90% Chance That Mt. Baker Ski Area, WA Will Open For The Season On Thursday, November 16th, 2017

Mt. Baker Ski Area, WA announced that there is a 90% chance that they will open for the 2017/18 season on Thursday, November 16th. The resort is expected to release another update today at 3:00 pm with information on chairlifts and lodges that will be open.

Forecast:

Mt. Baker Ski Area, WA: 18-36″ of Additional Snowfall Today – Wednesday

* WHAT...Heavy snow at times, with additional accumulations of 18
 to 36 inches likely today through Wednesday.
- NOAA Spokane, WA

Mt Baker Ski Area Opening Day Announcement:

90% chance of THURSDAY NOV. 16th OPENING DAY!!!

CONDITIONS UPDATE: Monday Nov. 1

Are your skis and boards waxed and ready? They better be, because the latest forecast is calling for Mt. Baker to get hammered by up to 30-40 INCHES of new snow by Wednesday night, on top of our already solid base! So we are 90% sure we will be OPENING THURSDAY NOV. 16th! We will have another update Tuesday around 3:00 with information on lodge and chairlift operations for Thursday opening. Stay tuned here for the most up-to-date news.

To check out a fun weather forecast, go to NWAC’s website and see their NW Cascades forecast for Mt. Baker area. You don’t see that much precipitation forecasted very often

PRE-OPERATION ADVISORY SKI AREA CLOSED TODAY

For your safety and the safety of others, the following is in effect until the ski area begins operation:
• Do not access areas inside the ski area boundary at any time.
• Ski Area not maintained for public use.
• Avalanche control may be underway at any time.
• Access to backcountry areas outside of the ski area are at your own risk and may NOT be accessed from inside the ski area boundary. Be aware ski patrol is not on duty.
Per Washington Law RCW 79a.45.070 Trespassers will be subject to fines.

WINTER FORECAST:

NOAA recently updated their long-range forecast and instead of the neutral forecast called for back in late summer, they are now calling for a good chance of a medium La Niña this season. A La Niña weather pattern usually brings colder and wetter weather for us, which means more snow at colder temperatures!

Last season was a La Niña weather pattern and it brought us an amazing powder season, with 866 inches of snowfall and 68 days with more than 5 inches of fresh snow! (see the chart below for full 2016-17 powder day statistics) . Hopefully this coming season will be another La Niña powder extravaganza at Mt. Baker!

EQUIPMENT UPGRADE:

The day after closing last season our crew began construction on replacing Chair #7 from below the ground up. Thanks to the dedicated work of our crew and Skytrac (the manufacturer of the new chairlift) we just completed construction at the end of September – just in time for the snow to hit. The chairlift is now fully operational and certified, and ready to roll when the season starts. The new chair is a fixed grip quad, electrically driven, has wider, more comfortable seats and has the capability to run slightly faster than the original Chair #7 when needed. We can’t wait to start it up for you all on opening day!