PNW 2021/2022 Season! La Niña ahead!

[PNWbrit]

It was brutal. went with the lady who couldn't leave the 'claw until 8, and had another call at 11:30. Plan was good in theory, grab a few good morning hours and head out. Not so much with 10:15 arrival. Fucking ridiculous.

I'm blacked out next week except this Sunday and am considering going then, but I fear another shitshow of similar (if not worse) epic proportions.

There were only about 30 cars in F lot when I headed down to GW at noon today.

Good to cruise around a bit and get my legs back. Then ran into Joe S... and got my legs wrecked.

Ski you soon Oft.

[irratator]

Godammit there's no apostrophe in Stevens Pass. The guy it was named after was named Stevens, not Steven.

There. Glad I got that off my chest.

Steve Stevens?

[oftpiste]

Why I run the other way when I see Joe in line! Look forward to it man!

There were only about 30 cars in F lot when I headed down to GW at noon today.

Good to cruise around a bit and get my legs back. Then ran into Joe S... and got my legs wrecked.

Ski you soon Oft.

[ridinshockgun]

Godammit there's no apostrophe in Stevens Pass. The guy it was named after was named Stevens, not Steven.

There. Glad I got that off my chest.

Take it up with auto correct.

[Ørion]

Godammit there's no apostrophe in Stevens Pass. The guy it was named after was named Stevens, not Steven.

There. Glad I got that off my chest.

Ah yes, the mythical Steven Pike, who blazed a trail through a mountain pass and founded a fish market in Seattle.

[Bandit Man]

Everyone’s favorite GM posted this on Facebook today. He is taking a good shellacking for it.

“Hello, Stevens Pass Community,

I’m reaching out with a personal message. I know things have been frustrating since our opening last week. The truth is, we’re dealing with a lot of difficult challenges right now, including the staffing shortages facing everyone in the travel + leisure industry. For us, that has impacted our ability to open the mountain the way we know we can, and want to – and I want to apologize to our guests for how that has affected your recent experience.

Stevens Pass is run by people who are deeply passionate about what this mountain has to offer, and I want to thank our team who has been working tirelessly, not only to prepare our mountain for opening, but also to keep it running. They’ve been working so hard, without complaint, in the face of these staffing challenges which are also coming up against our busiest time of year and new dynamics presented by the Omicron variant.

I also want to thank all of our guests, who share that deep love + passion for this beautiful place. It's important to recognize that many of you feel a sense of disappointment, and I want to assure you we are working hard to resolve these issues. It’s frustrating for us, too. We’re dealing with challenges one day at a time, and that means focusing our staff where we can maximize our operations while keeping guest safety as our top priority.

Here’s what this means for right now – please keep in mind things are dynamic. Our goal is to expand our offerings as quickly as possible:

Skyline Express, Brooks Express, Hogsback Express, 7th Heaven, and Daisy are our open chairs; the backside of the mountain is not yet open – we’re working to open as soon as we can.

Night skiing will include terrain accessible from Hogsback Express and Daisy.

Tye Creek Eatery + The Foggy Goggle will remain closed for the time being.

Stevens Pass is truly a special place, and one I’ve been honored to be part of over the last several years. The team + I are committed to providing updates as soon as we’re able. Thank you again for your patience – and understanding – as we move through this season together.

Best,
Tom Pettigrew – General Manager, Stevens Pass”

[Zeedashbo]

https://www.facebook.com/30213905597...8214963150598/

The comments are soooo $$$

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[The AD]

Ah yes, the mythical Steven Pike, who blazed a trail through a mountain pass and founded a fish market in Seattle.

No, those were two guys: Steven Pass and Pike Place.

[phatty]

https://www.facebook.com/30213905597...8214963150598/

The comments are soooo $$$

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We even have our boy Bandit Man dropping the heat in the comments on FB.

[TAFKALVS]

With the amount of money and resources that Vail have they could easily improve the mountains they manage or at the least go well beyond a locally owned hill in terms of guest experience. But its almost as if they want the experience to be poor.

I think its well beyond time to start questioning the monopoly that Vail/Alterra have on public lands and on skiing.

[Buster Highmen]

It's all about profits for the shareholders. Fuck the customers.

And yes, revive antitrust.

[The AD]

OTOH Vail seems to like to change their business model every few years, so maybe they're due to start selling all the local hills they've acquired recently.

