I was at Baker on both the day of the slide and the following day.
Obviously, on the day of the slide we didn't ride at all since the ski area was closed and the backcountry was a death trap. What amazed me most was the way Baker's management and the patrons handled the closure. Everyone was hanging out in the White Salmon lodge waiting for the announcement that the lifts would open. At about 10:30 the Baker GM came in and announced that due to the avy activity the resort was not going to open that day. Instead of complaining and bitching the crowd of skiers gave him a round of applause following the announcement.
I can't think of a more poignant moment that summarizes my love for Mt. Baker. It's a place where people who love to ski and ride come together to push their limits with respect for each other and the mountain. There's something different about Baker and it's one of the reasons I love living in Washington.
Baker ski patrol must have busted their butts all day Thursday and it paid off on Friday when the mountain opened on schedule. There was a moderate crowd when the mountain opened at 9:00 with chairs 7, 5 and 8 running (maybe 3/4 too, but I wasn't over there). The snow was deep and surprisingly light given the previous day's temps. Basically bottomless pow. Visibility sucked but that didn't reduce the enjoyment of several feet of virgin snow. After the initial ride up 7 there were no lines. Anticipating potential goodness I was waiting in the chair 6 line at for about 20 mins when it opened at 11:45. It's hard to express how good things were off chair 6. Lap after lap of faceshots. Everyone left by 1:00 pm and with the continuing snow it stayed good until my legs gave out at 2:00 without breaking for lunch.
In short, pretty damn epic. It's good to live in Washington.
In terms of Grant's photo the visibility pretty much sucked all day Friday so I'm guessing his picture is from Saturday or later.
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