Snowboarding highlights: Mount Baker

Despite Mt. Baker not having to lift a finger to build any snowboard terrain, riders all over the world consider the resort a snowboarding mecca. The entire mountain, snowboarders say, is a terrain park. The central feature and biggest draw is the 1,500-foot natural halfpipe located at the top of Chair 5. With walls averaging 10 to 30 feet high, even pro riders will find enough natural hits to satisfy them. To top it off, the distance between the walls is nearly perfect in that it is not so wide that riders lose speed in the transitions. Nor is it so tight that controlling their speed is an issue either. The natural, frozen, snow-covered creek bed drops into the Nose Dive trail, but only after some serious riding.

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