Originally published Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Mount Baker offers little snow to be grateful for

Skiers and snowboarders dreaming of a white Thanksgiving weekend at Mt. Baker Ski Area will have to wait, because recent storms didn't dump enough snow to open in time for the holiday.

By Kie Relyea

The Bellingham Herald

Get ski and boarding conditions all winter long with webcams, snow alerts and more at seattletimes.com/snowsports

Skiers and snowboarders dreaming of a white Thanksgiving weekend at Mt. Baker Ski Area will have to wait, because recent storms didn't dump enough snow to open in time for the holiday.

Earlier forecasts had Duncan Howat, the ski area's longtime general manager, expecting at least 24 inches of snow on the ground by today, but Mother Nature isn't cooperating.

"I don't think that's going to happen," Howat said.

The base was 17 inches at Heather Meadows and 19 inches at Pan Dome on Monday.

The ski area needs 20 to 36 inches to allow an opening. While there's more snow in the forecast this week, it likely will be too little.

"We're expecting small hits of snow. [It's] difficult to say the total accumulation that will come out of them," said Gwyn Howat, the ski area's operations manager.

"What's so frustrating is we're so close," Gwyn Howat said.

The ski area received a "significant amount" of snow last Thursday and Friday, Gwyn Howat said, but came up short for the season opener.

A high-pressure system moving in this weekend also will end the chances for new snow, she said.

No other ski area in the state has opened yet; Mt. Baker Ski Area is usually the first to do so.

Whistler Blackcomb, about 70 miles northeast of Vancouver, B.C., will open on Thursday, according to its Web site.

More Snow Sports headlines...

E-mail article Print view Share: Digg Newsvine