Timberline Resort, OR, Conditions Report: Hot Pow Report from May 23. 2024 When a late May storm brings fresh snow, there’s no choice but to go play. On Wednesday, Mount Hood, Oregon, received a substantial storm, refreshing its snow conditions to a nearly wintery state. With 6 inches of fresh snow and a sunny day in store, it was a good day to arrive at the mountain […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | May 24, 2024 0 Comments
Mount Hood, OR, Backcountry Report: Summiting Hood Report from May 19, 2024 Mount Hood presides over the city of Portland, Oregon, from 11,249 feet— the highest point in the state. Summiting Mount Hood is a feather in the cap of any Pacific Northwest mountaineer or backcountry skier. On Sunday morning, I met two riders from Washington— Adam Pikielny and Moses Lurbur— in the Salmon River Lot of […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | May 20, 2024 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR, Conditions Report: Monoski Spring? Report from May 7-8. 2024 Spring is a beautiful time to try new things, including trading two planks for one. Monoskis are seldom seen on the slopes these days, but occasionally, you might see someone making it look good. A few weeks ago at Mt. Bachelor, OR, I saw someone shredding the Northwest Express lift line on a single plank […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | May 10, 2024 2 Comments
[PHOTOS] Finding the Best Backcountry Lines in Washington State Washington State is best known for its prominent, glaciated volcanoes, but it also has a variety of lesser-known backcountry lines. To get a better sense of the Washington backcountry skiing scene— especially the access out of Seattle, WA— I got in touch with Adam Pikielny. Adam lives in the Seattle area and, when he isn’t in the park at the […] Brains Nicky Blumm | May 5, 2024 0 Comments
Mt. Hood, OR, Backcountry Report: Snowy Celebration Report from May 1, 2024 Starting May with a foot of fresh snow is one of the reasons I cherish living in the Pacific Northwest. I treated myself to a late start, skinning from the Timberline Lodge, Oregon, up toward Crater Rock around 8:00 a.m. Within ten minutes of leaving the parking lot, the clouds had cleared, the sun was […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | May 2, 2024 0 Comments
Mt. Bachelor, OR, Conditions Report: Winter Conditions, Spring Hours Report from April 26-27, 2024 Mt. Bachelor, Oregon, is a special place at the end of April: it can still feel like winter. Although the resort was operating on “spring hours” (8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.) this weekend, it was snowing the entire time we were present. It’s hard to agree with the resort’s assessment that spring had already arrived. […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | April 29, 2024 0 Comments
Mount St. Helens, WA, Backcountry Report: Volcano Season has Arrived Report from Wednesday, April 17, 2024 Mount St. Helens, Washington, may not be as big as it used to be, but it’s still a formidable PNW staple. I was excited to return to St. Helens after a wonderful, placid trip in 2023 and this Wednesday did not disappoint. The route from Portland to the Marble Mountain Sno Park was bare and […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | April 18, 2024 0 Comments
Mt. Hood, OR, Backcountry Report: It’s Hard to Hate Spring Report from Monday, April 8, 2024 Even though it’s hard to hate spring, I really do resent it. The extra hours of sun eat away at the snowpack and erase all the dust from the trees. Sure, it’s the natural seasonal cycle, but it feels like spring comes early every year. My first spring tour was up Mt. Hood’s east slopes. I […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | April 9, 2024 0 Comments
Park City, UT, Conditions Report: Easy Weekend Powder Skiing Report from Saturday, March 30, 2024 Park City, Utah, is a massive resort that spans miles of canyons and valleys. As broad as the resort is, lift access extends far into the upper reaches of the nearby peaks. Saturday was a powder day with six inches of fresh after warmer weather. Snow at lower altitudes was heavy, but the upper mountain […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | April 1, 2024 0 Comments
Snowbird, UT, Report: Falling Through Snow Report from March 28-29, 2024 Snowbird, Utah, changes a rider’s perspective on steepness: not sliding over snow, falling through it. Spending two days in fresh powder at the ‘Bird made hearts race for most of 40,000 vertical feet. At Snowbird, the “black diamond” label covers quite a range of terrain. On the one hand, consider a run called Fluffy Bunny. […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 30, 2024 0 Comments
