Mountain Layout—Snowboarding

Mt. Baker has long been popular with snowboarders, even in the early days of the sport. In the old snowboarding days, snowboarders were carving turns here even where the ski patrol would rather not go. They opened new terrain within the boundaries and so helped skiers improve their skills. There were only a few boarders then; now they're up to 70 percent of the mountain's business, at least.

The entire mountain is challenging fun for snowboarders. There is not much in the way of flats. Without speed from the top of Chair 3 to load onto Chair 2, you might have a short walk. The only in-bounds climb, maybe 50 yards long, is from the ends of Chair 6 and Chair 7 if you're heading to the Austin run or the Blueberry Cat Track to return to the upper lodge, Heather Meadows Day Lodge. The Sticky Wicket woods give good ride until the snow is flatted out. From the woods there are a few choice access steeps into Razorhone Canyon. There are several good chutes, especially in the spring, from Gabl's run into the little valley under Chair 5. The Easy Money, White Salmon and Nose Dive runs are extremely popular, and so get congested at peak times. Chair 2, especially for beginners, has been upgraded for easier loading and unloading—one of the first chairs designed with snowboarders specifically in mind. The skiers' caution about going out-of-bounds applies to snowboarders in spades. Avalanches in the canyon beyond Chair 8 have turned it into a permanent graveyard for at least two snowboarders.

Parks and pipes
The huge terrain park is under Chair 8. It's 600 feet long, 80 feet wide and has anywhere from six to 12 features, depending upon snowpack. The permanent natural that starts at the top of Chair 5 is the site of the annual Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom snowboard competition. The January event, launched in 1984, has earned an international reputation, attracting riders from all over the U.S., Canada and Europe. The halfpipe follows a creek bed for a few hundred yards and is normally buried under 20 feet of snow.