Pacific NW/AK/BC Powder Alliance '19-'20: White Pass & Mission Ridge in; Silver Star & Stevens Pass out

[New2]

The Powder Alliance has announced the addition of White Pass and Mission Ridge, both in Washington State, for the upcoming season. Stevens Pass is no longer part of the Powder Alliance due to its acquisition by Vail/joining the Epic Pass (discussed elsewhere in detail); Silver Star is no longer listed/mentioned on the Powder Alliance website, nor does Silver Star's website advertise Powder Alliance benefits, so it looks like it's gone. "Now spanning 4 countries and 2 hemispheres, the Powder Alliance is one of the world’s most powerful reciprocal season pass programs offering top-tier pass holders three days each at 19 premier winter destinations."

These additions help stitch together an attractive Powder Alliance roadtrip itinerary in the Pacific Northwest... Timberline Lodge, Skibowl White Pass, Mission Ridge, Schweitzer, and Whitewater are each fairly easy drives one to the next.

If I still lived in Portland, this would definitely push me to get either a Mt. Hood Fusion Pass or a pass at White Pass, so maybe it will convince others and help balance sales a bit more (my experience has been massive crowds at Mt. Hood Meadows while all the other regional areas struggle for business).

 

[Itinerant skier]

Indeed, it's a nice collection. While Meadows crowds can be ridiculous. I'm not sure it's accurate to say that the others are struggling. Timberline has year round ops (and were super busy last week when I was up there) and Skibowl does well in good snow seasons like this past one. In poor snow years, they do hurt, but have easily the most robust summer activities program in the area.

T-line and Skibowl are far easier to get to than Meadows and while the days of $25 night skiing are long gone, Skibowl's night ticket is a great deal once I've used up the 3 Powder Alliance days from my Loveland Pass.

 

[pchewn]

I have the FUSION pass this year with Powder Alliance benefits. I plan on going for a 5-day (weekday) trip to other Powder Alliance areas. My plan right now is to drive to White Pass, ski 1-2 days, then over to Mission Ridge for 2-3 days, and back to White Pass for 1 day, then home to Portland.

This will happen approx the 1st week of February.

Do any of you have suggestions as to where to stay, number of days at Mission Ridge vs White Pass, any other suggestions to make this more enjoyable?

 

[RJS]

I have the FUSION pass this year with Powder Alliance benefits. I plan on going for a 5-day (weekday) trip to other Powder Alliance areas. My plan right now is to drive to White Pass, ski 1-2 days, then over to Mission Ridge for 2-3 days, and back to White Pass for 1 day, then home to Portland.

This will happen approx the 1st week of February.

Do any of you have suggestions as to where to stay, number of days at Mission Ridge vs White Pass, any other suggestions to make this more enjoyable?

I'm far from the expert here, but I skied at White Pass for the first time the weekend before last using my Fusion Pass. I really enjoyed it, it has a much more low key vibe than Crystal, Timberline, or Meadows. Terrain-wise there is a lot less steeps than Crystal or Meadows, but a lot more than Timberline. I did a bunch of runs in the West Ride area, where I was able to get some short, deep runs in by traversing further than most people were willing to go. I was shocked that I was able to pull into the parking lot at 9:15 on a Sunday and be just a two minute walk from the chairlift. I'm definitely going to use my other two days at White Pass as the season gets on. The town of Packwood is fairly close to the ski resort, I'm sure you could find reasonable places to stay during the week.

Like you I'm also considering hitting up Mission Ridge at some point. I don't think they've gotten very much snow so far this season, so I'm planning on waiting a while for their terrain to fill in. According to ZRankings, they get only 170" of snow a year, which is way lower than most of Washington, but I suppose it makes sense as they are on the leeward side of the Cascades. I imagine they get slightly drier snow and more sunny days, but again I haven't actually been to Mission Ridge yet. If you hit them up let me know what you think!

 

[New2]

I've had 1 great day at each, so definitely not an expert, but I think you'll enjoy them both. I think the best lodging and dining in the area by a longshot is at Leavenworth, which is an alpine Bavarian-themed town... it's what Mt. Angel is trying to be. Good German and Mexican food, fantastic wine and beer. February's maybe its slowest time, so you should be able to get pretty good prices, but it's almost an hour from Mission Ridge (and 2.5 hours from White Pass), so might be farther than you want. There's a lodge right at White Pass, and VRBO or Airbnb stuff close to both ski areas. Yakima and Wenatchee are real cities with motels and various restaurants.
Mission Ridge is replacing their only high-speed lift right now, and last I saw they were estimating mid-January for opening it. If that slips further and its not yet open for your trip, 2 days at Mission Ridge is likely plenty. But assuming they're both fully open, you'd likely enjoy 3 days at either. Have fun!

 

[pchewn]

I've actually been to Mission Ridge and have stayed in Leavenworth and Wenachee before. It's mostly White Pass that I don't have a clue about.

https://www.skitalk.com/threads/roa...ater-schweitzer-silver-mission-stevens.12321/

 

[Rainypm]

Pchewn,
White Pass doesn't have "on the hill lodging" however there are condo's across the street you can rent. If you look on the white pass webpage you can get the phone #(the condo's don't do online reservations). They are mostly privately owned and vary greatly, you can definitely step back in time with the original decor. Packwood is the closest town, has a couple of hotels and lodging options. The a lot of VRBO options for cabins in the area. I like Packwood Lodge if I don't rent a cabin.
As for skiing this is just my suggestion - on a pow day head to the back area, the Basin chair is slow but then ski towards the Couloir Chair. You'll find good powder runs off this chair. Nothing too steep but lots of options. The lift lines can get a little backed up here right before lunch but empty during noonish hour. Chair 4 can be fun for short run's down the "bird runs", this will make sense when you see the run's names.

Now that the holiday's have passed the crowds generally go down. Don't stress if the parking area look full, they also have a tubing hill and that brings people up.