hour. Hwy 26 over Mt Hood used to be a beautifully designed, winding, beautiful mountain road with national park-style stone bridges and rock walls (of stone). Had it been designated a national park long ago, much of that historical architecture would have probably been preserved, much like the park roads going up to Paradise at Mt Rainier, or like the Historic Columbia River Highway section that survives in the Gorge. Much of that original historic road with scenic pullouts, beautiful stone architecture, picnic areas, etc., was all torn out for the modern US 26. Then more recently, ODOT did another widening project on it, further taking away from its scenic appeal.
@@NatureShy I couldn't agree more. Screw the awful commercial-driven expansionary resorts. One more great example of why, when push comes to shove, corporate institutions that try to market themselves as pro-outdoors (IKON, Epic, TNF, Arcteryx, Polaris, etc) will always toss protection out the window when it gets in the way of ever-increasing access.
We focus our destination aspects on our backcountry. Last thing we want is to become a "fly to" destination...
Yup.
If you are willing to earn your turns, WA's ski terrain is world class.
Thank you for confirming that we don't want anyone to visit. It's perfect. And the folks in the know don't even go to resorts. The last thing we need is yahoos from the rest of the US coming here. Appreciate the assistance.
I grew up skiing in Switzerland. I live in Oregon. This video is spot on. There is no reason to go to OR/WA ski resorts unless you’re a local.
And doing all of us locals a favor w/ this comment
Tell this to the tens of thousands of people that ski Bachelor every winter. Stay dumb.
As a Seattle Local, I can agree with almost all of this (and still love our mountains). But I'll note that Alpental is basically an extension of The Summit at Snoqualmie, not a separate resort. Also, at least 1 resort is super easy to drive to; I can get from the farthest part of the city to parked at The Summit at Snoqualmie in less than an hour. And it's all freeway driving until the last quarter mile for Central, or even just the last 200 feet for Summit West.
I'm from Tacoma. Everyone loves outdoor activities. We go camping, hiking, skiing, boating. The mountains are beautiful. The water is beautiful. This summer I'm camping on the coast on the remote beaches of Olympic National Forest. It's so nice. I can lay on the beach and listen to ocean waves at night. The problem? The large crowds of people who will be camping next to you on the same beach. And you won't find any parking there. So you park on the grassy shoulders of the roads.
Yup . back when I used to board we would pile into a van after a full office day’s work in Bellevue on a Wednesday/Thurs , head up, get ourselves tired, head down, and my head would still pillow at my normal bedtime ;)
I used to ski Crystal twice a month back in the 90s when it was more of a locals' mountain while most of the Seattle crowd went to Snoqualmie, which is right off I-90. I would go to Crystal on Monday, my days off, and almost had the place to myself. The lift operators used to call their Monday Lady. Between the midweek rate and my military discount (my husband was stationed in Ft Lewis), an all day pass was $20. Okay, everything was slow and simple, but it was truly a hidden gem with a small-town feel.
Then Intrawest bought them out, replaced all the old chairs, added the gondola and some hilltop restaurants, and immediately tripled the price of a lift ticket. The surrounding area up 410 was quiet and pristine; I hope it at least stays that way. A lot of military families have skied there with 2 or 3 kids and could shell out as much as $700 for lift tickets alone. I'm pretty sure they've been priced out of the market.
Crystal is the shit
I heard only season pass holders can ski there now and the season pass costs 2k.
I'm fascinated by this video as someone who grew up going to Snoqualmie in the winters; I genuinely had no idea our conditions (fog, wet/sticky snow, etc.) were different from the 'destination' resorts. (And on that note, we like it very much and it's already getting ridiculously packed so please don't feel like you have to come here!)
Yep, we like our foggy wet winters. Heck, it's very foggy on the coastline beaches too. I go camping and hiking on the remote beaches of Olympic National Forest when it gets crowded in the mountains. All these tourists messing up my fun. I can't find parking.
It all depends, Whistler conditions are very similar to Oregon and Washington mountains, they just have a town and much looser regulations.
I grew up in this area, it’s truly a locals region. It’s really convenient to watch the snow reports and drive out on a random week day when the conditions are right, but a lot of the time the weather isn’t perfect so not worth for someone to travel to. We do have stay accommodations by Mt Hood at Government Camp but it’s pretty limited!
