November in the Northwest is wet, and unfortunately the pineapple express nailed us with 3 inches of moisture.   Keep in mind that 1 inch or rain equates to approximately 10 inches of snow in the Cascades when we are in a cool weather pattern.  Darn that pineapple express, because it was all rain.   We decided to run up on Saturday between storms to pick up our season passes and get a first hand view of what the rain did to our early snow pack.   The good news is that wasn't as devastating as I had feared.    The sno-pack consolidated nicely and Summit West can still be opened with another round of storms.  Typical opening is anywhere between December 4th through 15th, so we are still on the early side of things and a cooling pattern is on its way.   Alpental, with its more difficult terrain, will take a bit more snow at the base but reports are that the upper mountain are looking good.  Its always good to get up and hang with the mountain people.   If you want to be involved at the Summit at Snoqualmie, Jessica Andrushko is looking for experienced food service people midweek.   If it's slow, you get to ride!  In fact most areas need people, so it never hurts to ask.

Jaime Cary, our newest recruit joining us from Durango, CO via Alaska, is helping with the snow report this year and here are the rest of the details on what is up in the Northwest snow scene from Jaime:

Warm weather this week raised snow line to 6000 ft, the rain raising the spirits of local boaters and crushing the hopes of the resident ski bums.

Mt. Baker worked up a good base from the first storm and is reporting 9 inches in the past 48 hours.

Stevens Pass closed their doors because of the rain and are looking to see a foot of new snow before they reopen.

Crystal has seen 2 inches at the summit in the past 48 hours, and is hoping for cooler temperatures to drop the snow line back towards the base of the ski area.

Snoqualmie remains closed but is hopeful for an early December opening.

The warm spell that moved in last week is officially on its way out, and with good riddance. A storm moved in Saturday night. The front end is warm and more rain will fall, but the cold back end of the front will move in Sunday night. The rain will change to snow, dropping snow line from 6000 ft to 4000 ft. The snow will initially be accompanied by wind, but should continue to fall through Tuesday.

For every flake of snow a little rain must fall,

Jaime Cary

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Here are links to local ski areas so you can visit their sites for the most up to date info. If you had a great day on the mountain, 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 car so you can carry all that gear that wont fit in your trunk.