Travel

Go for the snow on Mount Baker

An active volcano also home to a ski resort, this mountain receives more snow than any other on the continent

  • Jan 16, 2025
  • 1,629 words
  • 7 minutes
A view of Mt.Baker from the chairlift. (Photo courtesy Visit Bellingham)
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Skiing on the West Coast tends to be dominated by the mega-industrial snow-sport complex of Whistler, B.C., while Vancouver’s modest local mountains are a fraction of the size, not inexpensive, but still very busy. Heading south and yet somewhere in between lie the North Cascade mountains of Washington. Here is a mountain that holds a world record for the most snow ever dumped in one season: a whopping 30 metres! Packing the van, kids and passports, we’re off to Mt. Baker Ski Area to see how this rugged, 1000-acre ski hill stacks up.

Mt. Baker has the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range. (Photo courtesy Visit Bellingham)
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A real volcano

Vancouverites can usually see the distinctive cone of Washington’s Mt. Baker on a clear sunny day. Looming 14 miles south of the border and towering 3286 metres high, Mt. Baker is the closest volcano to a major Canadian urban centre. Although this particular strata-volcano has long been dormant, it always has the potential to erupt. But rest easy, Mt. Baker’s last major eruption was 6000 years ago, and throughout its geological history, it hasn’t shown itself to be nearly as volatile as Mount St. Helen (located 179 miles to the south). All the same, it’s reassuring to know Mt. Baker is closely monitored by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, so if it does begin to grumble, we will have plenty of notice. The ski area itself isn’t on the actual volcano but sits between Mt. Baker and the glaciated ridge of the adjacent Mt. Shuksan. Extraordinary views and an average of 17 metres of seasonal snow make it the largest and most popular ski destination in the Pacific Northwest, attracting visitors from nearby Bellingham, Seattle, and B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

A scenic drive

The most direct route from Vancouver to Mt. Baker is across the Abbotsford and Sumas border crossing, but I recommend taking the Peace Arch crossing to include a visit to Bellingham. Here, you can pick up more affordable rentals at the excellent Backcountry Essentials store downtown, along with provisions if you’re going to rent a cabin in the small town of Glacier (more on which below). Bellingham is an eclectic city with red-brick facades, indie stores, craft breweries, and hipster coffee shops. We loved Village Books and the Colophon Café in the historic Fairhaven District, along with showing the kids what a real record store looks like at Ritual Records downtown. Loaded up with everything we needed for our getaway, we hopped on the two-lane Highway 542 towards Mt. Baker, located about an hour and 20-minute drive away. Once you enter Mt. Baker National Recreation Area, the winding road becomes absolutely stunning: heavy moss coats thick branches that hang over the road like emerald, velvet-gloved fingers. I made a note to definitely visit in summer to explore some of the region’s famed hiking trails.

Luxury Getaways, located in the heart of the Mount Baker Recreational Area, offers a range of comfortable cabins. (Photo: Robin Esrock)
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An accommodation worth staying for

If you’re accustomed to a destination ski resort, you need to recalibrate your expectations. Mt. Baker offers no accommodation, no shopping stroll, no nightlife, and no restaurants other than hot meals and beverages in the day lodges. The nearest place to stay is in the town of Glacier, about a half-hour’s drive from the ski area parking lot. Glacier has a range of rental cabins, chalets and homes, along with a few restaurants and a small grocery store. Luxury Getaways offers dozens of options, sleeping between two and 10 people. Fully furnished properties feature amenities that include hot tubs, fireplaces, large modern kitchens, internet access, and everything you’ll need for a peaceful family getaway. Our property also had an electric car charger, a BBQ, a fully stocked kitchen, Netflix, and popular board games to keep the kids busy off the slopes.

The mountain report

With eight quad chairs and two handle tows, Mt. Baker is not built for beginners. There are few groomed runs, loads of double blacks, and committed locals braving tree wells, rocky cliffs and rugged backcountry to access an obscene amount of snow. Mt. Baker was among the first US hills to embrace snowboarding, and a higher ratio of boarders to skiers is noticeable. Although there’s no designated terrain park, the abundance of chutes, tree runs, cliffs and natural terrain make the entire mountain a playground for advanced riders and skiers.

There are no hotels, RFID chip passes, stores or glitzy restaurants around Mt. Baker, just old-school skiing. (Photo: Robin Esrock)
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The chairs are simply named Chair 1, Chair 2, and so on, and if you’re used to big resort lifts, you might be surprised at the lack of elevation gain. Some chairs don’t have safety bars, none have footrests, and at one point, one chair crosses right over another! Run signage is not always clear or covered in fresh snow. While a lack of beginner runs makes it less than ideal for those who prefer easy greens or corduroy blues, Chairs 2 and 3 are amenable for beginners, and lessons are available for all levels. We spent much of our time riding off Chairs 7 and 8 on the blue runs of White Salmon, Daytona and Nose Dive. The easiest green runs are off Chair 2, located on the other side of Panorama Dome. Mt. Baker can get very, very busy on weekends, especially on powder days and holidays, with limited parking lots filling up early. That said, even on a weekend, the longest we waited for any chair was about 4 minutes, and there were no line-ups to purchase lift tickets. Compare that to Whistler!

Visiting during the week is a completely different affair, with line-ups being non-existent. It will feel like you have the whole mountain to yourself. Hot meals and beverages are available at the Heather Meadows and White Salmon Day Lodges, as well as the Raven Hut mid-mountain lodge. The atmosphere throughout is festive, as folks dry their gear above the fireplace, and someone plays a honky-tonk piano. Mt. Baker often gets described as being “old-school” or “skiing as it used to be.” No restaurants, no glitzy resorts, weak, if any, cell signal, no ATMs, no shopping, and no RFID chip passes – just friendly staff, wild terrain, and so much snow.

Downtown Bellingham in the winter. (Photo courtesy Visit Bellingham)
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Oh, the snow!

Canada’s West Coast and the US Pacific Northwest get storms that dump consistent, dense and wet snow on the mountains. Forget the champagne powder of the B.C. Interior or the Rockies, this stuff is fresh, heavy, and deeply abundant. I saw dozens of boarders harmlessly wiping out, attempting tricks and jumps, although they landed with more of a thud than in a puff of powder. That said, wet snow helps skis and boards hold their edges while forming a deep and stable snowpack. All this encourages tree runs and less exposure to rocks and dry patches. Locals will tell you that if you can ski on this, you can ski on anything! Surrounded by rainforest and at a relatively low elevation, it’s not uncommon for falling snow to melt quickly, hence the need to dry off by the day lodge fireplaces. Prized blue-bird (sunny skies with fresh powder) are rare but do occur, while powder days are common all season.

Lush forests surrounding Mt. Baker. (Photo courtesy Visit Bellingham)
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At a lower elevation, the area around Mt. Baker is surrounded by rainforest. (Photo courtesy Robin Esrock)
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