The annual family winter trip commenced for the third year. This year we were missing a couple of the homies, but the stoke, good times, and laughs were in heavy supply. Like last year, we again were blessed with a bountiful harvest of fluffy dry white goodness throughout the weekend leading to some all time conditions and some excellent riding.
My brother June, and my nephews Malachi and Amonte, arrived with Joey on Friday morning. After a quick bite and a check in at the bnb we headed to the close and convenient Summit at Snoqualmie to warm up the legs for the rest of the trip. Conditions were a bit icy and fast, but still made for a good half day of evening riding. Most importantly, it allowed Joe to get back on piste for his first day of the season. This was a much needed snowboarding refresher for him.
The rest of the crew including Todd, Eva, Miles and Larry arrived Friday night. Ashley, my local riding partner, joined after a 5:00 am Saturday morning wake up call in an effort to get to Crystal before the parking lots filled up. The early start rewarded us with a full day of some great snow and good morning visibility as we were in line to get on the lift at 8:30 am. In the morning session some of the seasoned riders went immediately to the top of the hill searching for the good snow. There was bountiful dry snow, fresh tracks, and cloud breaks allowing amazing visibility and some great lines. One of Ashley’s friends we met on the hill showed us some new lines off Upper Otto Bahn traverse with some steep and deep untracked powder for days hidden in the trees! This was a top to bottom run that was all time! We finished off the morning sesh around 11:30 am to meet with the rest of the crew and eat lunch before an afternoon session with the kids.
At around 1:00 pm the snow started falling again and steadily improved the riding conditions with about 6-9 inches of fresh dry snow by 4:00 pm. The kids were worn out by this time, and headed to the lodge, however, most of us adults turned into kids lapping Golden Hills for another hour while screaming and yelling before calling it quits (some captured in the vid below). While we reflected on the day in the lodge, June was the last on the hill putting in a full day and even got some 1:1 intermediate coaching from an instructor. After a full day of shredding logging 26 laps, and over 20,000 ft of vert we were all spent. As it turns out, Joe’s legs were spent as well…
After a much needed Sunday rest day, and a family and friends dinner Sunday night, June prodded much of the group to consider Mt Baker for Monday’s session. He received overwhelming support although I tried to convince him otherwise due to the distance and 3 hour drive compared to considerably less for other resorts in the area. After another early 6:00 am wake up call, we hit the road and settled in for an amazing drive to Mt. Baker.
Once we were driving up the mountain, we knew we had made the right decision. Although the drive was long, the last hour of it is just magnificent. Winding up a long country road, leaving behind most of civilization to arrive tucked between Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan. You can see amazing lines up and down the ridges just beckoning for the bold to access and ride them. Baker is easily one of the most well known resorts in North America among real ski/snowboard enthusiasts due to it’s easy access to side and back country right off the top of the lifts. I look forward to exploring this resort and side country access much more in the future.
Baker received the same storm that fell on Crystal days earlier. Visibility was great as the sun kept breaking through the clouds while the snow was dry, a little chalky, and deep. Fresh tracks were found well into the afternoon before we joined the rest of the crew to closeout the day. By this day 3, Joe’s performance had diminished dramatically while everyone else in the group seemed to be getting increasingly comfortable with the snow and with their riding. Although he was gimping around, Joe showed true heart as he gutted it out to ride the majority of the day before becoming immobile.
The Family Shred 2020 video is a 3 part series chronicling the adventures we had for this epic trip. As it turns out, the family that shreds together, stays together.
Enjoy
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