Mt. Baker

This year Mt. Baker is getting an unbelievable amount of snow. In many places they have had to dig trenches for the chair lifts. During the week, the lift lines are short and it seems to snow almost continuously (of course this is their record year for snow). Chair 1 and 6 are the hot spots for cliffs and chutes, despite the signs that warn you about cliff and avalanche danger-which do not keep you from riding it anyways. Even without going into the extreme terrain, there are cliffs and drops all over the mountain.

 Mt. Baker has the most snow I have ever seen in one spot. It was snowing nearly non stop the entire time we were in the area. Baker had had something like 900 inches of total snowfall, breaking their previous record, and going for Mt. Reineer's. The atmosphere is much different than at Whistler. Baker has a much smaller, more local feel to it, everybody knows everyone else on the hill. The people at Baker are also some of the friendliest around, going out of their way to point out hidden spots to outsiders like us. Off of chair 6 you can find some of the deepest, steepest runs with large cliffs dotting the area. You really want to know where you are going and have confidence in your abilities; otherwise, you could easily end up as a statistic.

Just before we arrived, an avalanche buried some riders, resulting in parts of the mountain being closed off for riding and others being accessible with proof of avalanche awareness and a transceiver on your person. This mountain has so many awesome spots that you would never get tired of it. We rode for six straight hours, without even thinking about taking a breather. Each new spot we encountered was a memorable occasion. If I had my choice of mountains to call my own, this would be it. I don't think I could ever get tired of the terrain or the cool people.

Baker is a perfect mountain. There may not be as much vertical as a place like Whistler, but the quality of the ride far surpasses anywhere I have been in the past. All the locals are friendly, often shouting encouragement from the lift, and are happy to tell you where the goods are. I made the mistake of heading out with my freestyle board in the morning, but I quickly realized the mistake and switched to the powder board. There is so much snow in the trees that we often found ourselves up to our waists. To find a cool spot, take Chair 6 up, cut off to skiers left and go through the experts only gate. The terrain past here is just sick. Numerous cliff drops and steep chutes are scattered through the area leading to Chair 3, the only way out. Baker was a lot of fun. It is a place where you forget about the cost of the lift ticket, and one run can make it worth the entire trip out to the hill.

Baker is freeride paradise. Unfortunately, Baker had closed some of its best looking terrain due to extreme avalanche danger from the heavy snows the year we visited. There are a ton of cliffs at Baker, ranging from 5 to 90 feet and bigger, you definitely want a buddy with you when you are in the trees. The tree riding is excellent at Mt. Baker, it is almost like they placed the trees perfectly to give you room to ride in.