Ski Project

2009-2010 Ski Season

Ski Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. Snow report. 2009-11-13.	Snow report.	Looking down from the top of Lift 3 towards the upper lodge (Heather Meadow Lodge).	Snowboarder at the top of Canuck's Deluxe.	Snowboarders over towards Lift 8 (in the background).
Taking a jump near the top of Canuck's Deluxe.	Blowing snow while going towards Lift 5.	Finally, the weather starts to break. At the top of North Face.	Lift 6 and mountains in background.	Ski Day 2 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. Checking equipment. 2009-11-14.
Ski Day 3 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. Snow report. 2009-11-22.	Skiers on Canuck's.	Group of skiers coming down east side of Canuck's.	Skier on Canuck's.	Skier on upper part of Canuck's. Gunner's bowl in the background.
From Heather Meadow's parking area toward Lift 3.	Snow banks on Highway 542 leaving Heather Meadows.	Ski Day 4 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. Snow report. 2009-11-27. North from Lift 8.	Top of Lift 5 from Lift 8.	Skiers congregating to look at the scenary near Diehl's.
Big Creek with cloud banks covering lower slope.	Chair on Lift 4 in the fog.	Lift 4 and Lift 6 (right) base in the fog.	Fog thining over Hollywood from Lift 4.	Fog thining over Hollywood from Lift 4.
Cat Track on the edge of the cloud bank under Lift 4.	Upper Honkers poking through fog.	North from Lift 4.	Big Creek with cloud banks.	Big Creek with cloud banks.
Breaking through the clouds going up Lift 4.	Breaking through the clouds going up Lift 4.	Breaking through the clouds going up Lift 4.	Breaking through the clouds going up Lift 4.	Gradually seeing more and more as you go up Lift 4.
Gradually seeing more and more as you go up Lift 4.	Gradually seeing more and more as you go up Lift 4.	Gradually seeing more and more as you go up Lift 4.	Moon over Border from Lift 3.

2010-01-22 No new snow, but excellent base and conditions. Surfaces were solid in the morning and softening as sun got on the slopes. As long as you spent most of the runs away from the base leading into White Salmon Lodge the conditions were good for groomed runs. North Face had good conditions for working on short, fast turns. Some clouding in the afternoon dropped late day contrast.

2010-01-16 Perhaps the best day since the opening of the season. Good visibility, good snow conditions, moderate temperature. A late start to skiing for the day. For the first time ever I saw the upper lodge parking completely full. This includes cars along the entire loop road starting at Picture Lake.

2009-12-19 A nice day - good visibility with warmer temperatures. Relatively fresh snow plus the warm temperatures gave a softer surface.

2009-12-17 Visibility was relatively good. The snow surface was slow. The runs around Pan Face and Austin had very sticky snow. The grooming wasn't too good, lots of small cracks on the groomed runs.

2009-11-29 Good groomed surface conditions. Cloud banks at lower elevations with nice sunny weather above. A great day to go wild with the camera.

2009-11-22 Visibility poor and blowing wind again with snow. Snow surface conditions were great.

2009-11-14 Another tough day. Visibility poor and blowing wind again.

2009-11-13 First skiing day of the season. Mt. Baker opened the day before. Snow conditions were good: cold, dry, and powdery. Visibility very poor: low contrast, overcast and fog, snowing, blowing wind.

