Worst Ski Season Ever?

So now that's all settled, how about a little thread drift (it's on topic, I swear)? I saw no one and no tracks out on Ptarmigan ridge (by Baker ski area, out toward Coleman Pinnacle) on the Monday or Tuesday after Xmas, which as I vaguely recall was at least a few holiday/weekend days after the last snowfall. As usual, I pinched myself for my great fortune in living in a place where such a spot is "too much horizontal" for most people to travel to for a little nice skiing. Well, the Sunday before last was a totally different story. Asx noted by Alan, there were dense tracks all over Table Mountain, and there were so many tracks out near Coleman Pinnacle it looked like multiple heli-skiing operations had been running out there. <br><br>So what I'm pondering is, what was the difference between those dates? Baker and Paradise were the only super convenient drive-up skiing spots on both dates. The weather was similar. The snow was similar (actually, better right after Xmas - fresher powder and less wind effect). Ski resorts are generally more crowded during the holidays, so I'm assuming that people had at least as much "recreation time" available then. Did it just take a while for people to start getting "desperate" enough to head to Baker instead of stripping wallpaper? Did reports here on TAY (and perhaps the other sites) generate a wave of skiers all looking for the "sure thing" they were reading about on the web (compounded by word of mouth/networking by the readers of TAY)? <br><br>Whatever the case, the scene at Baker was clearly an indicator of the nastiness of the season. And I'm with Matt - I am missing exploring up at good old Snoqualmie by skis (but what they say is true - the snow is always crummy there - really! don't ever go there!). I'd definitely have more ski days in this season if that were a reasonable option (per my tradeoffs, which include approach/ski ratio considerations multiplied by a quality factor).

Wow, 0% at White Pass, crazy!

Jim,<br><br>I'm actually starting to get psyched for a nice tour to Coleman Pinnacle! One of my favorite hikes usually followed by some yo-yo skiing on the snowfield. This year I plan to ski the whole way for that nice rolling touring feeling.<br><br>I also see an opportunity to test the Rainbow, and this year it will be earlier than what I would have done.<br><br>And if I keep responding to this thread, I will lose my job and then have all the time in the world to make other trips as well. <br><br>But seriously, I am psyched to get on Ptarmigan Ridge.<br><br>Alan

Asx noted by Alan, there were dense tracks all over Table Mountain, and there were so many tracks out near Coleman Pinnacle it looked like multiple heli-skiing operations had been running out there. <br><br>So what I'm pondering is, what was the difference between those dates?  

<br><br>Could it be we've just gone through a longer dry spell now, than back at Christmas? (so more time for tracks to accumulate) I was in Rogers Pass last week, and popular spots there looked like a ski resort - no new snow in a couple of weeks.<br>

That could be the answer as it had been about a week since the last snow when I saw all the tracks verus just a long weekend on the pristine day. On the other hand, there was a holiday weekend between the Xmas snow and my track-free venture, and just one regular old weekend between the snow and my last venture. And the ski area was definitely getting heavy use over the holiday weekend, so it's not just that everyone was home playing their new xBox games. So my hunch is that there's more to the story.

I find it strange that the report shows 0% at White Pass, yet you can see snow at the road level on the DOT cam. <br><br>They also report 17" at Snoqualmie but they are lucky if there is actually 5" on the ground there. Not even Alpental has more then 6"-8" on the ground. <br><br>I was really hoping we would have at least a normal March, but the extended forcast is caling for clear and WARM weather with temps in the 60s. That should pretty much wipe out any snow that is currently at the resorts. I sure wish they would open up Cayuse at least. Opening Chinook would be nice too so I could at least have easy access to close hiking terrain (assuming there is enough snow there to get some turns in).