Pacific NW/AK/BC 2020/2021 PNW news, weather, conditions, stoke.

[pchewn]

Going up 26 to get to Skibowl this morning was awful. We left Portland at 6:45 and were making good time until finally running into the usual weekend traffic in Rhododendron at about 7:45, and then it took another hour and 15 to finally get to Skibowl. There were so many cars having traction issues and blocking a lane of traffic trying to put on their chains well past the chain-up areas. An official ODOT vehicle had to help a van put their chains on. A school bus of Lake Oswego kids was pulled over having traction problems too. I've never seen 26 quite like this before.

Skibowl was by far the most crowded I've ever seen it, even though I've skied at Skibowl before when the parking lots are full. Perhaps people who couldn't get up to Timberline or knew they wouldn't get a spot at Meadows decided to cut their drive short and ski at Skibowl? Upper Bowl lines were 20-30 minutes from opening to 10:30-11:00...before today even when there are crowds I don't think I've waited more than 7-10 minutes for Upper Bowl. The snow was great, with all of the wind there were some ice patches, but also plenty of deep pockets. I got to ski the Outback for the first time, which was fun. The crowds were starting to die down around noon, with Upper Bowl lines being closer to 10 minutes. I'm hoping that today was an anomaly for Skibowl being a Saturday with fresh snow and major road issues ? I figure if I have to wait in these kinds of lines, I might as well be at Meadows.

As Bill Clinton would say "I feel your pain." I was there Saturday also with my son and grandsons. We did the "stuck car slalom" on the way up, noticing the exact same things you did (bus, no chains, put on chains in middle of road). We skied the Multorpor lift when the Upper Bowl was crowded, then the Upper Bowl lift later in the day. By 2:30pm the Upper Bowl lift wait was near 0 and by 3:30pm it was ski right on.

The ski conditions were great, which is why so many people were there

 

[dovski]

So I realize that many on this site have never heard of Alpental, heck many skiers in the Seattle area don't know it exists. So I dug up some old Warren Miller footage of Alpental that gives a sense of why it is so special and also how it is an anomaly in compared to other Seattle area ski resorts. It really has a weather system all to itself. It can be raining at Crysal and Steven's but dumping snow on the upper mountain at Alpental. This footage is a little dated but I assure you nothing has changed since they filmed this. Alpental is very much an old school ski resort for hardcore skiers. No fancy restaurants or boutiques. Pretty much no beginner runs save for the one bunny hill, and maybe 2-3 advanced intermediate runs, but since they do minimal grooming on the lower mountain and no grooming on the upper mountain it is an off piste paradise.

Jeremy Nobis and Friends Ski Alpental - YouTube

Alpental also have several gates that unlock a ton of side country and back country skiing. What is really cool is that if you don't feel like skinning up, you can ride the chair and ski through the gats and boom you are in the thick of it

Alpental Washington Backcountry Skiing - YouTube

There are also some great gladed runs through the trees
Alpental, WA Team Shred - YouTube

And lets not forget the pow skiing Alpental is famous for. Here is a video the resort put out a few year back

Mid-Winter Powder Days at Alpental - YouTube

And here is a more recent video from Super Bowl Sunday. Note the line-up you see if for Chair 2 which is how you access the upper mountain. This is the original lift that was installed in 1967 and on a POW day it is not uncommon to wait 15-20 minutes to upload. Folks complain about this during Covid, but this is also part of the charm of Alpental and it ensures that the upper mountain is never crowded, it also keeps some of the less accomplished skiers on the lower mountain which is important since there is no easy way down from Chair 2, all you have is advanced black, double black and extreme

superbowl Sunday Alpental 2/7/21 24 inches 24 hours - YouTube

Alpental has had fresh snow 16 out of the last 17 days and has snow in the forecast pretty much every day for the next week plus cooler temperatures. At this rate the base up top could exceed 300" by next weekend. Yesterday was amazing with 18" fresh snow and over 36" in the previous 48hrs. A patroller told me they had received over 10 feet of new snow in the last week and we definitely felt it with fresh POW on top of packed POW all over the mountain.