2008-2009 Ski Season

Ski Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. Snow summary 2008-12-20.	Looking to the north from top of lifts 3/4.	Ski Day 2 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. Snow Summary	White Salmon Lodge from Chair Lift 8.	Panorama Dome.
Mt. Herman from Lift 4.	Mt. Shuksan from Lift 8.	Ski Day 3 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. Snow conditions. 2009-01-23.	Looking north from Lift 4.	Mt. Herman from Lift 4.
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Table Mountain from the top of Borders.	Mt. Shuksan from Lift 8.	Ski Day 4 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-02-13.	Ski Day 5. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-02-20.	White Salmon Lodge from Chair Lift 8.
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Mt. Shuksan from Chairlift 5.	Ski Day 6. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-02-21.	No ski day. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-03-01. Forecast.	Hourly forecast. Even though it did not look good we drove up anyway.	After watching the rain for a while we turned around. This snow slide onto the road was on the way back down from the Heather Meadows lodge.
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Ski Day 7 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington.			Ski Day 8  Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-03-13.	Skier entering the mid-point trail cross on Honkers.
Tree in the shadows on the upper half of Honkers.	White Salmon Lodge.	White Salmon Lodge just after lunch.	Area just above upper lodge from lift 6.	Pan Face from around 3/4 of the way down.
Ski Day 9. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-03-15.	Looking up along chair lift 4.	Towards Hemisphere Dome from chair lift 4.	Coffee hut at base of chair lifts 4, 5 and 6.	A rare event, a crowd at lift six trying to get to powder on the upper slopes of Panorama Dome.
Just avoiding a cliff on Pan Face.	Rush hour on Pan Face.	In front of the Raven statues leading to White Salmon Lodge.	The drive home in snow. Just downhill from White Salmon Lodge.	Ski Day 10. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-03-20.
Shuttle bus in parking lot.	A bad sign! Base worker sweeping water out of the lodge entrance area.	The smart people waiting for the weather to change.	Ski Day 11. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-03-21.	Down Easy Money from the top of lift 4.
Looking back at the base of lift 5.	Ski Day 12. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-03-28.	Snow moving equipment parked near Heather Meadows Lodge.	From Heather Meadows towards Panorama Dome - lift 1 in center.	From Heather Meadows towards lif 2.
Ski Day 13. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-04-19. Snow report.	Ski conditions.	Razorhorn Canyon from chair lift 7.	Looking uphill from chair lift 7.	Mt. Shuksan from ground near top of chair lift 4.
Ski racers preparing to go from half-way up under chair lift 8.	Ski Day 14. Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2009-04-25 Snow report.	Condition report.	Snow coming down.	Coming into the top of chair lift 4.

2009-03-20 What a horrible skiing day! Mixed rain and snow at the based lodge. First the rain soaked you thoroughly. Then at the higher elevations snow stuck to everything. To go high enough to get into a good snow surface ended up with no visibility. Staying low resulted in visibility with terrible surface conditions. After two runs, it was time to give up and go home.

2009-03-21 Snow conditions hard packed powder on the groomed runs. In the early afternoon the surface warmed up enough to make nice spring skiing. Visibility was excellent.

2009-04-19 A warm day. The surface conditions became very slushy in the afternoon.

2009-04-25 The end of the ski season. The ski area was only open one more day. Most of the day moderate to light snow came down. Temperatures were much lower than forecaset. The resulting surface conditions were good. A nice and pleasant close to the season.

2007-2008 Ski Season

Ski Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-12-2.	Looking down from Heather Meadows toward Lifts 2 and 3.	Skiers and boarders getting ready to set out.	Snowshoe Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-12-15.	Very deep snow.
Ski Day 2 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-12-21. Ski school building before the crowds arrive.	Ski Day 3 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-12-29	Buying lift tickets.	Looking north from near the top of chair lift 8.	Looking norwest from near the top of chair lift 8. Chair lift 5 on the left.
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Ski Day 4 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-01-06.	Ski Day 5 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-01-13.	Ski Day 6 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-01-20.	Looking north from the top of lift 4.	Ski Day 7 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-02-03. Looking north towards Canada.
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Ski Day 8 Stevens Pass, Washington. 2008-02-15.	Ski Day 9 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-02-17.	Heather Meadow's Lodge before the lifts are running.	Setting up the meeting flags for the children's Komo Kulshan Program.	Up lift 1 towards the Chute.
The lift line for lift 1.	Looking north from lift 1.	Mt. Shuksan from Panorama Done. Lift 5 is going across the frame.	The top of North Face looking north.	The base of Austin heading towards lift 1 mid-station.
Mt. Shuksan from near the top of lift 8.	Mt. Shuksan.	Moon over Border.	Moon over Border.	Mt. Shuksan from Heather Meadows.
Ski Day 10 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-03-21.	Getting onto Lift 7 from near White Salmon Lodge.	Lift 7 heading up the first hill. Lot's of snow today.	The Canyon.	Snowboarder taking a jump in the canyon.
Ski Day 11 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-03-28.	Going up Lift 1. Note the mark on the pole. That's the 1998-1999 record snowfall line. The deepest in the world.	Ski Day 12 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-04-18.	White Salmon Lodge.	Lift 7 from White Salmon Lodge.
Lift 7 in the fog.	Ski Day 13 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2008-04-25.	The Canyon from Lift 7.	Snowboarder entering cross-over towards Lift 5.	Coming into unloading from the top of Lift 7.
Mt. Shuksan from the unloading area of Lift 7.	Start of Otto-Bahn to Lift 8.	Otto-Bahn to Lift 8. Nearly the first skier of the day.	Lift 8. Daytona underneath the lift.	Mt. Shuksan from Lift 8.
Heather Meadows Lodge. Closed for the season.	Snow starting to melt.	Snow starting to melt.