Timberline, summertime, High Cascades, at government camp is one of the best experiences I have ever had snowboarding. I can't recommend it enough.
Shhhhhh
I flew to Seattle from San Diego and spent 6 days at Crystal Mountain. We got 10-13" of snow every 24 hours I was there. The on-mountain hotel sucked, but it was one of my best trips ever.
We just got back from a weekend at Crystal Mountain, lot of fun
@@MustachioFurioso9134 Was Northway open? That area is so fun.
@@sam_s_ it was! We didn't go over there because we were there for my wife to learn how to ski, so she was taking lessons and we were taking it easy.
My friends from Las Vegas flew into Seattle from some skiing and snowboarding adventures last year. They love Crystal Mountain. They also went camping on the remote beaches of Olympic National Forest in Washington State. Nevada don't have a coastline. They're very jealous of Seattle people.
How did you ski at Crystal Mountain without a season pass? I thought they were only allowing season pass holders to ski there this year and the season pass costs 2k. They might occasionally allow non season pass holders to reserve a ticket weeks in advance but I don't like to buy a ski ticket before the weather forecast is avalible because it might be rainy and horrible and it will probably be foggy without alot of views, it is alot more fun when you have good views.
Growing up in Seattle and skiing at Stevens Pass was always an adventure. I always thought it was normal to wake up early and drive to the resorts. I did find it odd that there weren't any places to stay close to these resorts seeing how the roads leading up to Stevens Pass specifically is so accident prone. There've been times when we'd be stuck in a two lane road for 2-3 hours with little to no cell service.
I still ski PNW when I'm visiting friends and family though! Amazing resorts!
There is an electronic sign on highway 2 that shows the number of days since the last accident
@@dhowe5180 was* They took it down last year for unknown reasons
@@thenamesdrew2 maybe it was a distraction and caused accidents
They actually removed the sign since it was always like less than 20 days. @@dhowe5180
I was looking at the pass cam the other day and there was a line of cars streaming from the parking lot at 6pm midweek no night skiing and the pass was closed.
Travelled from New England for Mt Hood Meadows and Mt Bachelor best decision ever and all locals were surprised... Yes everyone is wrong
Nice! Every region has its glory days.
Shh!
Nooooo! It is awful here!!
Yea, it's all "Cascade concrete!" No powder at all!!!
@@robertmckean1929 for those of us who originate from the east or the midwest... the normal conditions here are like stellar days back east. We learn on ice :D
I've lived (and skied) in CO, OR, and WA (where I currently live). You nailed this. Weather, lack of long-term powder after a big dump, sketchy roads to the mountains, costs, and locations really are rough in the PNW.
One other factor (for me at least), Portland and Seattle rarely get any real snow in the winter, so it's often not motivating to thinking about driving up to the mountains to ski. When I lived in CO, we would get snow on the front range and it would make you motivated to head up to the mountains. But here, it's just 40 and raining and my first thought is not to go skiing.
If it's 40 degrees, we go hiking and camping in the mountains. There are other outdoor activities besides skiing in Washington state. Also, we have the coast. You can camp and hike on remote beaches at the Olympic National Forest. Ever seen snow on the beach? It's gorgeous. Colorado doesn't have ocean beaches.
Idk what it's like in other places, but I'll tell you as a former Portland chauffeur, I spent entire winters shuttling people from PDX to Timberline or occasionally Meadows. Usually, they'd be staying a couple week-days, because staying in "the hotel where they filmed The Shining" was part of the experience. It was always the biggest time of the year to talk to people from different parts of the country. I got to be like a tour guide, talking about Oregon stuff like volcanoes and Bigfoot. Incidentally, the company I drove for also had the contract for running shuttle buses between the resorts on Hood (and the ski town Government Camp), so on busy days, I could just put the flashers on and the dudes controlling traffic would wave me through when they saw "the guy with the mint-green tie." Reason being, they knew that I was going to be coming right back down, so a full parking lot didn't matter.
I don't ski myself, but as a driving enthusiast, it was always a treat to take someone else's SUV up into the snow and turn the traction control off when the clients weren't onboard. Occasionally I'd wind up taking a stretch limo up to Timberline, and that was always real fun. Those things are a joy to drive sideways when you get the opportunity.
Hell yeah brother
The Shining Hotel is in Estes Park in Colorado, the Stanley Hotel. Not sure who’s claiming otherwise…
@@letsgo214 The exterior shots were Timberline. Interior filming was as you said.
