Photo Diary: Calm after the Storm

Date hiked: 12/28/21

Winter in Washington usually means spending endless days waiting out frequent storms just to see a brief glimpse of the mountains, but the landscapes those storms leave in their wake are nothing short of incredible.

In late December, the Mt. Baker area received a whopping four feet of snow in five days. After the storm subsided, I headed out on a daylong ski tour in the Mt. Baker backcountry with my friends Nate and Scott. We had initially planned on touring past Ptarmigan Ridge, but breaking trail in the deep, fresh snow was tiring work so we decided to turn back just before reaching Ptarmigan Ridge and complete the Table Mountain circumnavigation instead. The Table Mountain circumnav has been high on my “to tour” list for the past few years so, while we weren’t able to complete our main objective for the day, this did not feel like a letdown in the least.

I’ve been to the Artist Point area many times in the winter in many different conditions, but I’ve never seen conditions this near perfect. The soft diffused light, windswept, pillowy drifts, and snow-covered trees made the landscape feel like a snow globe come to life. And while the forecast called for single digit temperatures, the upside of the cold snap was how it affected the snow. Instead of melting under the sun, the frigid chill kept the snow soft and fluffy all day, making for some glorious ski runs in a magical winter wonderland.

This area is currently in the midst of another winter storm, which means more waiting patiently at home for a break in the weather, but I know the wait will be more than worth it!