Here are today's Mountain stats



My daughters Freeride team was filming yesterday at Alpental so will post that footage once it is ready.

 

[RJS]

@dovski thanks for sharing those videos, the Warren Miller one is pretty cool! I had a great time skiing Alpental for the first time three weeks ago with lots of deep snow and rowdy terrain. I didn't get to explore anything out of Nash or Elevator (maybe next time) but Shot Six and International to Felsen were two of my favorite runs, with lots of long, steep fall line skiing. The lines were long, but the vibe was good. Quality over quantity.

To add: the Alpental Valley is also a very special place in the summer. Snow and Gem Lakes are great introductions to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and the entire range stretching from Chair Peak to Mount Daniel has some of the most beautiful scenery in Washington, and is shockingly accessible to people living in Seattle. It's even worth the drive for people like me who live a few hours to the south.

 

[dovski]

@dovski thanks for sharing those videos, the Warren Miller one is pretty cool! I had a great time skiing Alpental for the first time three weeks ago with lots of deep snow and rowdy terrain. I didn't get to explore anything out of Nash or Elevator (maybe next time) but Shot Six and International to Felsen were two of my favorite runs, with lots of long, steep fall line skiing. The lines were long, but the vibe was good. Quality over quantity.

So here is an insiders tip - if you get there early for first chair you can usually get a couple runs on Chair 2 before the line-ups start. Second tip is either take an early or late lunch so you can get a few more laps on Chair 2 while folks are eating.

That said Covid clearly complicates things as this year you can ride single on Chair 2 whereas in previous years that was never an option. The other challenge is that this year with Ikon pass reservations being so slim at Crystal we are getting a lot of spillover at Alpental. That said I was more than happy to wait 15 minutes in line yesterday so ski some waist deep powder.

One of my favorite runs this year is taking Nash off chair 2 and traversing far right at the mid point and hitting upper Dom through the trees. This area is not skied nearly as much, is pretty steep, has some great natural features, is typically not in the debris field from the Avi control and almost always has great snow. It also makes for a long challenging run on par or better than most big mountain skiing.

At 40 minutes from my front door Alpental is my jam.

PS what is really cool about the Warren Miller video for me is that I recognize and have skied all of the runs/lines they filmed at Alpental.

 

[David Chaus]

@dovski, are you saying that you like Alpental?

 

[dovski]

@dovski, are you saying that you like Alpental?

Now David you know that assumptions make fool out of you and I but you are pretty safe on this one.

Funny little story, back in 1965-66 when Bob Mickelson and Jim Griffin were thinking about creating Alpental everyone said it was far to steep for a ski resort and did not have an adequate mix of beginner and intermediate terrain, the required formula for a ski resort at the time. Luckily they had this friend, Warren Miller who made a ski video for them and the rest shall we say is history

Here is a history of Alpental from their 40th anniversary which is worth watching.
Alpental Ski Area History - YouTube

 

[slowrider]

NW chair @ Bachelor no I'm not in line

 

[CascadeConcrete]

also how it is an anomaly in compared to other Seattle area ski resorts. It really has a weather system all to itself. It can be raining at Crysal and Steven's but dumping snow on the upper mountain at Alpental.

As a fellow Alpentalic, I respect your clearly deep-seated love of the mountain. But this is just wishful thinking. I've had some fun pow days on the upper mountain when the lower half got rain, but the vast majority of days with marginal temps see Crystal and Stevens fare better. Yes, Snoqualmie pass does get some unique weather but that's due to convergance zones which normally result in more precip but it doesn't help much with lower temps. Stevens Pass also benefits from many of these though, it's not just unique to Alpental. And the base areas at Stevens and Crystal are 1000 ft higher than that of Alpental (Crystal's summit is also 1500 ft higher) which makes a massive difference when the temps are borderline. If Alpental is getting rain on the lower with snow on the upper, it's a good bet that Stevens and especially Crystal are getting snow on the whole mountain. You don't have to deal with standing in the rain for an hour while Alpental tries to get the upper mountain running, you just go ski in the snow.