@@JETZcorpThe 1997 miniseries was shot at the Stanley, but the movie was filmed on a soundstage in England. Including any exterior shot with the maze, since the timberline doesn't have one
LOL turning the stretch limo sideways sounds fun.
I'm from the east coast originally but lived & snowboarded in WA for 12 years and OR for 8 years. Having Alpental, Crystal Mtn, Mt. Hood in your backyard is awesome. The snow is a little heavier then in some other parts of the country but it's still unbelievable quality & terrain. I worked for a major snowboard company in WA so we all used to go up to Snoqualmie Pass to go riding after work and it was amazing. All I needed that was different from riding on the east coast is outerwear with fully taped seams & a longer board. I have no complaints whatsoever regarding the area, the access roads (access road to Snoqualmie & Alpental is Interstate 90 so it's not like it's some tiny 2 lane road). Plus, where else can you go snowboarding in July & August (Mt Hood & Whistler/Blackcomb).
We like it with no ski towns/villages/lodging and we definitely DO NOT want it to be a ski destination - locals only.
If we had visitors, nobody would be able to ski here.
It’s all good. No hate it’s further than we need to fly to get the goods. Alta-Snowbird is awesome and it’s a short drive from the airport. I actually prefer Colorado now because I am older now and I want a fun town to have a nice meal and a few drinks and maybe some music.
When the views are visible at these resorts- they are some of the best in the country!
I love that he left out the mtn i ski 😊
As a Portlander who skis Mt. Hood, this video is spot on.
Yes and no...:)
you obviously aren't from Portland....
There are some great ski areas in Washington State. Some of the local areas used to be dirt cheap too. When I was a college student back in the '80s I remember Stevens Pass had a $9 lift ticket deal for students for night skiing on Thursdays. A student priced day pass there was a whopping $18, full price lift ticket $24. Those were the days!
Thanks for the overview...really appreciate!
You guys keep coming up with the most creative ski videos! This is another one!
There are some incredible spots in Washington. Very wet, go high enough, it's all snow. I won't name names
Gotta go to Crystal and Stevens, the only real spots
@@beeseumz😂 Baker dominates both
One thing that should be mentioned. Government camp is basically a ski town, with a good amount of lodging that’s walkable to Ski Bowl, and now that Timberline expanded down to Summit Ski Area in Govy, you can take the shuttle up and ski back down into town.
Yeah. The people that did this video sound like they don't really know anything about the areas.
I love Mt Hood and Bend. Some of my favorite ski/snowboard locations. Def worth a visit
How do you guys manage to pump out so much content? It's awesome
Some great points mentioned here! It’s really hard to get a day like Utahs blower snow in Washington, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. We tend to get constant long periods overcast with snow spread out over multiple days, so that “foot of new snow” feeling is rare unless you know where to look. Great video!
that being said we just got like 2 weeks straight of fresh snow
2 feet on one of those days
definitely got stuck waist deep in snow a couple times this season already
Also, if you like cross-country skiing and/or snowshoeing, the Northwest's thick, wet, and often DEEP snow will be a treat. I went snowshoeing for the first time about a year ago now at Snoqualmie Summit; there was something like 8 feet on the ground in the first week of March.
we are hipsters in the pnw. we dont want big giant corporate places up here! keep that at disneyland and CO
Seattle has no big corporations lol…
Too late. Bachelor is owned by Powder Inc
@@Jamesandmaddie I live in Portland. Hipster capital. We have mount hood and tons of mom and pop resorts. You guys in Seattle can stay in discount Canada.
Stevens Pass is a Vail owned ski area...and a lot of people travel to ski here now. It's a serious bummer.
@@mrmcgilligan218 idk why people go that far for stevens. Stevens pass is only good when the upper lift is open during a powder day and that’s so rare. Other than that it’s pretty mid
There were plans at one point to build ski areas on South Sister and Diamond Peak in Oregon, but they didn't happen, and now they're wilderness zones.
One area that isn't Wilderness is Pelican Butte by Klamath Falls. There was a plan for it, but they wouldn't allow a new a road to be built to go the resort which killed it (at one point a Tram was proposed instead, but it wasn't practical).
My own local hill (Willamette Pass) actually has decent lodging with 5 mins (Odell Lake) but Mountain capital partners is just finally investing in Willamette Pass again after a rough decade with low snow and financial struggles for the prior owner.