2007-12-15 Snowshos instead of skis. Terrible conditions. Very deep and powdery snow. Nearly everyone was exhausted. Even with the best hi-tech snowshoes every step was like climbing a staircase with 18"-24" risers. However, the snow was starting to accumulate for fantastic conditions.

2008-02-15 A dreadful ski day. It started to rain as we went up the first lift. Everybody else gave up after the second run. I toughed it out for another 2-1/2 hours before giving up, ending the day as a sodden mess.

2008-02-17 My calendar notes only one word for this day, 'superb'. Clear, crips, with a daylight moon over the slope.

2008-03-21 Again, only a one word note in the calendar, 'epic.' Snow conditions fabulous.

2008-04-18 The snow just kept on coming. 'Fantastic' conditions.

2008-04-25 The final weekend of the year. The ski area closed in two days. Snow conditions were still very good: just not enough skiers left to keep the lifts open. A fantastic season overall.

2006-2007 Ski Season

This was a slow season: a total of only six skiing days. However, conditions were good.

Ski Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington.		Ski Day 2 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2006-12-10.	Snow coming down at Heather Meadows. Ski team getting ready to start out.	Snow coming down on Seven Hills.
Snow at lift ticket windows. Lift 1 in background.	Ski Day 3 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2006-12-17	Mt. Shuksan from White Salmon Lodge.	Boarders taking a rest.	Home Run towards Heather Meadows Lodge.
Looking north to Canada.	Ski stuck in the side of the top part of the Chute. Skier was about 60 ft below the ski.	Lift 1 unloading.	Looking north from Lift 1 unloading area.	Blueberry Cat-track. Baker Lake in the background.
Table Mountain from Blueberry Cat-track near Gunner's Bowl.	Heather Meadows staging area, looking north.	Mt. Shukan with some late afternoon glow.	Snowshoe Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-01-27. Table Mountain from the snowshoe path up along the cat track.	Kulshan Aikikai Members walking along the cat track.
Looking north to Canada.	Nathan at the sign when entering the back country area.	Mt. Baker comes into view.	Nathan and Hobbs getting some practice suburi in.	Nathan and Hobbs getting some practice suburi in.
Looking north to Canada.	Mt. Baker.	Mt. Baker.	Jason, Hobbs, and Nathan contemplating the route down.	Emily with a feathered friend. A bird in the hand.
A bird in the bush.	An a bird in-between.	Nathan and Eric taking a rest.	The head of Baker Lake through the trees.	Mt. Shuksan.
Baker Lake.	Emily and Hobbs. Snow campers in the background.	Eric.	Baker Lake.	Tree just above snow.
Ski Day 4 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-03-04.	Ski Day 5 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-03-31.	Ski Day 6 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2007-04-06. Beginning skiers with Mt. Shuksan in the background.	Beginning skiers with Mt. Shuksan in the background.	Mt. Shuksan.
The Canyon from the White Salmon Lodge parking lot.

2007-01-27 As a New Year tradition many Aikido dojos have some type of outdoor training session. The intent is to purify the mind and body. Kulshan Aikikai typically does a thousand suburi (sword-cut) practice as close to the New Year as we can get. This year it was up to Mount Baker. The snow conditions were excellent. Deep hardpack with moderate slopes.

2005-2006 Ski Season

A good season: 15 skiing days plus one snowshoe day. I lost the 2006 records so many of the late season dates are missing.