 

[dovski]

As a fellow Alpentalic, I respect your clearly deep-seated love of the mountain. But this is just wishful thinking. I've had some fun pow days on the upper mountain when the lower half got rain, but the vast majority of days with marginal temps see Crystal and Stevens fare better. Yes, Snoqualmie pass does get some unique weather but that's due to convergance zones which normally result in more precip but it doesn't help much with lower temps. Stevens Pass also benefits from many of these though, it's not just unique to Alpental. And the base areas at Stevens and Crystal are 1000 ft higher than that of Alpental (Crystal's summit is also 1500 ft higher) which makes a massive difference when the temps are borderline. If Alpental is getting rain on the lower with snow on the upper, it's a good bet that Stevens and especially Crystal are getting snow on the whole mountain. You don't have to deal with standing in the rain for an hour while Alpental tries to get the upper mountain running, you just go ski in the snow.

I hear you on that and have definitely experienced wet days on the hill, but that is the challenge with skiing in the PNW all hills in this area have to battle that. I have also had the frustration of drive 2 hours to Crystal only to find that the lot is full, not to mention major challenges with Highway 2 to Stevens. Don't get me wrong I have had good ski days at Crystal and Stevens, but when the weather cooperates I have had better ski days at Alpental and location wise it much more convenient too.

 

[Tom Co.]

@Philpug @Andy Mink @AKMINK and I are heading to Bend to meet up with some people for business.

Any tips or tricks for skiing Mt Bachelor would be appreciated.

We do have parking reservations for the 4 days we'll be there.

I am not a Bachelor local, but I have skied there a bunch, usually in the spring. Here are a few of my favorite areas. If the Summit is open take the walk up to the actual Summit in ski the Pinnacles. This is the steepest area at bachelor. The pinnacles are at the top of the the Cirque which is just that. If you ski down to the bottom of the Cirque you need to keep speed to get through the little gap that takes you down to the rest of the mountain. Another alternative is to stay skier right and go around the right hand side of the bottom. This is actually a pretty good run. Another spot off the Summit is to go skiers right to a run call Cows Face. Beware though, this drops you off on a big long catchline traverse to get back. The area between Cows Face and East Healy is fun with little mini bowls that catch snow, separated by ridges that can get windblown. The way to ski here is to ski down a trough then traverse left to the next depression and repeat, zigzagging your way down. This illiminates the cat road and can bring you back to the Summit lift.
On the lower mountain there are some fun trees between the Skyliner and Pine Martin lifts. You just need to link up the trees. The area skiers left of the Pine Martin lift is a bit steeper. It brings you out under the red chair which probably won't be running there are some nice tree slots here also. Tippy toe and Canyon on the Pine Martin lift have what passes for bump runs at Bachelor.
The Outback lift also has good trees and a somewhat steeper grade, however you might find more moguls here.
The Northwest lift has a steeper top and then a big flat at the bottom. The top is fun with again lots of opportunities to bob and weave through openings.
If you are really lucky and the summit is open with good snow, then ski the Backside and West Bowls, You will have to take the catch line traverse to return to the main area.
There is not much legitimate black diamond skiing at bachelor, however the tree skiing is pretty darn good.

 

[CascadeConcrete]

I have also had the frustration of drive 2 hours to Crystal only to find that the lot is full, not to mention major challenges with Highway 2 to Stevens. Don't get me wrong I have had good ski days at Crystal and Stevens, but when the weather cooperates I have had better ski days at Alpental and location wise it much more convenient too.