Excellent and accurate presentation. I am familiar with all those areas and this information was spot on! One of the final thoughts mentioned was spring skiing. Mt Bachelor in Oregon was an annual destination for spring. One of my favorite mountains but in spring. Storms can still come through but are short lived and you are rewarded with winter snow😅 for a couple days at least. Most all the lifts are high speed detachable so can get a tremendous amount of skiing in one day. Skiing top to bottom can be done multiple times. The mountain is a classic shaped volcano with many routes down. Easy drive from Bend which is a very enjoyable town with much to offer. There is shuttle transportation to the ski area as well.
I could spend a week at Bachelor. It's a great combination with the town of Bend. As for Washington though, they are already overrun by locals. Places like Crystal charge destination prices while being nowhere near as good as actual destination resorts.
This is great but scary to get to!
I found Crystal to be better than most of the destination resorts I’ve been to. Tons of steeps right off the lift and plenty more to hike to. I was told that I got really lucky in terms on snow quality and weather, though, so maybe it’s not always that good.
Crystal Mountain is going to be expanding terrain. Crystal Mountain is also building a new 120 room slopeside hotel. That being said, this will only help solve the congestion issues with locals as mentioned, but there are definitely options to expand.
Unless the prices drop as a result I am not sure that many locals would want to go there as it is a place only for rich people now, not the common person like in the old days.
We need more parking spaces at Crystal Mountain. Also, everyone likes to go hiking and camping at Mt. Rainier National Park. They need to install more parking lots to accommodate a thousand people. Last year, I went hiking around the mountain. It's a 96 mile loop. The loop takes you back to your parking lot. Very awesome. I like it.
While at the UW in 1982 , The Snoqualmie Pass “big3” had midweek pass at $59 / Season.
Had all my classes before noon so could arrive at Alpental by 1 pm.
Was 45 minutes from Seattle back then.
We also did Chairlift repair and built the
Sno Cat tracked vehicle they used in the 80s.
We got Complimentary tickets at will from maneuver Ed Link.
We got stuck many times driving and we’re also “snowed in “ on occasion.
Crystal has terrain with a view of Mt. Rainier that will stop you in your tracks,
Wind can really blow up top , so the valleys can save a day.
The Mashed Potato cascade snow will make one learn to like the machine grooming.
Best memory was getting $2 lift ticket at Hyak on Kisw “Rock night”.
Mission Ridge has some great snow but is like going up 2 passes.
Good, let’s keep it that way, we Washington State people don’t need or want more people up here. Glad you included Bellingham for Mount Baker. Let them go to Whistler/Blackcomb, where there are great towns to hang out at, with nightclubs and restaurants galore.
Mt Bachelor absolutely a beautiful mountain to ski!!!
I live in the Portland area and I’m so glad that we don’t have ski towns, and that we aren’t a ‘desirable’ destination for tourists. Mt. Hood is awesome because you often just meet locals from the nearby suburbs, this just adds to the community feeling of our mountains. I’m also glad to hear that one of the soul reasons why we don’t have resorts is because of our national forests laws, we do have lodges nearby called government camp, but it’s honestly not worth it when you can just travel 2 hours from the suburbs(if you don’t mind waking up early to get a good parking spot).
I hope this continues to be the case because I would hate for us locals to be priced out of our mountains because some ski town made it so.
I don’t ski any more, but I loved Mt. Bachelor. The two times I skied there the sun was out and the peak was open.
We have a family cabin about twenty miles west of Stevens Pass, my husband snowboards there
Excellent research.
As someone who spend over a decade riding there, I can say, you are spot on.
Do a video on Mission Ridge in Wenatchee. They have plans to build Washington’s first ski in ski out town and they’ve been fighting to do it for years now!
