Bellingham, Washington — A snowy past several days means that Mt. Baker is opening early.
Yesterday, Mt. Baker Ski Area announced that they will be opening up for skiing and riding to passholders on Wednesday, November 20th. They’ll be opening up to the public on Thursday, November 21st. Chairs 1-6 will be open, but Chair 5 will open later on Wednesday compared to the other lifts. Please note that in the meantime, uphill access and any access in general will be closed until Wednesday.
As mentioned last year, Mt. Baker needs a 20-40 inch base to open for the season. They clearly have that, as Mt. Baker is currently going through a heavy storm cycle. The snowpack currently sits at 59″ at Heather Meadows, and 65″ at Pan Dome. OpenSnow is currently projecting 21″ in the next five days for the Washington ski area. Not bad for November.
This is a much quicker opening than last season, as the 2023-24 season began on December 13th. Last winter saw 508″ of snowfall at Mt. Baker. While this seems huge, their average snowfall over the past fifteen seasons is 688 inches.
In case you didn’t know, Mt. Baker holds a distinctive record. During the 1998-1999 season, the Washington ski area recorded 1,140 inches of snow. That is not a typo; they received 1140 inches of snow in one winter. To put that in perspective, another powder mecca, Alta Ski Area, received a record-breaking 903 inches of snow during the 2022-23 season. Despite this monumental total, Alta was still 237 inches short of Baker’s record.
Will it be that snowy? Probably not, but La Niña is typically kind to ski areas in the Pacific Northwest, which means that it could be a classic Mt. Baker ski season.
Image/Video Credits: Mt. Baker Ski Area
