Ski the Pacific Northwest
Swooshing down the slopes on the first run of the season is exhilarating. We who like boards on our feet and the outdoor experience of being in the snow have the best of both worlds in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, for someone who started skiing in "northwest cement" (the term for western Washington's wet and heavy snow), it gets even better when "powder" enters the equation. I'll talk about that later.
We took up skiing in our 40s. Both kids were raised and we finally had money to play. For years, once we took up the sport, we skied every weekend, no fail. It was our life. We soon learned the best places to ski.
In Washington we started our skiing at White Pass, Stevens Pass and Crystal Mountain. They all have something different to offer.
For beginners and skiers who like a challenge, Crystal is the best. However, the family atmosphere at both White and Stevens' passes are nice. All three sites have upgraded and added better lifts as time has progressed. I say check them all out. They're unique.
There's a drawback to skiing on Washington State's west side, however. The lift lines are crowded.
It didn't take us long to learn we needed to go somewhere else to really enjoy ourselves. So that we did. First we tried Mission Ridge in eastern Washington near Wenatchee. It's a nice little area. We started our out-of-state skiing experiences at Mt. Bachelor in Oregon, near Bend. Now that's a mountain. The lift lines can be long there, too, just to get up on the mountain the first time. From there the terrain is so huge and varied you can ski for hours.
We generally take off from Pine Marten lift and ski the backside and lots of other runs. I used to enjoy Kangaroo run. I have to admit I didn't ski the summit but once when I freaked myself out and tore a ligament in my knee. Coming down in a bucket was not my idea of fun. I was in pain and I swear the ski patrol guy was skiing 80 miles-per-hour. I haven't been on the summit since.
Skiing is about 20 percent skill and 80 percent what's in your head. My head kept me from going up there again. Okay, I admit it; I'm a chicken on that note. We've had some really great times on that mountain, though. When I was in my greatest shape I skied 52 runs one day at Mt. Bachelor. Couldn't do that now if I tried!
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