White Pass

Today I made my way to White Pass, and was rewarded with an easy drive, followed by fresh snow all day long. The cold temperatures over the last week kept the slopes in very good condition, and with fresh snow falling, it was a great day to be riding. I spent the morning checking out all the groomers, and then ran into some folks from Mountain High around noon.

I did a couple of laps with my club-mates, and they showed me some runs I had not yet discovered, which led me into new territory for the afternoon. I really came to appreciate the relative lack of crowds, and found plenty of fresh tracks all day due to the ongoing snowfall.

Last year a number of runs were closed due to lack of coverage when I arrived, and some were off-limits due to deep powder. The base was much more mature on this visit, and the mountain was 100% open. I had a chance to explore the cliff areas that were closed on my last visit, as well as some of the outer runs off Holiday that were too deep to ride when I came to White Pass last year.

This is a great little ski area, with the advantage of being farther from major cities than most others in the cascades, which keeps the crowds in check. I found challenge in the mogul fields and trees, and enjoyed the very well groomed cruisers and packed powder off-piste. It was a great day to be at White Pass.