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.
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