With the snow piling up, here’s where Mt. Baker ranks against the nation’s top ski resorts
Mt. Baker Ski Area certainly isn’t the biggest, the swankiest or the glitziest and it will never draw crowds like some of ski resorts in Colorado or Utah, but the Whatcom County ski and snowboard haven known for its value is still among the nation’s best.
So says Koala, a timeshare vacation rental site based in Brooklyn, N.Y., which announced the release of its American Ski Index Thursday, Nov. 12. The list looked at 450 ski resorts across the U.S., comparing snowfall, adult ski pass prices, reviews, length of runs, number of lifts, Instagram hashtags and average temperature between November and April.
Topping the list was internationally renowned Park City, Utah, which was joined near the top by other skiing heavyweights, including Colorado’s Vail (No. 2), Winter Park Resort (No. 3), Breckenridge (No. 4), Snowmass (No. 7), Telluride (No. 8) and Keystone (No. 9), Montana’s Big Sky Resort (No. 5) and Wyoming’s Jackson Hole (No. 6).
And right up there with the big boys of U.S. ski resorts, sure enough, it’s Mt. Baker checking in at No. 10.
“Well of course we’re in the top 10,” Mt. Baker marketing manager Amy Trowbridge told The Bellingham Herald.
Trowbridge’s enthusiastic confidence aside, seeing Mt. Baker up there among the top resorts in the country may be a bit of surprise when you look at where it ranked among the top 100 in each category according to Koala:
▪ 22nd in length of runs at 328,048 feet (Park City was tops at 820,210 feet).
▪ Tied for 38th in number of ski lifts with 10 (Park City was tops with 39).
▪ Tied for 43rd in review score at 3.4 (Vail was tops at 4.6).
▪ 17th in Instagram hashtags with 238,130 (Park City was tops at 1.1 million).
▪ 98th (or third, depending how you like your snow) in average temperature between November and April at 41 degrees (Crested Butte, Colorado, was the coldest at 20 degrees, while Cyrstal Mountain was warmest at 42).
So how on earth did Mt. Baker make the top 10?
It was mostly about the other two categories: adult ski pass price and snowfall.
Mt. Baker had the 14th-least expensive day passes at $63.02 — not quite as cheap as Montana’s Lost Trail Powder Mountain at $46, but light years better than the $219 it costs to ski Colorado’s Vail and Beaver Creek.
And then there is the snow — Mount Baker had 845 centimeters (nearly 333 inches) in 2019-20, according to the list, which ranked seventh behind Jackson Hole’s 1,152 cm (453.5 inches).
“That’s actually a little deceptive,” Trowbridge said. “They went off last year’s total, and we actually had a pretty low year. Our average, our annual snowfall is far above other ski areas. We average 663 inches.”
Mt. Baker still holds the nation’s single-season snowfall record with 1,140 inches (95 feet) during the 1998-99 season.
It was that combination of value and quality that made Mt. Baker standout in the Koala rankings, co-founder and CEO Mike Kennedy told The Herald in an email.
“Mt. Baker dominates in size among affordable resorts with 328,084 feet of runs and 10 ski lifts for visitors,” Kennedy wrote. “The mountain also has a variety of green, blue and black runs, making it ideal for skiers and snowboarders at every level.
“Mt. Baker is also the highest-rated among the most affordable set, scoring 3.4 out of five stars – and is the most Insta’ worthy, with over 230,000 posts on the social platform. Mt. Baker is a must-visit for snow lovers, too.”
2020-21 season
Trowbridge admits the 2019-20 season was a “bit of a bummer” due to COVID-19 forcing the closing of slopes in mid-March.
“That was a tough one for sure,” Trowbridge said. “I think one thing that carried me through was that January was the second snowiest month we ever had with 294 inches. We had some amazing skiing and riding right before we had to close down last season. I think that carried people through.”
Hopes are high for the snow to continue, and mid-November did nothing to dampen those spirits.
“From what we’re hearing, it’s going to be a La Niña,” Trowbridge said. “That was the weather we experienced in our record season of 98-99, and from what I’ve heard, this is supposed to be the strongest La Niña since 98-99. That bodes really well for us.”
The ski area was hoping to open as early as the Friday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 20), but latest models show that unlikely, Trowbridge said, though “the week of Thanksgiving seems entirely possible.”
When Mt. Baker does open, Trowbridge said skiers won’t see many changes on the slopes or any new lifts this year.
Instead, most of the staff’s offseason time was spent preparing for new COVID protocols.
“Since the lifts shut down, we’ve been preparing for the possibility of a coming season,” Trowbridge said. “We’ve revamped the day lodges, done some remodeling and revised the flow and plan of what we offer. I think that is where people will see the most changes is the impact of COVID.”
Trowbridge advised all skiers and snowboarders to familiarize themselves with the ski area’s COVID-19 policies and responsibilities on the Mt. Baker website before heading to the mountain, but in short, skiers are asked to:
▪ Stay home or go home if they experience COVID-19 symptoms.
▪ Wear face coverings at all times, both inside and outside.
▪ Maintain physical distancing, both inside and outside.
Mt. Baker canceled the 2021 Legendary Banked Slalom due to COVID, Trowbridge said, but a hybrid version of the locals qualifier is planned for the weekend the event was originally scheduled (Feb. 5-7). Some top finishers from last year’s race will be invited to attend.
“We’ve made a plan to be adaptable and flexible,” Trowbridge said. “We have a number of plans, and we’ll put in place what we need, and we’re going to have a great season.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