I too have gotten turned away from Crystal, and totally agree that US-2 sucks. Can't beat Alpental for convenience, and I'm up there more than anywhere else, by far. I think it's coming from a good place but you do seem to be passing around just a bit of kool-aid regarding Alpy in this thread

Anyways, in the spirit of the thread I'll give a conditions report from Alpental this morning. Showed up around 9:30 (was lazy about getting out of bed this morning) and got one of the last spots in the parking lot, just as they were putting out the "lot full" sign. I knew that was a bad sign, but was already up there so might as well ski. Booted up and then immediately waited 45 min or so to get on Armstrong. Reaching mid-mountain, I was unsurprised to see that there was a long line for chair 2 as well. Figured if I was going to wait either way, might as well wait to head up top. And so, I ended up not starting my first run until about 10:50, nearly an hour and a half after I arrived. And unfortunately, the lines didn't get any better till about noon when they finally started to shorten a bit (although I still wouldn't call them short). The dark side of Alpental's convenience is the big crowds which can easily overwhelm the modest lift capacity.

On the brighter side though, dovski is absolutely right about the deep snowpack. The Rollen cliffs (and The Fan) are completely buried. Not just mostly buried. Completely buried. Gone. Patrol literally took down the rope line that normally sits above the cliffs, because it's just unnecessary right now. Never seen them quite like that. The snow was pretty decent today, if rather variable. I was able to find everything from some nice pockets of mostly untouched powder to nice packed powder groomers. Overall, the skiing was pretty good, but the lines were rough, especially for a non-powder day.

 

[dovski]

I too have gotten turned away from Crystal, and totally agree that US-2 sucks. Can't beat Alpental for convenience, and I'm up there more than anywhere else, by far. I think it's coming from a good place but you do seem to be passing around just a bit of kool-aid regarding Alpy in this thread

Anyways, in the spirit of the thread I'll give a conditions report from Alpental this morning. Showed up around 9:30 (was lazy about getting out of bed this morning) and got one of the last spots in the parking lot, just as they were putting out the "lot full" sign. I knew that was a bad sign, but was already up there so might as well ski. Booted up and then immediately waited 45 min or so to get on Armstrong. Reaching mid-mountain, I was unsurprised to see that there was a long line for chair 2 as well. Figured if I was going to wait either way, might as well wait to head up top. And so, I ended up not starting my first run until about 10:50, nearly an hour and a half after I arrived. And unfortunately, the lines didn't get any better till about noon when they finally started to shorten a bit (although I still wouldn't call them short). The dark side of Alpental's convenience is the big crowds which can easily overwhelm the modest lift capacity.

On the brighter side though, dovski is absolutely right about the deep snowpack. The Rollen cliffs (and The Fan) are completely buried. Not just mostly buried. Completely buried. Gone. Patrol literally took down the rope line that normally sits above the cliffs, because it's just unnecessary right now. Never seen them quite like that. The snow was pretty decent today, if rather variable. I was able to find everything from some nice pockets of mostly untouched powder to nice packed powder groomers. Overall, the skiing was pretty good, but the lines were rough, especially for a non-powder day.

Do not disagree with anything you are saying, I have definitely painted a rosy picture of Alpental, not just because it is a great hill with great terrain, but because it really does get overlooked. And yes if you show up at 9:30 you are going to be back of the line for first chair which is rough. You would almost be better showing up at 11:30 and skiing during the lunch rush.

Lines for first chair these days have been nuts especially with delayed openings. And lines for Chair 2 are always longer than we would like, but on a good day it is absolutely worth the wait. Add to that Ikon pass holders who did not even know Alpental existed going there because it was the only place they can get reservation and Covid protocols that limit capacity further complicating the lift line situation. That said lines at Crystal and Stevens have also been challenging, combined with a 2hr drive plus the parking issues.

Simply put wherever you ski during Covid you need strategy, for Alpental mine is this:

1. Be in the parking lot by 8:15 the latest so you can get a decent spot in line for Armstrong and essentially ski on to chair 2 for your first run
2. Ski through the lunch rush as lines lighten up at that time
3. Ski during the week when you can - I have been known to take my son up on Wednesdays as his school finishes at 11 am those days.
4. Alpental is closed Mondays, so if there is good snow on a Monday you can explore taking the Tuesday off work and have a blast. On those days I try to push all my meetings to the afternoon and ski the morning

Earlier this season, we did not have the same lines even on POW days, but with all the great snow this weekend was nuts. Hopefully the crowds will thin out and lines will go back to the usual wait times going forward.

