Exposed to the elements: an overview of White Pass

The past few weeks, I've stayed relatively close to Cheney to find some good terrain to ski on. This week, at White Pass Ski Resort, the drive took a little longer, but it was well worth it. White Pass is approximately 240 miles from Cheney and 12 miles southeast of Mt. Rainier National Park. The combination of 350 inches of snow annually and a 1,500-foot vertical drop add up to a lot of fresh tracks on 32 trails. Thirty-three percent of the trails are beginner while 43 percent are intermediate and 24 percent are advanced. The summit has an elevation of 6,000 feet and 114-inch snow base.

Night skiing is available on Saturdays and holidays.

LIFTS- 3 out of 5 -- Five lifts including a high-speed quad, triple, two doubles and a surface lift keep the lines manageable. The lifts have a 6,500 person-per-hour lift capacity. The positions of the lifts make most of the mountain easily accessible.

GROOMED TRAILS- 2.5 out of 5 -- The groomed trails they do have are fun. Having a lot of snow always helps. Fresh corduroy in the morning almost always starts the day off right. Seeing the same trails all day can get pretty dull. And the lack of terrain at White Pass does not fix that problem.

NON-GROOMED TRAILS- 3 out of 5 -- Again, with lots of snow most trails are going to be fun. There are fresh tracks and good terrain to be found throughout the mountain but it seems most of the non-groomed trails are concentrated in one area. If you like to stay in one area, this is a good place for you. If you like to explore and venture off into the trees, your options will be limited.

TREE RUNS- 2 out of 5 -- Lack of trees means lack of tree runs. There are a couple of really solid tree runs that are lengthy; but again they are limited.

TERRAIN PARK- 4 out of 5 -- The "Hammerhead Terrain Park" is solid. Mixtures of jumps, jibs, rails and boxes that vary in levels of difficulty make up a park for everyone. Sometimes it's fun to just stop and watch boarders and skiers launch and grind. They also run a lot of events throughout the season.

LODGE- 3 out of 5 -- It is fun to relax in this lodge, but if you're there on a weekend and the crowd is big, a strenuous day on the mountain can turn into a stressful day. Finding a good meal is easy with their various options.

INTANGIBLES- 2 out of 5 -- There aren't many features that separate this resort from others. The atmosphere is nice and the staff is friendly. There are several cabins and condos that add to the scenery.

OVERALL- 3 out of 5 -- Lack of terrain makes it rough for boarders and skiers looking to explore unscathed terrain. High annual snowfall helps and the 1,500-foot vertical drop makes for a longer run. Having a great terrain park makes White Pass attractive to freestylers. My personal take… If you have family or friends near the resort, by all means check it out. Otherwise, there are several options with the same features that are a lot closer.