Ski vacation where you know (not hope) the snow is.

What is one thing ALL skiers can agree on? Skiing on ice, rocks and dirt make for a poor ski vacation.

A couple years ago I came up a ski vacation idea for me and my son Ryan. Decide on the dates in advance but don’t pick the location. Go anywhere in North America where the snow is the best. Sure, we would pay more for air and likely more for lodging. So what, still WAY cheaper than helicopter or cat skiing. The app Open Snow is the perfect tool for this; highly recommended. For a month leading up to our trip it was great fun to log into Open Snow and see where the big snow was headed. Storms kept rolling into the Pacific Northwest. We were salivating at the snow reports. Finally at about 6 days out we pulled the trigger. Fly to Portland Oregon, rent a car, book a room and ski at Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline. The forecast was for feet of snow over the next week! However, Ryan cast a little doubt by saying;

Are you sure Dad? Their current base looks pretty sketchy and they might get rain right before we arrive.

Of course I blew him off, what does it matter if they will be getting huge snow when we are there.

Off we went on our adventure. We stopped at Cannon Beach before heading up to the mountain. Great fun seeing the ocean and walking in 40 mph wind.

Ryan leaning into wind

Goof balls in the wind

Then on to the mountains. The driving was a bit sketchy with snow on top of ice. But no biggie, we’re from Minnesota. Decided to start with Mt Hood Meadows. We did not get an early start so no parking at the base. They have remote parking lots serviced by a shuttle bus. Not great but, there is going to be powder! With back pack boot bags we trudge into the lodge to change into our ski boots. It is really crowded, again not great but but we can put up with a lot to ski powder. Finally we get on the lift and head up. It is snowing hard now so all is good, I thought. But wait, it appears the top half of the mountain is closed. That can’t be right. We will ski a couple runs and do some scouting. On the first run down we ski what must be the strangest thing I have ever experienced at a ski resort. Six inches of new snow while intermittently skiing over what appeared to be small creeks in the middle of the run. What is going on? We (or I guess I) thought we found the secret to perfect alpine skiing and it was instead a nightmare. Let’s try again, may a different run will show promise. So we go up the chair with a ski patroller. We pepper him with questions: What is going? The top half is closed. That is where the good skiing is. I just skied over a creek in the middle of the run. He said:

It rained over past the few days and froze last night. The top half is closed because we don’t have any snow up there. There are exposed tree stumps and just yesterday rivers were come down the slope. I asked, “So how much snow will it take before the top half opens?” His reply; About 5 feet.

It is now apparent we are in deep dudu on this ski trip. The forecast is holding for continued snow but it will be a week before the existing nightmare conditions turn around. So we take off our skis to go inside and re-assess. The place is like the Minnesota State Fair. Wall to wall people. No open tables. No chairs. People sitting on the floor eating lunch. This is becoming our worst nightmare. So we find four square feet of floor space and sit down to figure out what to do. Out come the smart phones pulling up the open snow app. Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass are also getting great snow. However, they are near Seattle and are also known for being crowded. We are freaked out at the crowd here at Mt. Hood Meadows. Can’t take a chance on more crowds. We widen the geography a bit. Mt. Baker jumps off the page. It has a huge base and is getting big snow over the next week. If we are on the road by 12:30 or 1 pm maybe we can get there at a reasonable hour in the evening. The rip chord was pulled and we were sprinting to the car. I asked Ryan to pack my stuff and I would beg the hotel to give our money back. Even if they would not, we are still doing it. It is turning into an epic journey. If you have read ski magazines, you have read about the crazy amounts of snow that come to Baker.

Ryan starts the drive while I search frantically for somewhere to stay. It appears to not be a typical ski area/town. Hotels and resorts are pretty much non existent. All the VRBO’s and Airbnb’s are sold out. The nearest “major” town is Bellingham which is a 1.5 hour drive away, that won’t work. Finally I find something, looks a bit rugged but it has two beds and a toilet. Done.

It is a strange journey getting there. One drives north of Seattle, up to Bellingham, turn right and drive East into nowhere’s ville. All very rural, the few towns are getting smaller and smaller. There is no snow; I don’t mean a little here and there, I mean NO snow. It is raining like crazy the whole way and the closer we get the wetter it gets. All very surreal. But we find the “hotel” and call it good. It does indeed have two beds and a toilet. Not much more but we are out of the rain and in a dry bed.

