If you haven’t ever had the chance to ride Mt. Baker, consider it one of the top resorts to visit on your list. This place is a freerider’s dream location. With advanced technical terrain from trees, chutes, cliffs and perfect backcountry, this place will fill all your desires and leave you wanting more. Mt. Baker has set world records time and time again. During the 98/99 season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Mt. Baker hit a winter’s season snowfall of 1,140 inches, not to mention their average annual of 650 inches which is the most of any North American ski area. Surprisingly enough the resort is not located on the 10,778 foot volcano of the same name, but resides on the 9,127 foot Mt. Shuksan Arm which is one of the most photographed mountains in the world. Steep and deep is the name of the game at Mt. Baker with a summit elevation of 5,050 ft, vertical drop of 1,550 and 1,000 ridable acres. Most of the time the mountain is socked in with low visibility and dumping snow. We were fortunate enough to have the most rare conditions the mountain has ever seen, especially for April! We’ll get to that in a bit though, let’s start from the beginning….
K2 snowboards are one of the best companies in the industry. This year they planned a four day event called Kamp K2 at Mt. Baker Washington to show appreciation for all their supporters and retailers across the nation. Luckily we were among the group of many stoked shredder’s on the list. K2 snowboards managed to throw an all time snowboard bash by renting out the resort specifically for our enjoyment. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a mountain specifically tailored to your needs, with so few people, but this was one of my all time favorite trips. Put it this way, I had moments on the chair where I was the only one around. There is something kind of eerie yet deeply satisfying knowing you are the only one on the side of an intensely good mountain full of the deep stuff. These are moments that have been tattoed into my memory banks for eternity. In a way, it is that feeling that drives us all as snowboarders. The freedom. Anyway, I got lost in thought there, on with the story.
Day one started out making the long six hour solo trip from Portland Oregon to Northern Washington fueled by the tantalizing vocals of “Maynard” from Tool’s new 10,000 days album all while slugging Red Bulls to keep my motor skills in check. The drive on I-5 is not exactly the most interesting stretch of highway to be running solo on an early spring morning but thoughts of face shots and straight shots blurred my reality and kept me focused on what I was soon to experience. I couldn’t wait to get to highway 542 where the scenery is much more pleasant and at roads end Mt. Baker awaits. After a few pit stops at roadside gas stations and a quite enjoyable lunch at Subway with a strange women named Ursala, I arrived at my destination in the snowy hills of the North Cascades. I evidently didn’t get the memo on what time to arrive at the mountain as I was the first person to pull in and the K2 staff was still frantically trying to get the scene set. I felt kind of dumb, but nonetheless, I was the first person to register and get my new 2009 K2 Turbo Dream snowboard equipped with limited edition Kamp K2 graphics. I was stoked. I couldn’t wait to get the party started and was looking even more forward to the next two days of riding. K2 not only wanted to show their appreciation for their retailers by renting out the mountain, but they also threw in the 2009 K2 Turbo Dream snowboard as a friendly reminder of how awesome they truly are and how well they make great snowboards. For those of you who don’t know, the Turbo Dream is K2’s new rocker snowboard that will be coming out in the 2009/2010 season. It is a mellower version of this years K2 Gyrator (with less rocker) that handles all of the mountain with more comfort and ease and still handles the deep stuff like no other. No wonder it’s Wille Yli-Louma’s snowboard of choice for next year. It’s also a great rival to the ever popular Lib Tech Skate Banana.
As I waited for others to join the fiasco, I milled around the lodge reading magazines from Frequency and Snowboarder with the sounds of Michael Jackson’s hit “Beat It” over the radio. I noticed the cafeteria was set up for everything that is snow. K2 snowboard banners hung from the ceiling and the walls. 2009 K2 snowboards were tastefully displaced throughout for admiration and hands on viewing. One that really caught my eye was the new 2009 K2 World Wide Weapon with rocker. This thing is going to take park riding, jibbing and buttering to a whole new level, but we’ll have to wait for next season to see it in stores. Also another board to mention was the wild and zany graphic on next years 2009 K2 Mix. Gretchen Bleiler’s pro model will definitely be a different flavor from her past board graphics. I’ll let you be the judge of what you think about it. As I looked to my right, I couldn’t help but notice the prevailing beer taps primed and ready for apres snow action. Time went by and finally my partner in crime Courtney, a TruSnow comrade, arrived to the parking lot with the house on wheels. She rolled up in true road trip style fashion with an RV that was rented by K2 as well. Sleeping quarters were all arranged and fixed up by K2 for the trip. Mt. Baker’s White Salmon Lodge parking lot was soon to be turned into an RV site. As more an more people arrived, the RV’s kept flowing in like a caravan in a war movie. When the K2 RV arrived we knew things were going to get crazy. It had a full wrap around mural of painted images from ski to snowboard graphics throughout the years. I can only image what onlookers thought when seeing this beast rolling down the highway.
