These three words prove good things do happen in 2020 — Baker is opening!
Well, COVID-19 may be able to change our holiday plans in 2020, but it can’t wipe out all our fun this winter season.
The Mt. Baker Ski Area announced Wednesday evening that it plans to open for the 2020-21 season at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.
“With a good snow base already accumulated and more snow forecasted over the next few days, it looks like we should have a fun, powder-filled opening day for the start of the 2020-21 season!” a release about the opening proclaimed.
The ski area is anticipating full operations Friday, with both base area an all three lodges open and eight chairlifts running, though operations Friday and Saturday will be for season pass holders only, the release stated. Daily lift tickets will begin to be offered Sunday, Nov. 20.
The ski area is staying up to date on current health information and requirements regarding COVID-19, the release states, and will operate under those guidelines.
More information about those protocols is available on Mt. Baker’s webiste, but in short, the ski area asks anybody not feeling well to stay home and requires those who feel well enough to make the trip to wear face coverings at all time and maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance from others.
The Nov. 20 opening is on par with the ski area’s earliest opening dates — Nov. 16 in 2017-18 was the earliest in the past six seasons, according to snowpak.com.
Mt. Baker’s snow report is reporting 17 inches of new snow and 25 inches in the past 48 hours. The base at Heather Meadows is 50 inches and 57 inches at Pan Dome, and the forecast is for more snow.
“Baker has received 81 inches of new snow in the past seven days, and it looks like we should have a great start to the season!” the snow report stated.
Baker is not the earliest ski area to open in the state, as Crystal Mountain opened Wednesday, but the ski area was recently ranked among the top 10 nationally in the American Ski Index released by Koala, a timeshare vacation rental site based in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mt. Baker’s 2019-20 season came to an early end last spring, as COVID-19 resulted in state regulations that forced a March 22 closure.
“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.”
Weekend forecast
It’s shaping up to be a fine weekend on the mountain, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Skiers and snowboarders can expect cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 30s for opening day, with the possibility of snow by late afternoon. It will be breezy with wind chills in the 20.
There will be some sun on Saturday with a high around 35 degrees and light winds, followed by clouds on Sunday and a chance of snow.
For those heading into the backcountry, the Northwest Avalanche Center has begun winter operations but hasn’t issued a rating for the Mount Baker wilderness and the west slopes of the North Cascades.
Snowsports enthusiasts should carry a shovel, beacon and other avalanche gear, and look for signs of unstable slopes above them.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 7:32 AM.