Ski Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-11-13.	Ski Day 2 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-11-19.	Ski Day 3 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-11-27. Mt. Shuksan behind the clouds. From top of rund down to Lift 2.	Ski Day 4 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-12-11. Sneaky Pete down to Lift 5.	Heather Meadows Lodge from Heather.
Mt. Shuksan from the top of Lift 5.	Ski Day 5 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-12-18.	Ski Day 6 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-12-22.	Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2006-01-29. Snow on the road to Mt. Baker.	View from Lift 2.
Heather Meadows Lodge in the snow.	Snowshoe Day 1 Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2006-02-12. Kulshan Aikikai Members posing.	Gary and Russ.	Gary, Emily, Hobbs.	Looking down the trail for the return trip.
Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2006-03-05.	Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2006-03-12. View of the Cascades from the road to the ski area.	The road up to the ski area.	Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2006-04-28. Looking towards the back country above Lift 5.	The Canyon.
Expresso entering the slow zone under Lift 7.	Mt. Shuksan.	Terrain Park near White Salmon Lodge. The Park's last season at this location was 2006.	Daytona crossing under Lift 8.	Skier at top of Lift 8.
Staring down Oh-Zone at top of Lift 8.	Trails down to Lift 5.	The top of Lift 5.	Mt. Shuksan from the top of Lift 5.	Ski video of a student while going down Easy Money.

2006-02-12 As a New Year tradition many Aikido dojos have some type of outdoor training session. The intent is to purify the mind and body. Kulshan Aikikai typically does a thousand suburi (sword-cut) practice as close to the New Year as we can get. This year it was up to Mount Baker. The snow conditions were good. Only a small turnout this year, but everyone had a good time.

2006-04-28 The last ski day of the season. As usual, the skiers give out before the snow. The slopes are nearly empty.

2004-2005 Ski Season

A dreadful season. Very low snow levels. Mt. Baker had to truck snow in to keep slopes open.

Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-02-27. Trail sign at top of Lift 3.	Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-03-11.	Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2005-03-19. The Komo Ski race getting set up for the kids.

2003-2004 Ski Season

Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2004-02-08. Mt. Shuksan peeling out over Rope Tow 1.	Mt. Shuksan from Heather Meadows.	Mt. Shuksan from Heather Meadows.	Mt. Shuksan from Lift 3.	Heather Meadows looking to the west.
Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2004-02-13. To the north from Lift 3.	Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2004-02-20. Heather Meadows Lodge.	Big Creek down to Lift 5.	Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington. 2004-03-06.

Early Seasons to 2003 Ski Season

Park City, Utah. 1994-02-27.	Park City, Utah. 1994-02-27.	Breckenridge, Colorado. 1993-02-22.	Blue Mountain, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. 1992-02-09. Skiers waiting for lift.	Blue Mountain, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. 1992-02-09. Slopes with Lake Huron in the background.
Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. On the lift.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. Early adopter on a snowboard.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. Ski lift at night.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. Vancouver at night.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. Buildings next to the slope.
Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. Myself.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. Night skiing.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-22. Lodge next to the slope.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-21. Skier coming up to a jump.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-21. Landing after the jump.
Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-21.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-21.	Grouse Mountain, British Columbia, Canada. 1989-01-21. Vancouver in the background.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. Lanselbourg-Mont- Cenis from the slopes.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. The lodge in Lanselbourg-Mont- Cenis. The only time I've ever done ski-in-ski-out.
Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. Mont-Cenis from the lodge.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. Mountains from the top of the slopes.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. Lac de Mount Cenis.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. Mount Lamet.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. Mount Lamet. Taken with a super-wide angle (17mm) on the SLR.
Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. View towards Pointe des Pignes. Taken with a super-wide angle (17mm) on the SLR.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France. 1988-02. Myself.

Ski Locations

Blue Moutain, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada.	Blue Moutain, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada.	Blue Moutain, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada.
Breckenridge, Colorado	Breckenridge, Colorado.	Breckenridge, Colorado.	Breckenridge, Colorado.
Champery, Switzerland.
Grouse Moutain, British Columbia, Canada.	Grouse Moutain, British Columbia, Canada.	Grouse Moutain, British Columbia, Canada.	Grouse Moutain, British Columbia, Canada.
Les Arcs, Bourg St. Maurice, Savoie, France.	Les Arcs, Bourg St. Maurice, Savoie, France.	Les Arcs, Bourg St. Maurice, Savoie, France.
Mt. Baker, Washington.	Mt. Baker, Washington.	Mt. Baker, Washington. The ski area is on the loop at the end of the road. Satellite view.
Park City, Utah.	Park City, Utah.	Park City, Utah.
Serre Chevalier, France.
Stevens Pass, Washington.	Stevens Pass, Washington.	Stevens Pass, Washington. This is an early fall satellite image. Not much snow has arrived yet.
Val Cenis, Savoie, France.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France.	Val Cenis, Savoie, France.
Winter Park, Colorado.	Winter Park, Colorado.	Winter Park, Colorado.