Wow! That's all I can say right now. I'm still getting over opening day at Mt. Baker. After last season's late opening I hadn't even got my brain wrapped around any chance of riding this early in the season. Then, all of a sudden the temps dropped and precipitation started falling like crazy and before I knew it Baker had recieved 70 inches of new snow and was opening on Thursday. I managed to clear my schedule and get a crew together for the big day. When I woke up and there wasn't even a cloud in the sky I knew it would be an epic day.
Of course, I wasn't alone in imagining that Baker was going to be epic and arriving at the border at 7:30am we were greeted to a massive lineup of vehicles adorned with ski's and snowboard's. The wait was worth it though, as we pulled into the upper parking lot at the ski area and were greeted to snow levels that you usually don't see till mid season. It turned out to be the deepest opening day in Mt. Baker history(that's saying a lot for the ski area that holds the world record for most snowfall in a season) and we rode hard all day, right till last chair. By then, our legs had nothing left so it was a welcome relief to get back to the truck.
Now I'm sitting here looking at these photos and all I can think about is getting back up there. Unfortunately, it is still early season and the weather can be unpredictable so we are now being treated to high winds and warm temps that have shut the mountain back down. That's the luck of the draw this time of year but it can't take away the greatest opening day ever. Bring on more pow!
Here's a few shots
The parking lots were packed with powder fiends like us.
The crew was ready to shred
Basking in the morning rays.
It was a winter wonderland.
A freshly dusted Mt. Shuksan glistens in the sunshine.
With conditions like this people came from near and far to lap the bottomless pow.









































