# Pow hunting in the PNW



## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

I left for that very reason. Now I live in Bend. Amazing fucking day today. Figure out a way and make it happen.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Stevens Pass is pretty good and seems to also be in the cross hairs right now. It's about 2 hours NE of Seattle. There is no lodging right at the ski area, like most spots in Washington. Leavenworth would be the town to stay in. It's a touristy Bavarian town, but it is still fun. I think it takes about 30-40 minutes to get to the summit of the pass from there. 

You could also just stay in Seattle and day trip it. Stevens is probably the furthest away in terms of day trip worthy spots from Seattle. Alpental, Crystal, and Snoqualmie would be the other areas within reason.


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## FJB85 (Jan 10, 2016)

ridinbend said:


> I left for that very reason. Now I live in Bend. Amazing fucking day today. Figure out a way and make it happen.


Man, I very well might open that up for discussion here one day. My wife loves Oregon and has been trying to get me on board to move up for almost a year now. I moved to the west coast three years ago and business keeps me in LA, but I really love it up there... for more reasons than the snow, although that certainly helps.


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## FJB85 (Jan 10, 2016)

killclimbz said:


> Stevens Pass is pretty good and seems to also be in the cross hairs right now. It's about 2 hours NE of Seattle. There is no lodging right at the ski area, like most spots in Washington. Leavenworth would be the town to stay in. It's a touristy Bavarian town, but it is still fun. I think it takes about 30-40 minutes to get to the summit of the pass from there.
> 
> You could also just stay in Seattle and day trip it. Stevens is probably the furthest away in terms of day trip worthy spots from Seattle. Alpental, Crystal, and Snoqualmie would be the other areas within reason.



Thanks for the recommendations here. I think Stevens is just most appealing to me because it is most talked about, but is it really any better than Alpental, Crystal or Snoqualmie? Kind of a bummer that there is no lodging right at the ski area - Almost makes me think it's worth it to just stay in Seattle and day trip it. That is always a city I've wanted to check out anyways, so maybe kill two birds with one stone.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

ehmm...fly in and out of the Ham...take a redeye thursday...rent a car or better a small van be riding baker on Friday...90 minutes later. Sleep in said car in the parking lot, ride Sat...sleep and repeat Sunday...drive back to the ham airport, could be back in LA by 9-10pm Sunday night....Total cost of rt flight, 3 day car rental, 3 days lift tickets 3 sandwiches, 3 beers...and well-done if not toasted.


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

Not sure about Bellingham, but it looks like there is a nonstop from Bend to LA. Bachelor might be your best bet. 

As for the areas close to Seattle, Crystal definitely outranks Alpental and Snoqualmie. Any of Mt. Baker, Stevens Pass, and Crystal would be an awesome weekend trip. Lodging is going to be the challenge because I'm not sure any of them have overly accessible options. Maybe you just sleep in the car like Wrath suggested!


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## FJB85 (Jan 10, 2016)

wrathfuldeity said:


> ehmm...fly in and out of the Ham...take a redeye thursday...rent a car or better a small van be riding baker on Friday...90 minutes later. Sleep in said car in the parking lot, ride Sat...sleep and repeat Sunday...drive back to the ham airport, could be back in LA by 9-10pm Sunday night....Total cost of rt flight, 3 day car rental, 3 days lift tickets 3 sandwiches, 3 beers...and well-done if not toasted.


Should have mentioned I'm taking this trip with my wife. This plan will not exactly get her on board to do it. I'm planning to take a few trips this season tho - Maybe I will do this with one of my boys that is really down for the cause. 



Kenai said:


> Not sure about Bellingham, but it looks like there is a nonstop from Bend to LA. Bachelor might be your best bet.
> 
> As for the areas close to Seattle, Crystal definitely outranks Alpental and Snoqualmie. Any of Mt. Baker, Stevens Pass, and Crystal would be an awesome weekend trip. Lodging is going to be the challenge because I'm not sure any of them have overly accessible options. Maybe you just sleep in the car like Wrath suggested!


I've pretty much limited my options to Crystal or Stevens. In order to get my wife to buy in, I will need to do one day on the mountain and spend the other day in the city. I actually debated just doing PDX again because it worked out so perfectly last time. I'm really not sure what to expect in WA with crowds, traffic or driving conditions, but I'd rather make a new experience out of it and I've always wanted to visit Seattle anyways. 

Considering crowds, traffic and driving conditions (safety on road) because I will be with my wife, does one of these ski areas (Crystal or Stevens) make more sense than the other?


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## FJB85 (Jan 10, 2016)

ridinbend said:


> I left for that very reason. Now I live in Bend. Amazing fucking day today. Figure out a way and make it happen.


I also looked at flights to Bend for the purpose of this trip - I would really love to hit Bachelor, but flights to Bend are like 3x the price of flights to PDX or SEA.


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## Triple8Sol (Nov 24, 2008)

FJB85 said:


> I also looked at flights to Bend for the purpose of this trip - I would really love to hit Bachelor, but flights to Bend are like 3x the price of flights to PDX or SEA.


That's flying into Redmond, OR right? You could always fly into PDX and rent a car?


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## FJB85 (Jan 10, 2016)

Triple8Sol said:


> That's flying into Redmond, OR right? You could always fly into PDX and rent a car?


Yea - Flights into Redmond are pricey. I thought about driving from PDX, but that is a long drive for a weekend trip. I might take a few days off and do that later in the season with one of my boys, but I have to make these trips appealing for the wife too! We booked a trip to Seattle 2/3-2/5 and are going to ride on 2/4... either at Stevens or Crystal depending on the feedback we get here and the conditions when we get up.


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