3/5/09 Anthony Lakes POWDER +Bachelor, Ogden areas

Back to back stag ski trips with 2 great groups of guys.  On 2/18-20 stayed in a big house at Sun River.  The owners had accidently left the mortgage statement in with the rental info and it was shocking to see that they paid $58,000 in interest and 20 cents in principal last year.  But the repo man did not come round during our stay and I had 3 great days at Bachelor.   The top had been closed for 5 days but opened for us.  Boot-deep fresh pow and blue sky.  They need more snow.  The nasty blue ice from January ice storms with poking through up top as were some rocks, and they said a wind storm had later knocked down 500 trees in the ski area, so the otherwise excellent tree skiing off NW Chair had some “unmarked hazards,” to say the least.  No crowds.  More ummarked hazards than skiers.  All the lower groomed slopes were really nice with almost no ice.

Drove to Ogden area and stayed in another big beautiful house in Wolf Creek about 10 minutes from Powder Mountain.  Good fellowship with my family even  though I lost badly at poker.  Coverage good at Snowbasin and Powder Mountain but too warm during our stay.  I'd go back to that location later for sure.  Will be less crowded than areas closer to SLC, although the base elevation is a bit lower than, say, Alta.

Last Wednesday I was driving back to Seattle from Ogden with the plan to stop and ski at Anthony Lakes (near Baker City, OR).  The idea was to break the long drive up and when I saw that it was snowing and cold, and that they are closed Mon-Wed, a Thursday visit looked like an excellent call--it was.   Plus Thursdays are half price ($17.50)!   The base is over 7000’ so the road goes up up up, but it was well plowed and sanded.  I was told that the coverage was thinner than normal, but looked fine to me, and I was also told that this was the best day of the season (so far) with about a foot of now powder.  The temp remained at 22 degrees all day.  Best snow I’ve skied all year. They have 900 vertical and a fixed-grip triple chair.  Although relatively small, there is a good variety of terrain and pitch, plus hiking potential, and a small lodge with a bar full of friendly locals.  You need a snow park pass (Wa or Or) to park at the ski area.   The photo below snows the lift line 5 minutes before the bell on the best day of the year!  About a dozen!   Highly recommended when the snow is falling.

Short clip of one of the powder shots inbounds, but about a 5 minute hike out:

nice video!

We were tempted to stop there Saturday on our trip back from Sun Valley.
Sun Valley got that same storm, with many inches of new all day and wind filling in what was skied. That lift picture would have been considered a long line at Sun Valley, as the storm chased many of the groomer hounds and sun worshipers away.

We also skied Snowbasin before the trip to Sun Valley, good coverage some new on hard snow...errr
Thanks for the report on Anthony Lakes! Looked like a great time.

Thanks for the report - I've been wanting to head out to Anthony Lakes, but haven't made it yet. We skied at Mt. Bachelor this past weekend, and it seems that the recent snow dumps have covered most of the said downed logs (could only vaguely see/feel them under your skis). The tree skiing off of NW was a lot of fun - love the way you can just explore all through the area and then pop out on a groomer just when you start wondering where you are...

"Best snow I’ve skied all year"

Art,

Your above quote reminds me of a video clip from Meany. Hmmmmm !

Glad you made it to Anthony Lakes.  It is a great small area that is reasonable, has lots of sidecountry terrain and inexpensive snowcat rides.  They also have free electric hookups for RV's about 20 yards from the lift.

I was there also, but resisted letting the word out. Best keep special places like that to ourselves.