This week, the Midwest Ski Journal's Gunnar Olson sat down with the man they call "Rat" to go over an ambitious, but fruitful chase he made this past weekend to Mt. Baker in Washington. Follow along to see how Rat pulled it off, what he'd do differently and how he grabbed deep powder turns in …
Continue reading Anatomy of a Pacific Northwest chase: A conversation
My friends won big on a chase to the Cascades this morning and I missed out. Luckily, they are educated on the perils of snow shaming. Are you? Yesterday, Mt. Baker reported 25" of new snow. Today, another 14". The photo above was taken by my friends and fellow chasers who are positioned nicely to …
A pair of warm, sunny days and some nice snowpack could lead to some great Midwest turns this weekend ahead of a cold snap. Get 'em while you can! Chasing sun In the Midwest, we often chase the sun more than the snow. The terrain out here scratches our itch, but at a whopping 250 …
One winter night, my Dad and I flew into Denver en route to a ski trip. Our connecting flight to Aspen was cancelled. It was dumping. I was too young to remember many of the details (about 10 years old) but Dad and I ended up in a van by ourselves, heading to Aspen through …
Eyes set on the west this weekend? Check out Mt. Baker, Washington. There's nothing like a snowstorm at home to get me excited about all the snow that's falling out west. (Perhaps it's because 16 inches fell at Jackson Hole on the day before my trip and 16 more fell the day after it...) Today, …
Continue reading Tougher Northwest chase in play at Mt. Baker
My usual strategy when winter arrives is to watch the snow. For that, I highly recommend dropping $20 for OpenSnow, which I monitor religiously to see where in the west I can chase down fresh, and steep, tracks. This year, though, I planned a week-long trip to Jackson for my Dad’s 60th birthday. (By the …
Areas across Minnesota could see up to a foot of snow thanks to the enormous storm hitting the area today (Monday.) At Welch Village (my home mountain) OpenSnow projects between eight and 12 inches to fall by the end of the day, with the possibility of one to two more inches overnight. This will make …
Continue reading A foot of fresh stuff for some of Minnesota
In the Midwest, summer reigns supreme. There are, however, the twisted few of us who yearn for when temperatures begin to slide and we can embrace the reason so many people become former Midwesterners. When that first freezing week comes around in late fall and every conversation begins and ends with a weather complaint, we …
About Gunnar: Snow, adventure, together, experience, travel, choice, weather, alpine, cold, mountain, Midwest, sports.
