OVERHEAD: Baker Sets Beer Sales Record
All I could hear was tapping on the roof. My eyes opened and I sprung out of bed Tuesday morning with the excitement of a kid who’s been waiting a year for a snow day. In Bellingham, Washington, rain means snow at Mt. Baker where more than 60 inches accumulated over the past week. Ten minutes later we loaded up the Blazer and headed to Baker’s deepest opening day in nearly three decades.
As we drove up Mt. Baker’s western slope, the drizzle turned to sleet, then to snow, then bumper-to-bumper traffic a couple miles short of the lower lodge. Photographer Grant Gunderson and the rest of the Bellingham ski bums in our vehicle kept saying how extraordinary this morning was and how great it must be up there. I had no clue.
Why all the anticipation? These are Northwest skiers. They suffered severe emotional damage after realizing they too, are susceptible to a crappy, or for a couple Cascade resorts, nonexistent season. That is not the case this year. Tons of fluffy snow equal one hell of a pay back for last year’s disappointment.
Hundreds packed the ticket line nearly an hour before opening at Chair 4 and a New Year-style countdown to the first lift ride up the mountain.
Rather than wait in line at Chair 7, we tried to skip the crowd by hiking a few hundred yards to Chair 5. The line was already moving and skiers were coming down. You couldn’t pick a line fast enough. Most of the visible terrain from our chair was tracked out in less than 20 minutes. I heard a whoop here, a holler there, a huge drop over there and an ”oooooh, hell yeah,” when rider after rider took face shot after face shot. We sported our own grins and rode some the best powder in Baker history for hours. The place was absolutely electric.
“We're still figuring out exactly what happened, how many people, how they all parked, how much beer, and who all was here,” says Mt. Baker marketing director Gwyn Howat. “One thing we do know is why they all came: The snow was the deepest we’ve ever had on opening day. Actually, it was the deepest base of any ski area in the world on that day.” More than 80 inches at the upper lodge and a blow-out opening-day record for Baker meant a great atmosphere in the beer line, where Baker set another record.
“Testimony to the party vibe is the fact that every keg was sucked dr, says Howat. “We posted an all-time record beer sales day!"
Pacific Northwest skiers and snowboarders (even a monoboarder and snow biker) braved heavy snowfall and mediocre visibility conditions for epic snow. Most of these people were around for last season, but I forgot to ask and no one remembered to talk about it. They will, however, surely talk about Baker’s opening day ’05 for a lifetime.
Still dumping in the Northwest? Find out at POWDERWATCH!