It is not a town that is planned, but a small base village. My best guess is it will never happen. I bet the Owner does not have the funds to do the project. 3 of the lifts are slow 60's era Riblet doubles. The 4th lift, the one to the summit, is a used Doppelmayr detachable quad that is 30 years old. Just installed a few years ago. Owner likes to buy old used equipment. His plan is to build a new base area. His plan is to then use the money from real estate sales at the new base area to fund the installation of new lifts. This will take years. The good thing about the new base area is it is on private land that the owner bought. The bad news is the road over to the new base is going to be expensive. Secondly, a Sportsmen group with political backing is fighting the development because they think the expansion and increased year around presence of people at the site that it will bring will have an effect on land that has historically been summer calving ground for elk. With that said it often feels like a private resort on weekdays. Very few Westside skiers (Seattle) on those days. Seattle people have to drive over one pass on one route and two passes the other route to get to it. These passes can get lots of snow that force road closures. Mission is located on the eastside of the state, so the weather is not as wet as Baker, Stevens, Snoqualime and Crystal. Bend (Mt Bachelor) is not very wet either as it is also on the eastside of the Cascades. Dryer weather can also mean less snow accumulation from a storm. Wind can be a factor but usually just at the very summit. The recently installed summit chair comes into a building at the top that has greatly reduced the chair from being shut down. On most days once you descend 100 yards or so down the hill the wind is a non-factor. On one of the comments for this video someone remarked 1500 vertical feet. Mission has 2250 vertical feet and if you are willing to hike a little (Not a lot) you have access to 2500 acres. Mission does not have a lot of beginner runs. Mimi is the only chairlift accessed green run. (I am not the owner and he can do whatever he wishes. If I had the money and the ownership, I would replace Chair 1, a Riblet, with a new quad. This chair gets you directly from the base to Midway and the summit chair, Chair 2. On busy weekends it can be too slow. I would the replace the other base located Riblet, Chair 4, with a quad that goes all the way to the summit with a off-load area where Chair 4 currently unloads. Finally on Chair 3, a Riblet, from Midway to 3/4 the way up the hill, I would replace it with a quad that goes to the summit with an off-loading area where Chair 3 currently off-loads. This would speed up getting up the hill and greatly optimize the use of the whole area within the resort's boundaries.)
Just looked this up and had no idea. I love Chelan County this could be huge. If they increased to hotel rooms in the project it could be a huge boom for the area. Chelan County probably has the most similar weather to Bend of any of the Washington ski resorts. Close to Lake Chelan and Leavenworth so extremely ideal.
If only they built an access road or tram from the Kittitas valley, or some kind of a road that makes it more convenient to get to from the west and south. It's less than 20 miles as the crow flies from Ellensburg but almost a 2 hour drive from there. That's my beef.
As a Wenatchee resident, I hope this never happens. Plus, the added terrain is to be all beginner level, so none of this benefits most skiers in Wenatchee.
Mission Ridge has my favorite terrain this side of Canada, but snowpack is not a guarantee.
Great and accurate as usual. One thing you didn't cover, though, is how great it is to be a local here. We know the roads. We know the slopes so the visibility isn't as big of an issue. We camp or know the secret lodging places. And, since we live here, we wait for the powder day with great visibility and go get it! There is soooo much snow, and cool grungy ski towns with no fancy hollywood tourists, and our friends and our steeeeep and big mountains. I wouldn't fly out for a random week, either, because you have to time it just right for the good weather. But living here and getting to pick the perfect ski windows all year long...pretty great.
We live in Utah and drove to Bend and Mt Bachelor many years ago. My wife and I still consider it to be the best ski trip we have ever taken. What a great town and resort!
Portland resident and mount hood meadows pass holder. Windshield resorts are awesome. You typically see the same people every time you go up. Also the 1.5 hour drive is an adventure in itself. Plus you sleep in your own bed 😍
I travelled to ski at Meadows, but only because I had family in Portland. Totally worth it.
I work as a lifty at Mt. Bachelor on the weekends, and everything said here was perfectly fair. I grew up skiing in Montana and was shocked the first rain day here, but I’ve since learned to love it, the Cascade Concrete.
Stevens pass WA is so overcrowded on weekends, if you don't arrive by 9am opening, you're not going to find parking.
Flying in I saw tons of ski/snowboard bags in airport checked baggage.
I would classify Mount Batchelor in Bend as a destination resort.😊
I love your videos!
I grew up learning to ski (and then got my first teaching job) at the Summit at Snoqualmie and while I appreciate the idea of a ski town, I’m glad it’s just me and my friends (locals). It’s such a beautiful area and I’m glad we dont get the level of foot traffic that comes with the mountain being a tourist attraction.
timberline gets crazy on nice days after a fresh snow. someone always wrecks their car, the trip up and back can be an all day adventure all by itself
As pointed out after 9 minutes in…because It’s often a heavy snow, and low visibility. When a dry snow dump occurs, that is more often than not on weekdays (5 vs 2), and local contractors playing hooky swamp the slopes! Then there are the hikers glissading thru the runs after summiting the peak (I don’t do that anymore, I swear).