(K2 open till last call)
(K2’s battle wagon)
(RV onslaught)
The first evening was celebrated with the unorthodox sounds of DJ Mullet in the party tent later that night and mini ramp sessions fueled by Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap. Pabst came through with 55 kegs of liquid enjoyment that kept the fires burning well into the night. Snow was falling at classic rapid North West pace and showed no signs of stopping. Courtney and I decided to wrap up the night early in hopes of getting first tracks the next morning. I made my way to my “bat like” cave in the car and Courtney to her plush sleeping quarters of the RV.
(Mini Ramp action)
The next morning we awoke to a foot of fresh and a rather large hot breakfast that was waiting for us in the lodge. I don’t think I’ve ever ate so well before a snowboard session, so I took advantage to the fullest. With our bellies full and an excitement to get on hill, we mounted up our new 2009 K2 Turbo Dream’s and went after it. The mountain was calm and quiet with nothing but the sounds of a few people whooping it up as they painted their way through the white canvas. It seemed almost impossible to track the entire mountain with only 300 people attending but we managed to devour every morsel of snow in our paths. The Turbo Dream performed flawlessly as it floated through the deep and carved like a razor on the groomers. I am very impressed with it’s handling for a being an anti-camber snowboard. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t rail a turn quite the same as a traditional board, but it gets the job done if you throw a little more gas on the throttle. We rode until closing time with nothing but smiles on our faces.
(Turbo’s unite)
(Courtney and I showing the goods)
Later that day when the mountain was closed, we turned to the Pabst Trike and Bike rally race. This entailed pounding down a hot dog and slugging a brew before riding a kids trike around the K2 battle wagon as a race to the finish. It was quite comical and we even got to witness Gretchen in on the action! I was a bit star struck to be honest standing so close to one of snowboarding’s women’s finest. Other pro’s that were attending the action during the trip included Louie Fountain and Leanne Pelosi. It was great meeting some of our idols and getting a chance to shred on hill with them. Once again, more memories for the memory bank.
(Gretchen in on the trike race)
(Olympic medalist in action)
(NW Rep Dan Sorcinelli)
The aftermath of the Trike Bike race left us with a little down time to recoup for the late night concert put on by “Hells Bells” (all girls AC/DC tribute band). These ladies got the crowded roaring and through down hits like “You shook me all night long”, “Dirty Deeds” and many others that would impress record exec’s round the globe. Being a fan of AC/DC, I was throughly impressed and look forward to seeing them again when they tour in Portland.
(Hells Bells rockin the house)
The next day I awoke with glassy eyes and in need for some more riding. Mother Nature came through once again with another pounding of snow overnight and managed to open up the sky with some “Blue Bird” conditions. What more could you ask for than deep snow and sunny sky’s. Mt. Shuksan towered over the parking lot and unveiled it’s natural beauty and called out to us all saying, “Come and get it!” We took to the hills and we got it! Actually we didn’t ride the Shuksan arm but we did do some backcountry riding that we were all proud of. I got the chance to ride some stuff that had my head spinning and the butterflies churning and I’ll never forget it. If only we had terrain like this.
(Towering Mt. Shuksan)
(Mt. Baker Backcountry)
As the trip began to come to a close, we packed up our gear and said our goodbye’s to our new found friends from around the nation. Tired and happily satisfied we rallied the troops to make our journey back down South. We will always remember this trip and hope all of you out there get a chance to share the shred dream with us. We want to say thank you to K2 snowboards and all their generosity in what they do so well. We are truly happy to be apart of such a good team and look forward to going back again next year! Keep an eye out for all 2009 K2 snowboards, boots and bindings to arrive at TruSnow in the near future.
