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West Coast Mountain for Feb. Break?

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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
My mother, possibly and friend of mine and I are heading somewhere out west to ski for February break. I already put up Mt. Baker as an option to my mom because I assumed that it would have the greatest probability of having lots of pow because of its massive amounts of snow. My mom is a solid skier, although she's only been skiing out west a few times and has convinced herself that she won't be able to handle skiing powder. So what I'm looking for is what you guys know about Baker (is there plenty of easy/intermediate terrain that my mom could chill on while I slay the pow), and any other suggestions for mountains that we should consider going to. My two main criteria are lots of pow (yes I know that it's not a guarantee, but the more likely there will be pow the better) and is it a mountain that won't kill my mother. I don't really care about park because I live on the east coast so I've got plenty of that here.

Thanks a +K to all
Sep 9 2009 9:52PM
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Ian.Ham
Posts: 1687 - Karma: 1,153
jackson hole, so sick
Sep 9 2009 10:04PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
Should of mentioned this, i went to JH the last two years with a friend and i loved it. I'd like to try somewhere new tho
Sep 9 2009 10:07PM
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eheath
Posts: 61603 - Karma: 123,110
Utah or CO will have exactly what you want.
Sep 9 2009 10:37PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
any particular mountains?
Sep 9 2009 10:59PM
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Funnel
Posts: 7815 - Karma: 1,531
To be honest, it is tough to predict which mountain will most likely have pow at that time.  If El Nino ends up being true, Mammoth could be the place, if it's not then the PNW could be good, but your best bet is probably UT or CO.  It's a tough choice.  As you know, pow never a guarantee and you will have to be there when it is snowing, because after a day or two the snow is just shitty.
Sep 9 2009 11:03PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
well utah (alta, bird, brighton) gets about a bazzilion times more snow than CO, but dont tell anyone.....


o yeah you can also fly into utah and ski the same day. just try that in CO! haha
Sep 9 2009 11:12PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
what about Big sky? ive never been there but it seems like a super super sick ski area... THATS HUGE!

(MT people chime in)
Sep 9 2009 11:15PM
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N.Skinner
Posts: 1512 - Karma: 19
Crystal would have more mom friendly terrain
Sep 9 2009 11:16PM
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tandan83
Posts: 2783 - Karma: 141
Mammoth duh. It's got every kind of terrain you could want and tons of snow. Plus you can fly there this year from LA, Reno or San Jose.


Sep 9 2009 11:17PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
Anyone else? i'll be flying from Boston (BOS)
Sep 10 2009 3:50PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
I really like what I've heard and seen of Baker, any comments on that?
Sep 13 2009 5:45PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
Thanks man. And yea I'm pretty experienced at being unexperienced about avalanche stuff so I just don't fuck with out-of-bounds unless I'm with someone who knows their shit. Though I did take a brief avalanche course where I learned to use a probe and beacon and shit. Still I don't fuck with it.
Sep 13 2009 6:18PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
I've done it....

Flew into Denver and drove about hours to A Basin, maybe a little less.
Flew into Aspen and skied 25 minutes later at Snowmass, even shorter if you go to Buttermilk
Sep 13 2009 7:03PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
holy shit, i didnt know it was possible to make it to Abasin that fast from the airport.. nice!

yeah aspen is super close, but nowhere near as accesible as denver or SLC. plus its not un heard of to  re rout flights into grand gunction and then busing them into aspen. (my dad used to fly in to aspen and it was interesting to say the least)
Sep 13 2009 8:29PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
lol, yeah, landing at the aspen airport is sketch.  But yeah, the airport is about a half hour from denver and A Basin is only about an hour and 15 minutes from there.
Sep 13 2009 8:38PM
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selkirks
Posts: 1978 - Karma: 59
Alta/Bird. No contest.
Sep 13 2009 10:43PM
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Alp1ne
Posts: 717 - Karma: 203
Don't go anywhere near whistler.
Sep 13 2009 10:45PM
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Alp1ne
Posts: 717 - Karma: 203
Surprised noone mentioned is revelstoke some of the sickest terrain and they usualy get lots of snow, but getting there might be a pain in the ass.
Sep 13 2009 10:51PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
also the cheaper the better haha. like baker tickets are super cheap and so is airfare to SEA which is also part of the appeal.
Sep 13 2009 10:54PM
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Shifty540
Posts: 1843 - Karma: 21
Go to Utah or Colorado. Baker is overrated, don't come to PNW.
Sep 13 2009 11:19PM
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corona
Posts: 12795 - Karma: 32,751
lol
Sep 13 2009 11:52PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
Click for larger image
Sep 14 2009 12:07AM
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El_Barto.
Posts: 11661 - Karma: 24,351
dont bank on that. i know my experience wa just a fluke but i woke my ass up and got on a plane headed to SLC @ like 6 in the morning so i could ski the same day and was all stoked and shit and then fuckin shitface delta didnt put my skis on the plane and i sat in the airport for damn near 8 hours waiting for my skis. i have made it from PDX to DIA then up to copper for about 5 runs a few times though
Sep 14 2009 12:18AM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
its worked for me in the past... free ticket at PC also.

were you late checking in that morning?

you should have gone and raised holy hell at the ticket counter. it would not have been out of the question for them to pay for some ski rentals. if it was genuinely their fuckup and you were not being obstinate about it, ive seen them comp lots of different things.

