More about Mount Baker

Baker lies in one of the highest portions of the Cascade Mountains, surrounded by peaks such as the ski area's namesake Mount Baker (10,750 feet) and neighboring Mount Shuksan (9,270 feet). These colossal mounds rise dramatically from the coastal lowlands much like Mount Rainier and Mount Adams. The two towering peaks and surrounding terrain act like a mainline injection of steroids to the local precipitation levels. Area crewmembers spent much of their time during the winter digging out trail signs 20 feet tall, or even extending them. Baker simply gets buried every single year.

Surrounded by the Mount Baker National Forest, in the midst of the Northern Cascades, this isolated ski area is too far removed from major cities and lacks the amenities to be a destination resort. Baker only receives approximately 150,000 skier visits per year, mostly because the nearest lodging is roughly 20 miles down a narrow two-lane road that is about as extreme as it gets once the snow starts falling. There's also the snow's poor reputation. While it's deep, it isn't exactly light. Snowboarders, on the other hand, have no problem with the deep, moist snow of the Cascades.

As one of the first areas to embrace snowboarding in North America, Baker soon became a Mecca for one-plankers. In fact, Baker has achieved cult status among riders and hosts quite possibly the world's most respected event - the Mt. Baker Banked Slalom. Snowboarders have filled the void created by skiers' lack of interest in Baker. They now account for 25 percent of skier visits every year. One of the reasons boarders are so enamored of Baker is because some of the biggest names in the history of snowboarding, including Craig Kelly, Jim Rippey, Amy Howat, Robbie Morrow, and Shaun Palmer, got their start at Baker. It's Baker's challenging terrain, though, that keeps them coming back. The mountain is riddled with cliffs, narrow gaps, steep open bowls, and deep snowfields - the quintessential snowboarder's playground.

Mt. Baker has also been working to attract more skiers. The area recently finished a four-year, $5 million expansion project that culminated with the opening of the $2.5 million White Salmon Day Lodge. It offers spectacular views of Mount Shuksan and the ski slopes. The lodge was constructed with materials indigenous to the Cascade Mountains such as hand-peeled timber logs, clay-fired custom tiles, columnar basalt rocks, and cedar shake shingles. It is almost worth the trip to Baker just to see the lodge, which is a testament to how far the area has come in the last few years. The lodge hosts a pro shop, limited rentals, ticket sales, and changing areas. The expansion project also doubled the size of Baker's intermediate terrain with the addition of two new quad lifts: Chair #7 and the Hemispheres Chair #8.

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