March 5, 2010 Anthony Lakes

We arrived late the evening of the 4th to the ski area parking lot and were met by 3 guys with a bonfire in the road near the RV parking area. A friendly exchange confirmed there were still free electric hookups. We were surprised to see 5 other RV’s, but we were able to park between 2 larger rigs. I pulled out our extension cord and had to reach above my head to plug into the outlet. That seemed strange because 2 years ago that same plug was at shin level. Hmmm.

The next morning we woke to brilliant sunshine with the only lift about 20 yards from our rear window. We used a Shell coupon and bought 2 lift tickets for $39. There is only 900 vf at Anthony, but along its boundary are five peaks – all with an abundance of touring terrain. I spent some time chatting with an employee about this year’s snowpack. He said that they usually have a 130” base at this time of year and now its only 50”. Also they have a reasonable snowcat operation which has not operated at all this season due to the low snowpack. We cruised the groomers, and I began venturing off to the fringe areas that had 1” of untracked and found brush, snags and rock. It was back to the groomers. The surrounding terrain looked rocky compared to our last trip here in 2008. We chatted with the folks in the RV next to us who were skiing with their touring gear and spent yesterday touring outside the boundaries. The report: very low snow cover and not worth a return trip. Another fellow stopped by and he has a seasons pass. He mentioned that he had been skiing at Anthony since it opened. I asked if they had opened in November or December. His reply was “no, I’ve skied here every year since 1968”. He seemed to be a rather reliable source of snowpack data.

Anthony Lakes is a neat little area – unique and friendly. The ticket checker only checks for the first half hour, and everyone we met (all locals) seemed genuinely friendly. It’s one of those places that seems preserved in time. With all of the high speed lifts, paid parking lots, condos, etc. found at most ski areas…it is freshening to step back in time and enjoy skiing and riding as it was decades ago. It was very enjoyable and it wasn’t even a powder day.

Photo 1: The power plug-in location in 2010. It was at my shin in 2008.

Photo 2: A nearby chute in 2010

I skied there last year on my way home from a week in McCully Basin with Wallowa Alpine Huts. Great little area. Their backside is out of bounds but is serviced by their cat-skiing business. When I was there tracks were visible in that coulior. The other neat thing about Anthony lakes is that your lift ticket is good for their X-ski trails, too. We just missed their 'snow-tri': 10k ski, 10k ride, 10k run all on the same loop. I bet the bike wipeouts would be cool.
Add this to your 'little areas that rock' list.