Mt. Baker!

Mt. Baker ski area is located in Washington state at the end of Highway 542.  Really.  The highway heads east from Seattle – and ends in the Mt. Baker parking lot.  It is part of the Cascade mountain range.   Baker holds the world record for snowfall in a single season at 1140 inches (95 feet) / 2896 cm (29 meters)   YES – 95 FEET or 29 METERS OF SNOW.    The mountain is a two hour drive from Vancouver, or a little over an hour from Abbotsford, BC.

Mt. Baker was one of the first ski areas in North America to allow snowboarding on it’s slopes – starting in 1985.  The terrain at Baker is like a giant skateboard park with rollers, gullies, banks, hips, cliffs and tons of other natural features.  Snowboarding legends as Craig Kelly, Temple Cummins,  Jamie Lynn, Carter Turk and many, many more all grew up riding Baker.

I was heading out to Vancouver for a trade show, so I decided it would be a good chance to head to “Baker” – and since it is no fun shredding alone, I took my son Trey along and a dozen industry friends.

I first rode Mt. Baker with my brother in 1988 when we went down for the Banked Slalom race.  This year is the 28th Annual Legendary, Mt. Baker Banker Slalom.    When we returned home in January of 88′ we knew we had to put on a similar event, and thus was the beginning of our Banked Slalom and Snowboard Cup event.

If you ever want to head to one of the meccas of snowboarding . . . Mt. Baker is the place!

Starting the drive out right!
Starting the drive out right!
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You have to like snowboard trips that require a passport!
At the base of the mountain - there was no snow - this is about half way up - "walls" at the top are over 15 feet high.
At the base of the mountain – there was no snow – this is about half way up – “walls” at the top are over 15 feet high.
Part of the crew - "Keeping Snowboarding Fun!"
Part of the crew – “Keeping Snowboarding Fun!”
The natural half pipe that holds the Banked Slalom run. I could ride this forever.
The natural half pipe that holds the Banked Slalom run.      I could ride this forever.
Yup - it was a nice day!
Yup – it was a nice day!
The Crew! Best part of riding with reps and sales managers and such . . . they can all ride!
The Crew! Best part of riding with reps and sales managers and such . . . they can all ride!
The Ice Machine at Graham's in Glacier, WA (tiny town at the bottom of the hill) Still had an Easy Rider sticker from my last visit 5 years ago.
The Ice Machine at Graham’s in Glacier, WA (tiny town at the bottom of the hill) Still had an Easy Rider sticker from my last visit 5 years ago.