As for Bachelor, stay at Sun River. Tho that takes some planning.
I lived in Breckenridge, telluride, Salt Lake City, and now in Northern California. Ive done Oregon and Washington resorts too. For overall consistent snow season and charm, with a fun vibe, Colorado takes it. Just go there. :)
I live in Seattle and crowding is a big problem because most the ski resorts are not that big and instead of building more resorts to ease the crowds they say there is too much demand and jack up the prices to astronomical levels, I really wish they would build one really big resort Ruby Mountain in North Cascades would be a great location for a big resort. To be fair not every resort is overpriced and there are a few clear winter days with good views but most of the winter is foggy just below freezing with heavy wet snow and occasionally heavy rain. I snowshoe and cross country ski more than I downhill ski because of the cost/crowds and their are some great snowshoe/cross country ski trails.
My favorite ski areas in the Northwest are Whistler, Mt Hood Meadows and Mt Bachelor. I really like how on Mt bachelor you can ski off the summit in any direction and eventually catch a trail back to the base and Whistler is so big you can ski all day without skiing the same run.
The cross country ski from Camp Muir to Paradise on Mt Rainier, from Camp Schurman to White River on Mt rainier, the summit of Mt St helens to the trailhead and the summit of Mt Adams to the trailhead are pretty amazing but there is no lift you have climb thousands of feet to do these ski runs and you need the right snow conditions at times the snow is really hard and wind sculpted at other times the snow is really deep and avalanche prone. I prefer to do these big cross country ski routes in the spring/early summer. You also have to be prepared for bad weather because some of these cross country ski routes top out at 10,000 to 12,000 feet and this far north its pretty cold at that alitude.
I vote for you for downhill expansion chairman of washington 🙏🏻
The backcountry skiing on Ruby is great as is, no need to sully it with chairlifts.
Too many people for the resorts that already exist, but that doesn't mean we need to build more.
I'm very much okay with this. It's already bad enough having ikon and other ticket companies do what they do. Don't want to have to deal with people creating "ski towns" here too. I also find it hilarious that there are people saying that bachelor is a "hidden gem" lmao that place is overrun and overpriced.
Beautiful regions to ski. Good summary here. Basically the bad is the also the good. Just depends what you prioritize. Personally I love remote areas and beautiful scenery. Mt. Baker has that.
I’m a local PNW skier and have skied all these mountains and some others not listed. Mt Bachelor is a regional destination resort for PDX and Seattle. Crystal and Steven’s Pass are now so insanely busy on the weekends that many skiers will take a day off of work midweek just to avoid the madness.
I ski the summit at Snoqualmie from Seattle. Time the traffic right on a mid-week and you can do laps for a few hours between lunch and dinner, while eating said lunch and dinner at your home in the city. It's that close so I guess that makes Seattle a ski town.
Cause the ski areas are restricted by the National Forest land they are on. Not allowed to develop much in the way of lodging.
I go Meadows on Hood always. Grew up at timberline in the winters. Never really thought about the lack of travelers though. It can be pretty busy just from the local crowd so I’m okay with not being a destination.
Years ago I went on business to Pendleton, Oregon in February. We had a weekend off so we drove south down to a mountain range called the 'Blue mountains'. Hardly anyone there we had the whole ski area (I forget the name of the place) to ourselves, great skiing. The lift ticket was something like $ 15 and the rental skis another $15.
Shhhhh.
Anthony Lakes
Every year we make the trip to Mission Ridge in Washington. We fly into Seattle direct from Chicago then drive a scenic 2 1/2hr to the resort. 0 lift lines and powder in the trees and bowls days after a snowfall. We come from Michigan using our $150 Mount Bohemian season pass. We get 3 free day tickets at Mission Ridge with our pass.
It rains a lot, the road to the mountains are probably more than you bargained for in a rental car and those chains you bought at a gas station because the sign said you need but you figure you can handle it bc there was half an in of snow on your cul de sac once. The snow is wet and heavy. theres no place to stay, the parking sucks. Theres no bougie apres scene (unless you consider shotgunning Rainers in lot 4 bougie). Need me to go on?
