The main reason I work to hang on to Black Bear Lodge (aka Pine River Cabin) is to be able to access the incredible country in Central Washington. At the headwaters of the Wenatchee River at Lake Wenatchee, and just a short drive from Stevens Pass, the cabin places you in one of the most varied and scenic locales in all of the United States.
That may sound like a bold statement, but consider what you can find there.
A half hour west of the cabin and you are at the Cascade Crest for either skiing at Stevens or striking out on the Cascade Crest Trail. Dozens of other access points along the way provide access to hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing into some of the most dramatic scenery you can imagine. Head north and you can make your way to trailheads on Phelps Creek and into the Spider Meadows country or to Trinity and the trails along the Chiwawa River that lead directly into the Glacier Peak Wilderness.
Head east and thirty minutes takes you beyond Leavenworth into the drying ponderosa forest that eventually opens into the sunny and lovely Wenatchee Valley with the Columbia River. Rainfall drops from over a hundred inches to about ten and the terrain is suddenly open and expansive. The two rivers - the Wenatchee and the Columbia - offer mulitple opportunities for any kind of water recreation you can imagine.
Here is a link to a fabulous website that offers extensive information on the area.
http://www.justgetout.net/Wenatchee/
For a quick intro check out this video from the website.
http://vimeo.com/7235177
Let me know when you are ready to visit so we can get you hooked up with Black Bear Lodge!!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Mammoth Mountain
On Thursday the 13th, Larry O'keefe, Berl Nussbaum and myself flew to Mammoth Lakes CA via San Jose and enjoyed the free beer passed out on Horizon Airlines. It was Larry's first trip on Horizon and he was like a kid in a candy store once he realized he was traveling with an airline that actually encouraged you to drink beer.
For all of us it was the first trip to this beautiful location and it required spending some time with a map to figure out where it was even located. I've heard of Mammoth for years and knew it was somehow associated with LA so had assumed it to be somewhere nearby, but I was actually surprised at the location on the east slopes of the Sierra Nevada, just southeast of Yosemite.
That close to the rugged peaks near that wonderful park it comes as no surprise that Mammoth is a stunning location. It is a bit of surprise, however, when you ski down mid-mountain and discover a fenced off area with warning signs encouraging you to avoid the toxic fumes spewing from an active volcanic vent. Imagine that! Skiing in Southern California on a volcano! Spectacular.
It's called Mammoth for a good reason, the mountain is enormous with 3500 acres and 28 lifts. Of course, on weekends the crowds are also mammoth since it's only about five hours or so from the nearest LA suberbs. We were told that on Saturday the 14th there were 36,000 skiers on the hill. As you might imagine, the lift lines were huge.
On Friday, however, it was fantastic. No lines, no clouds, no way it could have been better. Snow conditions were absolutely perfect in spite of the 40 degree weather and we were able to sample nearly the entire mountain. It's just too huge to cover all in one day unless the only objective is to traverse the area, so there are still many lifts I have yet to lay eyes on. Another trip is most certainly in the future.
We avoided the crowds on Saturday - remember this was MLK weekend so it was particularly nuts - by going 20 miles north to a small local hill, also owned by Mammoth Ski Corp - called June Mountain. Again, beautiful weather, completely manageable lines, and a fabulous time.
For all of us it was the first trip to this beautiful location and it required spending some time with a map to figure out where it was even located. I've heard of Mammoth for years and knew it was somehow associated with LA so had assumed it to be somewhere nearby, but I was actually surprised at the location on the east slopes of the Sierra Nevada, just southeast of Yosemite.
That close to the rugged peaks near that wonderful park it comes as no surprise that Mammoth is a stunning location. It is a bit of surprise, however, when you ski down mid-mountain and discover a fenced off area with warning signs encouraging you to avoid the toxic fumes spewing from an active volcanic vent. Imagine that! Skiing in Southern California on a volcano! Spectacular.
It's called Mammoth for a good reason, the mountain is enormous with 3500 acres and 28 lifts. Of course, on weekends the crowds are also mammoth since it's only about five hours or so from the nearest LA suberbs. We were told that on Saturday the 14th there were 36,000 skiers on the hill. As you might imagine, the lift lines were huge.
On Friday, however, it was fantastic. No lines, no clouds, no way it could have been better. Snow conditions were absolutely perfect in spite of the 40 degree weather and we were able to sample nearly the entire mountain. It's just too huge to cover all in one day unless the only objective is to traverse the area, so there are still many lifts I have yet to lay eyes on. Another trip is most certainly in the future.
We avoided the crowds on Saturday - remember this was MLK weekend so it was particularly nuts - by going 20 miles north to a small local hill, also owned by Mammoth Ski Corp - called June Mountain. Again, beautiful weather, completely manageable lines, and a fabulous time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)