Report from Sunday, March 3, 2024

Skiing

I started the day with a quick 25-minute drive to Mission Ridge from Wenatchee, Washington. Parking was easy without the crowds you would typically find at busier resorts.

I hopped on Chair 1, a two-seater from the base. It took me to the mid station where the main attraction, Chair 2 (a repurposed bubble lift imported from Austria) begins.

I met a group of local skiers from this chair who had been skiing Mission Ridge for 40+ years. Their hospitality was unmatched. I was offered a tour of the mountain, which was a dream.

Views down into the Columbia River valley and Wenatchee were absolutely stunning from the peak. It felt surreal being surrounded by snow at about 22 degrees, looking down on spring blooming in Wenatchee.

We started at the top of Chair 2 and began down Boundary Road towards a statue of Sasquatch. Due to recent heavy snowfall, I would have skied right past it unless someone pointed it out. The Sasquatch and trees throughout the area were covered in heavy snow. Most were so covered, it was tough even to see the green of the pine needles.

We continued to a bell hidden in the trees and rung it which is the start of a superstition that defines Mission Ridge. Farther down is part of a wing from a B-24 that crashed during training around that location in 1944.

The wreckage was removed from the mountain, followed by a few years of little to no snowfall. When the wing was placed back on the hill, there have only been 1-2 bad winters in the past 75 years, according to locals. Locals explained Propman, one of the crew members in the crash continues to wander Mission Ridge at night and even has a hidden cave to his name within the ski area.

As superstition continues, touching the wing of the downed B-24 is good practice as a prayer for snowfall. So we tapped it and continued on.

The locals explained that the groomers take pride in their work, and I truly believe Mission Ridge has some of the best grooming in the country. Without significant crowds, lift lines are short if anything leaving corduroy to be found all day.

With runs pitched for races they hold throughout the year, this mountain is an on-piste skiers paradise.

Most mountains only excel in one aspect, but Mission Ridge truly has it all. For more free ride oriented skiers like myself, there are endless options of terrain. Still in Bomber Bowl, the Bomber Cliffs are bigger and better than the comparable fingers at Palisades Tahoe.

With options for 10+ chutes to drop into, there is true lift accessed big mountain skiing.

We also explored to skiers right and dropped into trees the resort has been working on clearing for the past few years. Around Maggi to Gary’s area were steep moguls with patches of untouched light, fluffy snow from a storm this past week.

I decided to split off and ski the Bomber Chutes before warming up in the mid-station igloo. Yes, Mission Ridge creates a five-foot-thick igloo bar each year from its world-class snowmaking team.

Back up Chair 2, I skied off right and hiked up Windy Ridge, another big mountain zone. The hike was only about 5-10 minutes and fairly steep. Endless untouched lines were under the cell tower at the peak, or Microwave as it’s called.

I skied down the ridge to Bowl 4 and honestly felt like I should have skinned up in the backcountry to get a lift-serviced powder run that fresh and that good. Using the full 2,250ft vertical drop of the mountain was a long deep run which felt much farther than the numbers on paper.

At the base, Special Olympics was hosting the 2024 Washington State Winter Games.

I was exhausted and ready to get in my car, but the resort was too good to finish early. I took Chair 4 over to 2, then lapped the Bomber Cliffs a few more times. This area did not see tons of skiers, leaving untouched snow everywhere. Runs were steep and felt like a freeride venue with the rocks spread around to drop.

After a few of those adrenaline-pumping runs, I hopped back on one of the many perfectly groomed runs and took long, fast turns back to the base.

With all of the hospitality of the locals and superstitions at Mission Ridge, I can’t wait to come back. From award winning groomed pistes to lift accessed big mountain terrain, Mission is truly a hill for anyone.

Thanks, Mission Ridge!

Mission Ridge

Compared to some of the front-range resorts, Mission lies farther inland. With a 2,250ft vertical drop, 2,000 skiable acres, top-to-bottom night skiing, four chairs, and one of the country’s best snowmaking/grooming teams, this mountain has it all.

Four chairs may not sound like much, but the access to the terrain is so wide that more chairs are not necessary. The mountain was built so well that you could spend multiple days here and still not ski it all.

Even though Mission has lower-than-average snowfall for the region, it comes down much drier. More comparable to Utah than the wet heavy Pacific North West snow found at neighboring resorts closer to Seattle.

For anyone in Seattle who wants to get away from PNW snow without getting on a plane, Mission Ridge is your mountain only a three hour drive from the city.

Current Conditions

Packed powder. Light dry untouched powder about a foot deep can still be found in the trees. Moguled runs are skiing soft. Temperatures are cold and intend to stay cold, which should keep the snow dry and not icy for the foreseeable future. Corduroy is grippy and provides a nice light surface for on-piste skiing.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Score

Mission Ridge is my 136th ski area. If chocolate chip cookies are on the menu, I rank them out of ten. The cookies here are incredible, soft, and still chewy even when they’re not hot. 8/10.

Snow Numbers

Forecast

Photos