 

[slowrider]

Wake me up when it's my turn.

 

[CascadeConcrete]

Heard there was a big slide at Crystal in Northway yesterday on terrain that I believe was open. I think it was on Brand X? Luckily no one was caught. This is all secondhand, because I wasn't there.

Regardless, Northway and Southback seem to be closed now and there's a fairly ominous message in the Crystal conditions report that they may be closed for awhile. Also mentions avy control has been yielding slides with 6-8 ft crowns... Anyone see the slide yesterday or have any more details?

 

[John O]

So I realize that many on this site have never heard of Alpental, heck many skiers in the Seattle area don't know it exists.

That's a little bit of an exaggeration I think. I don't know any Seattle skier who hasn't heard of Alpental.

And so, I ended up not starting my first run until about 10:50, nearly an hour and a half after I arrived.

I believe it. I stopped skiing Alpental other than late spring because I mostly am stuck skiing weekends and Alpental is just too crowded on the weekends. I'd rather deal with Stevens or Crystal, as bad as they are, than Alpental on a powder weekend. If I could exclusively ski mid-week it'd be a different story.

 

[dovski]

That's a little bit of an exaggeration I think. I don't know any Seattle skier who hasn't heard of Alpental.



I believe it. I stopped skiing Alpental other than late spring because I mostly am stuck skiing weekends and Alpental is just too crowded on the weekends. I'd rather deal with Stevens or Crystal, as bad as they are, than Alpental on a powder weekend. If I could exclusively ski mid-week it'd be a different story.

I have been skiing Alpental pretty much every Saturday for the last 5 years (kids have Freeride every weekend), and yes this past weekend was the worst I have ever seen it, and the previous weekend was bad but not nearly as bad. That said aside even with this the longest wait I had at chair 2 was 15 minutes and most weekends it was less than 5-10 min. Not sure this is much worse than Crystal or Stevens. Also on a really big POW day like this Saturday it was totally worth the wait.

As for Seattle skiers not knowing about Alpental, let me qualify that statement. There are a lot of people in Seattle that ski 6-8 times a year when their kids have lessons, aside from that they never ski. Let's also not forget the parents who do not ski but used to wait in the lodge while their kids ski - it is this demographic I am referring to. You have to remember that the average skier in North America only gets in 5-6 days a year.

 

[CascadeConcrete]

That said aside even with this the longest wait I had at chair 2 was 15 minutes and most weekends it was less than 5-10 min.

We must ski at different Alpentals. The chair 2 line was 30+ min on Sunday till at least noon, and the only times I've seen weekend lines in the 5-10 min range this year have been when the vis was zero, snow was bad, or something else was less than ideal up top.

 

[Slasher]

Wet and slushy at the Vancouver North Shore mountains yesterday. A cat track that runs next to the access road for Cypress Mountain collapsed, sending a groomer tumbling onto its side. Apparently the driver was unhurt. This is the second major groomer accident in about 5 years at Cypress -- previously another one was driven into a creek or reservoir.

Sorry for the low quality image capture from my ancient dashcam.

 

[DanoT]

There was a recent snowcat accident at Mt. Baldy (south central B.C. interior) resulting in a death. https://globalnews.ca/news/7667359/fatal-accident-mount-baldy/

 

[gilligan]

That's a little bit of an exaggeration I think. I don't know any Seattle skier who hasn't heard of Alpental.

Most skiers around these parts have heard of Alpy but it often gets associated with the rest of Snoqualmie and blown off. They've "heard" of it but don't "know" it. I had a season pass there for about 5 seasons in the late '90's-early '00's and it's a gem. My friends that ski Crystal would always ask way I'd ski there and my response was if you spent a few days there you'd know why. Plus the passes were cheap! I haven't skied Alpental since I bought a pass in 2013-14 as a one-off but planning on getting up there in the spring with my Ikon.