SLC is just so damn convenient, ive skied CO too, and dont get me wrong its sick! i love it. but in my book you just cant beat landing, and a little over an hour later being on the hill.
Sep 14 2009 12:44AM
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JuliusJ
Posts: 3778 - Karma: 2,106
mt bachelor
Sep 14 2009 12:48AM
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skier_boy26
Posts: 11295 - Karma: 502
I was definitely going to say this (then again, whistler is close to booked solid)

Somewhere in BC could be nice. Revelstoke, kicking horse, etc. Potentially lots and lots of snow, wicked terrain, and plenty to make everybody happy. Getting there is a touch on the tricky side, compared to say... Alta or something, but possibly close to equivalent as going to Baker. Airfare may be more going into somewhere like calgary or a regional airport, but in February... maybe not.

Quite frankly, baker is super sick, but without pow its a tough mountain to deal with, and who knows when it'll snow. I'd bank on a bigger mountain that at least provides some options if snow is iffy or if el nino is proving to be visious.
Sep 14 2009 12:57AM
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Kayess
Posts: 357 - Karma: 11
baker is pretty awesome. if you have a good week with tons of snow then you as someone else said never have to leave the boundary's if not you will get bored pretty fast. still a great mountain and ridiculously cheap lift tickets for what you get.  a side note seattle is awsome

im a little bias
Sep 14 2009 1:13AM
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pinguman
Posts: 185 - Karma: 302
dude, you wont have to even leave baker. if you dont care about park, and only want pow, you will never run out at baker. ever. fresh tracks all day every day, no line ups ever. cheap as hell tickets. best pow skiing ever. period.
Sep 14 2009 1:18AM
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El_Barto.
Posts: 11661 - Karma: 24,351
at the airport on time, my moms skis got on the plane, just not  mine. it turned out not to be that bad because all i missed was a free day at the canyons and i later found out skiing there is every bit as boring as sitting in the airport, just wished i woulda figured that out before we had to dish out the money to ski there.


Sep 14 2009 1:26AM
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Davis.A
Posts: 34 - Karma: 10
Go to BC... Just not Whistler... And the US dollar buy like 10% better here and all of our passes are cheap to begin with... :)
Sep 14 2009 1:55AM
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wrenegade
Posts: 6631 - Karma: 41
But hardly anywhere to stay. Closest place is Glacier, which is tiny, and after that is Bellingham, which is still a 45min-1 hour drive to the hill. Oh and El Nino can be a total crapshoot in the PNW. It could be ridiculous pow, or it could mean rain. Baker is at a pretty low elevation and at a higher risk of getting rained on. While I love Baker, I would never plan a trip there more than a week or so in advance, just cause you never know what you could get.

Another vote for Alta/Bird.
Sep 14 2009 1:59AM
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-PowAir-
Posts: 646 - Karma: 30
I've done it quite a few times.
Sep 14 2009 12:08PM
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MacMahoooon
Posts: 9009 - Karma: 3,305
Yeah thats the one problem with baker, there is NOTHING else up there, so not only do you have to make a 1hr commute on sketchy roads, your mom may not want to go up every day. You are probably better off looking for a full "resort" where she can do her own thing and let you ride.
Sep 14 2009 1:15PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
Fuck, the more I hear about it the less likely it seems that I'm going to Baker. So now the question is what resort will give me the most bang for my buck?
Sep 14 2009 3:33PM
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snowbanger
Posts: 7 - Karma: 4
dude if u hit baker on a storm weekend, you'll hate anywhere else. i caught a few last year and omg it was amazing. late season pow is where its at. its got mixed terrain so u don't get super bored skiing the same thing over...and over...and over. do it! ill be ther
Sep 14 2009 6:31PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
Check out Alpine Meadows or Sugar Bowl in North Shore of Lake Tahoe.Both are EPIC on powder days. 

Sugar bowl is putting a new lift to the top of Mt. Judah, essentially opening an entirely new part of the mountain, making dope lines easily accessible that you had to previously hike or skin to get to.
Sep 14 2009 7:51PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
I really like the look of Alpine Meadows, anybody know anything about it?
Sep 14 2009 9:43PM
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.peter
Posts: 1222 - Karma: 63
Whistler!!
Unless you want blue skies then go to Colorado or Utah.
Oh and Taos New Mexico is incredible if you're gonna be there for a while (only because it takes a few days to adjust to the altitude and it's lots of hiking.) Incredible skiing though.
Sep 14 2009 10:14PM
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ThaLorax
Posts: 21083 - Karma: 8,455
yeah, it's fucking awesome.
Sep 14 2009 10:54PM
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IceCreamer
Posts: 1587 - Karma: 27
Its worth it. Do it.
Sep 14 2009 10:57PM
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MidwestSteeze
Posts: 1839 - Karma: 153
yeah i had a blast when i went. squaw was pretty good to. last day we were there they got 3 feet in april. had a blast.
Sep 15 2009 1:51AM
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~~JEFF~~
Posts: 1045 - Karma: 301
February in the PNW usually means sun and not to much fresh snow. There is usually a break in the weather around then, it can last from 1 day to 1 week to even january and february like last year. But normally it usually only lasts 1 week, so if you go PNW you may want to go somewhere with an illin' park!
(hood)???
Sep 15 2009 10:58AM
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