On JST time, ski slopes are voluptuous and devoid of others

MOUNT BAKER — On the first day of ski season last week, the sun broke early, bathing Mount Shuksan and surrounding North Cascades peaks in a warm yellow that melted your soul.

And the snow — oh, man. Fresh, deep, thick, impeccably groomed. Smoother than the curl on a Dilly Bar. Scrumptious.It was the kind of day Northwest skiers live for: Crisp, clear, cold, not a cloud in the sky. One of the better openers in recent memory.

OK, an explanation: You're not reading an old newspaper section. Yeah, it's mid-March and yeah, I know ski season for most people starts in November.

I'm not most people. Around the exclusive North Sound enclave of Escrow Heights, opening day of ski season occurs sometime in late February.

We operate on Judd Standard Time, or JST, which, incidentally should not be confused with the acronym "WWJD," the initials you see on those little bracelets people wear these days, and which of course stand for, "What Would Judd Do?"

He would wait until the time is right.

In JST, the first day of skiing begins on the first day it seems unlikely that you'll have to schlep your 200 pounds and $2,000 (Canadian; U.S. equivalent: $14.95) worth of stuff to the Subaru, drive three hours through the sleet and fog and rain, and park between 11- or 12-hundred smoke-belching school buses full of maniacal preteenage ski-schoolers from hell.

That day usually occurs sometime after President's Day, when the focus of regular people turns to other, springlike matters, such as wondering whether it's too early to mow the moss patch out back and trying to figure out if you can get away with claiming a kayak as a tax-deductible business expense. (Answers: no; depends.)

Bottom line: In the Northwest, it's just not worth it to ski early in the season.

For one, it snows a lot. Like, way a lot. Almost every day.

The problem with that is you can't really see where you're going. And other people can't really see where they're going. And still other people really don't care where they're going. Which makes every day at your local ski hill like Saturday morning at the Kirkland Costco. Demolition derby, baby.

Two, it's cold. Often below freezing. Which means you have to wear a lot of extra clothes, and, let's face it, it's hard to make turns like Didier Cuche when you're bundled up in seven layers of corduroy pants like young Bill Cosby.

Three, it's crowded. See above.

Now, some of you already are likely scoffing and spitting out your $1 cup of Starbucks coffee — the whole, entirety of it — and saying: Dude, you're only saying all this because you're over 40 and too lazy to get out of the house when everyone else is.

To which I would respond: So what's your point?

It is my humble contention that the people you meet skiing Northwest slopes in March are the crème de la crème of reasoned thought. Especially this year, the most epic snow season of the past decade.

Last Wednesday proved my point: At Mount Baker, on a crisp, 30-degree afternoon, pretty much the only people on the mountain were me, Emjay, 200 or 300 friendly retired folks, and a handful of trust-funders who live in those 600K condos in Fairhaven.

That was it.

The day was stunning, the snow perfect, and the price, $36, was right.

(Pause here to applaud the vanishing breed of ski areas that still have a midweek price that doesn't require purchasing a Phony Baloney "Discount" Card: Take a bow, Mount Baker and White Pass.)

During the lunch hour, we took entire runs from top to bottom without seeing another live soul, save for the occasional raven and the slumped corpse of a sleeping lifty at the base station.

And here's the thing: You can do this, too. If you're smart enough, determined enough, and crafty enough to call in well on a weekday.

We'll even contribute to your delinquency here by spewing some facts:

Crystal Mountain is open daily through mid-April. White Pass will be open daily through April 13 and weekends through April 27. Stevens Pass is open daily through April 13 and nights through March 30. The Summit says it's "hoping" to run daily through March. Mission Ridge is running Thursdays through Mondays until April 6. And Mount Baker, which is lousy with snow, should be open daily through March, Friday-Sunday through April.

Oh: If you're up for the drive, Whistler-Blackcomb will be open all spring, as well, but you'll have to explain that giant suitcase of lift-ticket cash in the back seat to the border guard.

Naturally, if it gets warm, check before you go.

It's time. It's springtime. It's past time. We send you out the door with only one word of advice:

Sunblock.

Ron Judd's Trail Mix column appears here every Thursday. To contact him: 206-464-8280 or rjudd@seattletimes.com.