Go to Park City. Youll have a much better time there. 👍
I always thought it was funny as a racer going to Mt. Hood for summer training and still having to stay quite a ways from the mountain because there was just no other lodging or anything haha still love it and the extremely local feel but it makes complete sense as more of a day trip destination than anything else
Haha so true. Our resorts here in Washington are so packed just from locals. Honestly wasn't so bad like 10-15 years ago but nowadays I have to avoid going on weekends, or go backcountry if I don't want to spend most of my time waiting in a line. Definitely don't need more skiers lol.
Cause the snow sucks here. If you’re gonna travel, travel somewhere worth the cost.
A few weeks ago I went skiing at snoqualmie in heavy rain and limited visibility for most of the day. The lift lines were still very crowded. That’s just the snoqualmie experience and I had a blast, though a lot of people who aren’t locals wouldn’t find it worth it to travel here for those conditions
I spent 4 years going to Hoodoo at the top of Tombstone pass in Oregon. I learned everything about how to ride there. The drive up the pass was white knuckle. It would always open late due to rain. BUT its footprint was great, locals were always so cool, and the prices were unbeatable. I have lots of fond memories there and would love to go back. Definitely recall lots of wet days that were overcast. We would drive in and out the same day, no services anywhere on the road between Sweethome and Bend.
Hoodoo... fond memories learning to ski there as a kid.
Pretty spot on after spending most of the last few winters in Seattle area. Alpental, Crystal, baker and even Stevens all have some incredible terrain. If you’re dedicated you can score 10-20 days a season that are as good as anywhere in the world. Crystal often has even more thanks to its extra elevation (and maybe summit because it’s often warmer and soft with some proper grooming)…. But trying to line up with those conditions as a ski destination doesn’t make much sense unless you’re feeling extra lucky.
Windy conditions in the Cascades are some of the most miserable conditions you can shred in. 50mph wind driven ice pellets are fun. The terrain parks really suffer from lack of visibility, soupy, or cascade concrete and that is a deterrent to some also. There also isn’t a lot of steep steep terrain or truly dangerous lines of cliffs. Yet it’s good enough to have a ton of fun and not need to travel elsewhere if you live here. Our spring skiing is incredible. Big bases, snow that’s soft not long after 9am that doesn’t turn into soup until 2 or 3 pm and bluebird views.
Timberline has the best parks in the world during the summer
Crystal offers some of the most extreme skiing terrain in the lower 48, and is high enough in elevation to keep the top half of the resort mostly in good snow, where the steeps are. When its windy or foggy ski the trees, some of the steepest and most challenging terrain is in the trees too. If your an advanced or expert skier, and know the mountain, Crystal is one of the funnest resorts there is. Baker is the same way. Just don't go early season on weekends, and the crowds will be non-existent.
I agree with every word. I used to buy a spring pass to meadows for 100. And now lift tickets are 150. !
Stevens in the early to mid eighties.. empty slopes with $5 night skiing
and then, all of you moved here
easy ol' timer
Skiied stevens pass all growing up, by the time I moved away from Seattle in 2019, the traffic/parking was insane. Definitely a ton of local demand
I enjoyed Mt. Bachelor. Loved the fact that there is not hotel there but you can stay in your RV
As someone who now lives in the PDX metro, but grew up in the Midwest and skied Colorado and Utah many winters, no, the skiing in the PNW doesn't compare to the Rockies, but it's not terrible either. It's solid skiing, maybe not with the posh and high class of Vail, Aspen or Park City, but still plenty of fun.
Bachelor is in my running for most fun mountain. Best place I’ve skied with a group with a wide range of abilities - experts can find fun on even the easiest runs.
I'm glad that Washington doesn't have a destination ski resort. Stay away the lines are long enough as it is.
The locals are loving this wideo. lol I will visit one day. =]
I grew up in Seattle and skied at Snoqualmie every weekend and can totally understand why it wouldn’t be a destination. I never thought about it, but it makes complete sense.
That's cool. More Mt. Hood for me
Every potential ski resort in Oregon and Washington you mention can be skied backcountry.
I went to the Cascades in summer of 2021. I was wondering why i literally have never heard anyone talk about riding in Washington or Oregon. Now I know why. Still worth a trip sometime.
As someone who comes to WA from CO each winter, don't visit CO. The skiing in WA is top notch, and there's no I-70 traffic!
