kkicinski

kkicinski OP t1_j94pnpy wrote

Reply to comment by Careless-Internet-63 in Snow camping with kids near Stevens Pass by kkicinski

Thanks! We have snowshoes but the problem with Skyline Lake is that you have to park in the ski resort parking lot. We won’t get there early and it’s a holiday weekend. I’m looking at Valhalla Lake, it sounds like it’s pretty flat for a quarter mile. That would be perfect. Have you done that one?

2

kkicinski t1_iyxvd02 wrote

Reply to comment by belf_priest in Winter driving through the Cascades by belf_priest

No, I wouldn’t. Crystal is a big mountain, bigger than you can really ski in one day. It’s a nice mountain with good snow, don’t get me wrong. But parking can be a nightmare, it’s a long day to go out there and back, and it’s expensive. The smaller resorts are fine. I ski at Summit Central, because that’s where my kids’ lessons are. I pretty much ski Silver Fir lift, with occasional runs on Rampart and Central Express, which are the two lifts adjacent either side. A giant mountain isn’t necessary, a couple lifts with good runs is all you need.

Hurricane Ridge is a long way to go for a poma lift, though. I mean it could make for a nice adventure to go all the way out there, but getting to and from the peninsula is very time consuming- it’s a lot of travel for a little skiing. And tough to do as a day trip from Seattle unless you only ski a couple hours. So you have to factor the cost of a hotel for 1-2 nights into your plans.

Others have mentioned Alpental. It’s reasonably priced and a local gem, especially if you are an experienced skier. The other Summit resorts are good value- not the best snow or terrain in the area but they treat folks well and as I said prices are reasonable.

Re: Highway 2 or I-90, you’ll need to check conditions on the WSDOT website or even better get the WSDOT app. Hwy 2 is fine for going east usually, but late in the day on weekends it is an absolute disaster getting home. It’s a 2-lane highway and it just backs up. It can take 3 hours to get home from Stevens Pass on a weekend. So if you’re returning from Wenatchee I’d recommend taking I-90. But again that’s all dependent on conditions and our weather can’t be predicted accurately more than 2 days in advance, so there’s just no way to know ahead of time what you’ll encounter. Could be clear, could be a blizzard.

3

kkicinski t1_ixoh1ux wrote

Reply to Ski trip to Mt Baker by Street_Birthday_2935

Make sure you have winter tires. Last year we were up there at Mt Baker with two other families. It was snowing hard and the road was slippery. My buddy drives a Subaru AWD and had all season tires. On the way down, he slid off the road and almost rolled down into the trees. My car and the other family’s car both had winter tires and we were fine. AWD is not the solution to winter driving. Winter tires are more important! There were a lot of other trucks and SUVs that slid off the road that day. I’m sure most of them had AWD or 4x4.

4