The next day we get up and ask where the best breakfast place is. A smirk comes back. There is no breakfast place. Just a bakery that can offer a burrito warmed up in a microwave. Good enough.

From the bakery we start heading up to the ski area. After a couple switchbacks still no snow, still lots of rain. This is crazy, nothing like we have ever seen. But just like that in the snap of your fingers the rain turns to snow and it is piling up. Below is what we see in the parking lot.

Baker lower parking lot

Below is the view from the upper parking lot when it is not snowing

Baker upper parking lot

The skiing is ……amazing. No lines, great powder most everywhere. Lift tickets are $85. Yes, the snow is heavy but who cares. We rent skis from the local shop in town made for these conditions and have a ball. Likely the best and most memorable ski trip we ever had. What it made it so? Seeing a place with great terrain, no crowds but of course most important….great snow.

Over the past couple weeks I have been trying to write a post about what makes for a great ski area and therefore a great ski vacation. The challenge is that we all have different preferences. Green runs for kids, smooth groomers, black diamonds, pretty mountain towns, party action, no party action, powder etc.….

However, there is one common denominator to everyone. Good snow. NO ONE wants to ski on ice or over rocks & dirt. Over the past 30 days (Jan/Feb 2022) the US rocky mountains have been dry. For the most part Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana have been shut out of snow. I have read numerous social media posts of ski disappointments or even canceled trips due to lack of snow. On the surface it seems crazy what we skiers do. To book a vacation at a ski area 6 months in advance and have no idea what the conditions will be. Compare that to other types of recreation vacations:

• Golf - the greens and fairways will always be green.

• Hiking - The trails will always be there.

• Oceans - The surf will always be rolling.

• Biking - The roads and bike paths will always be open

• Nature sight seeing - The sights will be always be there for the seeing.

Sure, some ski areas can accomplish a lot with snow making. For green runs and snow parks this may even be enough. But if you want an all mountain ski experience there must be real snow. Even Jackson Hole isn’t so great when it hasn’t snowed for more than a couple weeks.

I think I have a better idea for how to do ski vacations. My first pass on this idea was to ski out of a camper/van. Simply drive to where the best snow is, no reservations needed. This can work (I am heading out for most of March with the camper) but it is rugged. Things break, it gets cold and campers are small. I will still do it sometimes but it is not for the mainstream. Most people (even I) want a nice couch, kitchen, fireplace, lobby to gather in, hot tub…. But those nice things with terrible ski conditions still won’t cut it.

What if there was a way to decide when to go, but choose the where based on current and short term predicted conditions?

I can envision a technology tool that could make this possible.

First, let me acknowledge this is not the best model for ski areas. Any resort needs predictable revenue and advance reservations. However, a modest amount of last minute bookings when conditions are great to fill otherwise vacant beds is a good thing.

This is also not the right model for many types of people. If you need to know exactly where you and your family/friends will be on ski vacation Feb 11-17 then this is not for you either.

However, if you like to see new places, like to ski in the best conditions possible, like skiing less well known places and put a higher priority on the skiing versus the lodging; then read on.

The concept is simple, but I acknowledge its execution might be challenging. Marry a top notch ski area conditions and snow forecasting tool with a lodging reservations tool. Show available lodging in a 2-14 day time frame with the ski areas that have and are forecast to have the best conditions in the near term. (One cannot predict with any reliability snowfall outside of 14 days.) The ski conditions and snow forecasting tool is easy to understand conceptually. Take a look at Open Snow to see the best one.

The lodging component is more challenging. First I have to acknowledge that popular destinations will most likely not apply for the majority of the ski season. There is simply no inventory available at the major ski resorts inside a two week time frame. Good for them. The hidden gems are where this will work.

My vision is to create a tool where you plug in preferred geography and minimum snow requirements (such as 50 inch minimum base and 12 inches new snow over the next 14 days.) We spit out the resorts that fit the criteria and offer up lodging options.

Of course you can do all this on your own if you have the time and patience. Subscribe to something like open snow and look at the hundreds of resorts every day to see who is getting snow when. Find one you like, then start calling and clicking for hours trying to find lodging. I have done this. It is ugly.

But imagine a tool that shows you resorts that fit your snow criteria and then shows you available lodging. A mashup of sorts between Open Snow and Trip Advisor/Expedia.

Would you use this tool? Thoughts?