Stevens Pass Ski and Snowboard Terrain

The Stevens Pass ski area is spread across three sides of two mountains, but it is essentially divided into the front side which is north and east facing, and the back side which is south facing. Eight of the ten lifts are located on the front side, and even though the lifts are a bit dated, they handle the weekend crowds quite well.

The beginners’ area is very good (11% beginners), the intermediate groomed trails are decent (54%), and the advanced runs (35%) can be good for mogul mongrels (a different species to a powder hound!). The terrain park is very well regarded but the real strength of Stevens Pass WA lies in the off-piste and expert terrain. Choose from bowls, tree skiing, chutes, or you can play around the cliff bands. The 7th Heaven zone in particular is aptly named – even though the runs aren’t super long, the area is paradise for a powder hound.

The backcountry terrain is another forte of the area where there is deep powder galore, open bowls, pillow lines, cliffs, and other nasty steeps. With run names like the “Death Chutes”, you sort of get the picture. On that note, it’s worth mentioning that this area is rather avalanche prone so take more than the usual precautions.

Stevens Pass Snow

Mother Nature gets rather tempestuous near the Pacific and frequently buries the Stevens Pass ski resort in snow. Stevens gets an average of 450 inches (11.4 metres) of snow per season and sometimes you’ll be riding knee deep powder or occasionally nipple deep pow.

Or sometimes you’ll have to wear your rain coat as is common with these Pacific NW ski resorts! The top elevation is at 1,782 metres (5,845 feet) so it fares a little better than Mt Baker Ski Area (which is 231 metres lower) but there are still days when the freezing level is a little high.

And like other western WA resorts, the powder tends to be of higher moisture content than what you’d find in Utah or Colorado. Nothing that a pair of fat skis won’t fix!

Crowds

One ski magazine has described Stevens Pass Ski Resort as a gem and an off the beaten track ski resort. Ha!! Maybe it’s off the beaten track relative to the I-70 Colorado ski resorts but it’s definitely on a very well trodden path. You’ve only got to see the hordes from Seattle that descend on the ski area on the weekends to realise that this ski resort is well and truly discovered. You may struggle to get a car park and the front side can develop long lift lines.

Weekdays are an entirely different matter where freshies abound and sometimes you feel like you’ve got the place to yourself. Then it’s a gem!! The only limitation is that on weekdays the tight arses don’t operate all the lifts. For example, the Jupiter quad lift on the backside commonly doesn’t operate on weekdays. You can still access all the terrain but it’s a bit of a pain in the tight butt to get to it.