Powder Mountain, UT, Report: PowMow Has it All Report from March 26-27, 2024 Powder Mountain, Utah, stands out among American ski hills. It’s massive, multi-faceted, and has an exciting future. ‘PowMow’ was a cold, wintery paradise, even in late March. Our day began with a top-to-bottom run which was 95% fresh tracks. We quickly navigated from Hidden Lake Express Lift to the Paradise Chairlift. Built in 1999, the […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 27, 2024 1 Comment
Snowbird, UT, Report: Insider Knowledge to the Deep and Steep Report from March 25, 2024 Arriving after multiple powder alerts to Snowbird, Utah, had us out of the car nice and early. Light traffic to the base of the Gad Valley had us in the lot before 8:15 a.m. We spent most of our day in that valley with a couple of trips around the Cirque and a quick moment at […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 26, 2024 0 Comments
Snowbasin, UT, Conditions Report: Big Lifts, Many Turns Report from March 24, 2024 The Cottonwood Canyon traffic can be fickle, so we spent a happy Sunday at Snowbasin, UT.We were met by no crowds, sunshine, and some very deep turns. Some places were much deeper than the 7 inches indicated on the resort’s website. The top half of the John Paul Express was velvety. Long, untracked lines through […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 25, 2024 0 Comments
Solitude & Brighton, UT, Conditions Report: Sun on Fresh Report from March 16, 2024 It’s not every day that one casually gets to ride two ski resorts unless one is in the Cottonwood Canyons. Today, we were fortunate enough to split time between Solitude and Brighton in Utah. The resorts offer riders a unique experience by way of the Solbright pathway connecting two disparate ski areas. We started […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 17, 2024 0 Comments
Powder Mountain, UT, Report: Big is Best Report from Wednesday, March 13, 2024 Today was my first taste of Powder Mountain and it re-ordered my top ski resorts list. Having spent significant time in Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, and Utah during the past few seasons, this hit different. PowMow is special; it is absolutely singular. I first heard about PowMow from my partner’s dad, who came here […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 14, 2024 0 Comments
Timberline, OR, Report: Oregon Powder Day Report from March 1, 2024 As a lifelong Oregonian who has toured around Timberline Lodge at least thirty times, today was the first time I rode the lower lifts. I spent two early August mornings on Palmer alongside the U.S. Ski Team, but those were desperation plays that could not have felt more different than today. The Pacific Northwest spent […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | March 4, 2024 0 Comments
Schweitzer, ID, Conditions Report: Trees on Trees Report from February 23-26, 2024 Schweitzer Ski Resort in Sandpoint, Idaho, is a tree skier’s paradise. A group of us ventured to Idaho’s panhandle to see what all the Schweitzer hype was about. The mountain lived up to its reputation for tree skiing. I have never seen so many cleverly gladed runs interspersed with natural tree skiing. The availability of […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | February 28, 2024 0 Comments
Revelstoke, BC, Conditions Report: Snow Refresh Report from February 11-12, 2024 A snow refresh in Revelstoke is a game-changer, especially on days nine and ten in a row. We drove back to Revy after a frosty sojourn at Big White because the forecast called for 10-20 centimeters (4-8″) by Monday. The storm rolled into Revy a little later than we expected. Even with less new snow […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | February 15, 2024 0 Comments
Big White, BC, Conditions Report: Powder Day Report from February 13, 2024 On our 11th day in a row, Big White in British Columbia was the best place to be for soft turns and fresh lines. Despite not receiving more than trace amounts of snow in 48 hours, Big White graced us (and our tired knees) with a powder day to cap off the trip. The powder […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | February 15, 2024 0 Comments
Revelstoke, BC, Conditions Report: Mount Mackenzie Majesty Report from February 8-9, 2024 Revelstoke, British Columbia, just keeps getting better the higher you go. It’s day seven in a row, so we thought we would treat ourselves to a slower pace and try a hike. The top of Mount Mackenzie was stunning. Sitting beyond the subpeak, Mackenzie (8,058 feet) looks down on the north bowl leading to the […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | February 12, 2024 0 Comments
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