The nearest you can hit snow driving east from Seattle is at Snoqualmie Pass (hereafter referred to as SP) which is a 3000 ft high range in the southern parts of Mt. Baker National Park. Its’ a major winter and summer recreational area in the midst of beautiful mountains and pristine national forests. Within the state of WA, this pass is the largest skiing area. When Rikti’s friend Reins was visiting us last weekend, we drove out to play in the snow at SP, which is another 20 miles east of Snoqualmie Falls. The roads at Mt. Rainier were closed due to flooding that took place in Nov of 2006, and Mt. Baker had received heavy snow that morning causing the roads to be blocked. Anyways, when we got closer to SP, I realized it was not my first time there. I vaguely remembered that back in 2004, I had visited this place along with Deepak & family. We spent a couple of hours snow frolicking and enjoying the sights of the skiers who would get up on a trolley, go to the top of the mountain and zoom down on their skis. They just went going round in this circular loop forever.
The first time I saw snow in my life was when I was 5 years old. We had gone to Kashmir and stayed at a snow clad resort in the city of Gulmarg. We had gone up a mountain to play in the snow where mummy lost one of her shoes. I came back down on a sledge with a local sledge driver who sped the wooden board down the snowy slopes – what an experience that was! Bhaiya had noted that the roads in J&K (on the plains at least) were very straight and did not turn until after many kilometers. At that time I remember being so much impressed with this observation of his. Flashback over.
Snoqualmie: People of the Moon
Elevation: 3022 feet at the Summit
Bi-County Community of 250 full time residents
Major industry: Outdoor Recreation, Down hill and Cross Country skiing, Backpacking and Hiking
Four major Ski Areas: Alpental, Summit West, Summit Central, Summit East
Elevation: 3022 feet at the Summit
Bi-County Community of 250 full time residents
Major industry: Outdoor Recreation, Down hill and Cross Country skiing, Backpacking and Hiking
Four major Ski Areas: Alpental, Summit West, Summit Central, Summit East
Some links:
Live Snoqualmie web cam: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/snoqualmie/
Snoqualmie Pass site: http://www.snoqualmiepass.com/