[mhilberts]

OTOH Vail seems to like to change their business model every few years, so maybe they're due to start selling all the local hills they've acquired recently.

I suspect vail didn’t buy stevens for its potential. They just wanted seattle on the epic pass. Stevens does not have real estate loding or F&B and that is where they make their money, not op ski ops.
I guess the “value’ of locking in a person to the epic pass is around $15-20k (annual earning potential with 8% yield). The only needed 4000 epic pass converts in the Seattle area to justify the $67m price tag for the resort.
I’m pretty sure that if we can find raise >$50m through community funding and coownership AND pledge some cooperation with epic (like the Sinclair guys do with snowbasin and sun valley) we could buy it back from vail… Anybody interested ?

[phatty]

Yeah, the only reason for buying Stevens was to sell Epic passes to the Seattle Tech bros and get them out of Seattle to Whistler and Colorado. They don't care about actually running Stevens. What they are now realizing is that many Seattlites want to stay and ski local, want their kids in lessons, etc. If you can't actually run the mountain, you're going to lose those Epic sales. They'll still sell some Epics to the people who do an annual Whistler trip and figure Stevens is a throw in. I'm hoping they get tired of the complaints and sell to an owner who wants to run it. Tie them to Epic for a set period with the sale. Now we just need a group to come forward that isn't Alterra.

[AK47bp]

Wifey got me a Cascade Powder Guide cat ski trip Feb 6th for Xmas.

Did same date 2yrs ago and was fun.

Stoked.

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[phatty]

Wifey got me a Cascade Powder Guide cat ski trip Feb 23rd for Xmas.

Did same date 2yrs ago and was fun.

Stoked.

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Sounds like you got a keeper! I did one day with them 10 yrs ago and it was awesome.

[Bandit Man]

Wifey got me a Cascade Powder Guide cat ski trip Feb 23rd for Xmas.

Did same date 2yrs ago and was fun.

Stoked.

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Nice!

I got a Whistler-Powder Mountain Catskiing trip from a buddy this year. Cat skiing trips are so en vogue this year!

[John_B]

Nice!

I got a Whistler-Powder Mountain Catskiing trip from a buddy this year. Cat skiing trips are so en vogue this year!

I need better friends! Merry Xmas PNW skiers.

[AK47bp]

Nice!

I got a Whistler-Powder Mountain Catskiing trip from a buddy this year. Cat skiing trips are so en vogue this year!

Dang. Nice one.


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[Bandit Man]

Dang. Nice one.


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I was totally shocked. I think he just wants to borrow some of my skis and figured he’d better just get me to tag along!

[AK47bp]

I was totally shocked. I think he just wants to borrow some of my skis and figured he’d better just get me to tag along!

You made out, your buddy just wants a friend to ski with which is awesome.

I’m solo and just ride with whomever they put me with. Worked out last time so hope will be good again.


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[RudyGarmisch]

Anyone have deets on the vailure around 1pm at Stevens today at Granite Peaks Lodge? Tried to go use the bathroom and the employees were standing outside saying the doors were locked and that the fire department was going to have to come.

Daisy, Hogs and Sky were the only chairs operating today. Interested to know how the power outage prevented them running Brooks today. Heard a ton of staff called in today.

[glspi]

I got completely ignored in the Oregon thread so trying here:

is this the place to post for hood/portland? i'm from SLC, but will be in town the 1st week of 2022. Have a full free day friday the 7th. hoping to get a tour in on Mt. Hood or anything else good nearby (i'm a PNW virgin). just looking for someone local to help me out, i'll be in SW portland, if pre-work turns are possible then great, otherwise i'm good waiting till my free day.

[jackattack]

Chilly day on the windy hill, and it’s only going to get colder. Good to get a chance to rip around with TAFKLWS.

[ptavv]

Crystal was unreal today. Snow in the lowlands kept everyone home. Lifts were ski-on. Chair 6 opened at around 930 with all the South gates open. Since South hadn't been open at all during the storms it was super deep, super empty, and all seemed surprisingly stable.

I put first tracks down Hourglass and when I came back I put second tracks… unreal how few people were hiking to the Throne much less to King or beyond.

Even a 230 lap from the Throne to feel out a new pair of skis ended up here, the only picture I took. (Fatmap says this is the top of Alex's Funnel and the description matches since there was a rock band lower that needed some navigating).