By Greg Whittaker

The groundhog saw its shadow and snow lovers are stoked. I’m not talking about the groundhog in Punxsutawney, I’m talking about my father, Darrell, who resides in Juanita, WA. He was born on groundhogs day 1949 and I use him as my litmus test for our region. This vast U.S. does not have the same snow cycles in the east coast as the west coast, so we need to differentiate when we are looking at what length of winter we will have in the NW.

With a couple of warm fronts the last 2 weeks arriving midweek, we have been continuing to get significant accumulation on the weekends up in the Cascades and skiers and snowboarders can expect to see more. Reports from riders are that Thursday was awesome with 7-12 inches of accumulation depending on wind drift, and blue skies. As I write this on Friday, upper lifts are closed at Crystal Mountain as a warm front pushes its way in, bringing 50-70 mph wind gusts. The warm front is expected to be followed by cool arctic air which will bring 3-7 inches by Saturday morning with calming winds. The weekend cold cycle continues!

City temps are creeping up as we approach the longer days, however we are still able to have major winter storms and some of the best snow days of the year can be expected in March.

So take the time, get your gear together, and if you haven’t been up to our NW ski and snowboard areas, they are all having a fantastic winter and it’s time to head on up. If you have any fun stories about your trip up in the hills, come on by the shop and let us know or just come by and touch the shiny trinkets, smell the wax, and hang out with some like-minded mountain folks living in the city.

Here are links to local ski areas so you can visit their sites for the most up to date info. If you want to contribute this dialogue, come by Mountain to Sound Outfitters and let us know how your trip was or feel free to post in the comment section.

Crystal Mountain Resort
Summit at Snoqualmie
Stevens Pass
Mt. Baker Ski Area
Mission Ridge Ski Area
White Pass Ski Area
Loup Loup Ski Bowl

Make sure you check the WSDOT Pass Reports for driving conditions.

Greg Whittaker is the owner of Mountain to Sound Outfitters your West Seattle ski, snowboard, kayak, and paddle board experts that can also rack out your vehicle so you can carry all that gear that won’t fit in your trunk.