Skiing around Seattle Area

Hi, Welcome to EpicSki!

I'm not knowledgeable about Seattle but I know we have some members who are.  Hopefully, this bump will help them see you're question.

Think Snow!

If you search here and at TGR you will find a bunch of information on this general question. There are an assortment of ski area sponsored busses and club buses that you may be able to find information on in this context if you search these sites and Google (sorry  I have no specifics.).

In short, there are 4 ski areas of possible interest to you. From south to north these are: Crystal, Alpental (part of The Summit at Snoqualmie), Stevens Pass and Mt Baker. They all have their own personalities and weather patterns. None is really a "resort". For all practical purposes, they are all day use areas (Crystal's claims to resort-ness notwithstanding). This is largely why most of the world has not heard of them -- they really cater to regional clients. However, in a good year, they can offer some of the deepest and best snow in North America. In fact, Baker holds the absolute world record for one year snowfall - 1100 inches). None has huge inbounds vertical compared to really big vert mountains like Whistler of Jackson or Snowbird. But all have great terrain, which along with the often amazing snow makes up for the modest vertical

Also worth noting is the fact that both the Summit and Stevens have some of the biggest night skiing operations anywhere. 

If your stint in Redmond is related to MSFT, check to see if there is some form of club or employee bus setup you can connect with.   

Baker is my favorite, Stevens is really good too, but gets really busy. Mission Ridge is a farther drive but has better snow conditions alot of the time.

From Redmond, Stevens Pass seems like the obvious choice.  Take a look at the information on their web page, and also look at the Epic resort page.  Both are linked below in my signature line.  It's true that crowds can be horrendous during Christmas and January and February weekends, but there isn't much traffic at other times, including weekend nights.

To get you started, here is a link to a page on Stevens' web site concerning transportation.  I'll bet you can find more info as well with a little searching.

http://www.stevenspass.com/Stevens/the-mountain/other-transportation.aspx

You can hit Alpental under the lights after work.

Crystal has a boatload of bus options, though I don't see any from Redmond. Check out the rideshare feature on the second link. And yes, if you're at MS, there HAS to be some kind of way to hook up with other skiers.

http://www.skicrystal.com/Plan-Your-Trip/Express-Bus

http://www.crystalmountainresort.com/Plan-Your-Trip/Midweek-Bus-Groups

Ski season length depends on which ski area you're talking about.  Stevens Pass closes mid-April, Baker at the end of April, and Crystal stayed open well into the summer this year.  I don't know about the Snoqualmie Summit areas.  Nobody but Crystal closed for lack of snow, just for lack of crowds.  Skiing is often best in February and March, but there should be ample snow when you get here.

I don't know anything about MS, but flagship11 is right.  Living in Redmond without a car is almost an oxymoron.  Don't think that public transportation will get you where you want/need to go.  You could do it in Seattle, but not the suburbs, of which Redmond is one.  Traffic is a pain everywhere in the Seattle metro area, so get ready to suck it up.  The MS bus idea from Seattle would be the least pain in the butt option I could think of next to actually living next to where you work.  Good luck on that one.

Oh, and I missed that you are a snowboarder, most folks here are skiers.  You might want to make at least one or two trips to Mt. Baker which will require a car.  It's a bit farther but it's a snowboard Mecca.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abisson 

First of all, living in Seattle imo will be a pain if I work in Redmond. The commute everyday is going to be somewhat of a pain no? I do not think it is worth it...?!

 

 

It depends a little on where in Seattle you live, but it's definitely not the easiest commute going across 520.  The MS connector bus that was mentioned is probably your best option if you choose to live in Seattle.  Which you pick depends on your priorities.  Do you want to be in a more suburban area, having to drive everywhere you want to go, but being closer to both work and the mountains?  Or do you want to be in a more urban area, have access to stuff you can walk to in your neighborhood, but being farther from work and the mountains?  It's just a personal choice.

I think if you're living in Redmond or Seattle, there's a decent chance you're going to want a car.  You're going to be spending a short period of time in a new part of the country and probably want to get out and see as much as you can.  However, I think it's going to be pretty much mandatory in Redmond.  In Seattle, if you pick the right neighborhood, you can definitely get by without a car and use the 12 free days when you want to get out of town.  

As for the length of the ski season, Pousane pretty well covered it.  I've only been living in Seattle for 4 years now, so I don't have as much experience to pull from, but I'd say that the later season usually gets more, bigger dumps.  I'd agree that Feb/Mar are usually better than Dec/Jan, and even April can be fantastic.

Probably not a bad idea at all.

Other people at MS have cars.

If you are going to live in Redmond without a car, choose your location very, very carefully. I think you could get away with not having a car if you live in "downtown" Redmond, but there are SO many places you could live where you are looking at taking the bus for every single errand (if you even have a nearby bus stop, which you may not). Even downtown is pretty spread out--I'm not sure I'd walk from one end to the other with groceries.