Yep my baker trip :: 5 hours from town to parking lot started at 5 am on lift by 1230
Like a bad 80s party .. huge lines
I was a skier in Colorado through high school and college. After I moved to Oregon, I tried twice. The first one ended as we got to the mountain and the rain/snow mix was so bad I was soaked before I could buy my pass. The second time I went with a person that had lived and skied Oregon mountains her entire life. Her comment about the snow conditions were how great it was and that she rarely saw the slopes this good. For me the snow was icy and choppy, worse that Colorado mountains were at the end of a really busy spring break day.
After those two experiences just was not worth my time. I sold my skis and boots.
I had a very similar experience. I learned to ski in CO, then moved to Portland. I went a few times and it just wasn't worth it.
I learned to ski in Oregon and I still ski here in the Pacific Northwest. In my opinion, the ski season doesn't start around here until the weekend after President's day. Our spring snow is the best, and quite frankly you're wasting your time trying to ski here December through February.
I remember mt hood being well priced when i lived out there. Specifically there was cheap wind power and they didnt need to make snow.
I've lived in Bend for 14 years and know Mt Bachelor like the back of my hand. It's an excellent mountain to ski and it's always a treat when the backside opens. The views up there always take my breath away. The road to get up there is quite good, even 4 lanes for a few miles near the top. The traffic is just abysmal nowadays though. They really need to add in bus lanes and better stations because the shuttle is excellent. Ideally a little train like what pikes peak has would be perfect but that'll never happen. Mt Bachelor used to have a hotel when it first opened but I think it was turned into one of the main lodges. There's lots of room for a ski town up there but building one would destroy many mountain bike and hiking trails and pristine wilderness. The weather also is a bit tricky. It snows a lot but usually it's gradual over many days but sometimes it's very windy blizzard conditions. Last weekend it rained up there, in January... I personally don't mind skiing in a snow storm if it means I get fresh powder every run but yeah bluebird powder days are always savored.
lol i was just at Meadows this morning, also i take a snow bus that i get to skip parking and the bus get to park next to the lodge.
Remember back in the early 90's when a busy weekday at Hood Meadows was four rows of cars in parking lot.
I’ve never been but I hear that mission ridge is pretty good. It’s on the eastern slopes of the Cascades so theoretically isn’t as wet. It’s 24 mins from downtown Wenatchee and 32 mins from Wenatchee’s airport with a direct flight to Seattle. Wenatchee also has an Amtrak station served by the empire builder, and there is a bus that goes all the way up to mission ridge. Seems like they have the logistics to set up a good destination ski resort, at least for other PNW residents who live further away in Seattle and Portland.
I looked into it some more and does seem they have some major expansion plans ahead
czcams.com/video/LrZLbWhQ-lY/video.htmlsi=7AL1PU6W54pdlZIV
Plans originally called for the first of a five phase expansion to have begun in 2022. The expansion would be completed over a 20 year period through 2043.
Plans called for 621 condominiums, townhomes and duplexes as well as single family detached homes and 57 hotel units. In addition, plans called for 110,000 square feet of commercial space and skier services.
My aunt and uncle live in Wenatchee. I'm thinking of visiting them to check out Mission Ridge. The only problem is it's a six hour drive
Same with mt bachelor, it's crazy how different they are than the west-side resorts
Been there once. It was hard packed like concrete. But the weather was nice.
I guess PeakRankings doesn't earn much in resort kickbacks from their scheduling service in the PNW because PNW resorts don't feature much $1,000/night lodging.
Timberline is a huge destination for park skiers, especially in the late spring and summer. However, we aren’t a huge crowd
Bachelor was always a destination resort especially in the spring when you could golf and ski the same day. Maybe things have changed since I used to go there in the 1980's.
yes, I live here and you are right. Major capacity issues. They should build more resorts with rooms though, to relieve the traffic.
Pretty accurate. I will say through. If you know where to go prices can be low. I would argue that for decades it hasn’t been about the Apres seen and hotels here in the northwest. It’s been about the Skiing and the community of your local mountain. Unfortunately with the introduction of Corporate buyouts and Collective passes. Prices have been hiked up and everything is busier. Still love the culture up here. Some comments have said people up here are rude. If you show up at most the resorts that aren’t even mentioned in this video you will see some amazing terrain.