Winter of 2022/2023 Hopes and Expectations: We hope to see Razor Hone Road (the trails starting at the Salmon Ridge Snopark parking lot) groomed twice a week this winter.  Contract work has been done on the Cougar Loop and we are hoping to see regular grooming all the way to the bridge on both sides. If so, that’s going to make a great loop for relatively experienced skiers. White Salmon and Hannegan Pass Roads will only be groomed on an occasional basis.  Anderson Creek Road is washed out at milepost 0.9; we should have grooming done to the washout.  We’ll see.

Please send your Nordic ski and snowshoe conditions reports to Pete Tryon at ski@tryonhayes.com.  And if you can get a count on how many cars were in the parking lot, please send that along too.  We use the data to help support grant requests. You might also check the State’s SnoPark page or the Forest Service’s page for more information

• Weather predictions for Razor Hone: Salmon Ridge 7-day Forecast– This is the site that I use.  It seems to match up pretty well in my experience…
• Weather predictions for the foot of the Mt. Baker Ski Area (3500 ft, just a bit higher than White Salmon): http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Mount-Baker/6day/bot
• Mt. Baker downhill ski area snow report – published by the downhill ski area
• Northwest Avalanche Center
• Forest Service Facebook page with recent postings about what is happening along the Mt. Baker Highway

Latest news by email? I’ve been getting word from our groomer as he goes out to Salmon Ridge. Do you want to be the first to hear about it? I’m sending out a group email (addresses hidden) whenever I have grooming news that seems worth sharing.  Get the details on this page.

Note: if you do get out there while the groomer is there, please don’t box in his truck/trailer while parking. He needs a lot of space to load up and get out!

BY THE WAY! DON’T PARK SO THAT THE POTTY-PUMPER TRUCK CAN’T GET TO THE POTTIES! [Not that it was anyone who would be reading this page…] – 

Want to peruse the reports from previous years and figure out patterns? Check out our one page, MultiYear_GroomingRecord_SalmonRidgeSnoPark – or read everything here!

 

**Winter Rec Grooming – Statewide Map**

– Washington State Winter Rec is developing a map to show grooming of all snopark trails, both motorized and non-motorized, with all data updated the morning (7 AM?) after the day of grooming. Check it out!

2022-23 Season @ Razor Hone / White Salmon (the Salmon Ridge Snopark)

 

2023-04-03: I skied Razor Hone today out to the end then went up Near Cougar to the bridge. Plenty of coverage with nice user tracks to follow and good conditions. Fewer tracks on Near Cougar but still good conditions. I saw some skate tracks leftover from yesterday, but I think it might be a lot of work to skate right now. I did not get up to White Salmon, but I imagine it would be a very nice snowshoe in these conditions. The porta potties were still in place, and they graded the parking lot while I was there. – Kathy

2023-03-24: Last grooming of the year happened today. White Salmon, Razor Hone, the Cougar Loop, and Anderson! Classic tracks were set over much of it. Predictions call for more snow tonight and tomorrow – this would be a great time to tour the whole Cougar Loop! The base is still pretty thick and the snow should last for quite some time. As it does melt out, consider Anderson for skate skiing – it seems to last a bit longer than Razor Hone. The parking lot and highway were in very good shape today, but it was snowing as I drove back to town, with snow on the road in Maple Falls (I think it’s likely that it will melt quickly.) I believe the potties will remain in place until March 31.  Check back here for updates as we hear about grooming up at the downhill ski area in May for Ski-to-Sea practice. I’ll also continue to post trail reports as they are sent in…  Also, a couple of snowshoers did the Connector Trail today. It’s in play! – Pete

2023-03-21: 39 degrees at Salmon Ridge Noon this Tuesday March 21. Parking lot was plowed the best it’s been plowed in a long time. Parking lot puddles that were much shallower than Saturday’s puddles and the snow and slush were manageable. Salmon Ridge grooming from the 15th is still holding up. The snow surface on Razor Hone was flat with non-existent corduroy and had thawed then refrozen then thawed. By noon there was a thin layer of softer snow on top of a solid base layer. Very good skating until I left at 3:00 PM. The on-again off-again classic tracks were fading because of the rising temps. Far Cougar was more skateable than Saturday morning because of the soft surface. There were two spots on Far Cougar that were starting to melt out. Near Cougar was very skateable all the way up to the bridge even though it lacked any corduroy There was enough grip on that soft upper layer to facilitate snow plows, wedge turns and the occasional stem christie. It had warmed up to just over 40 degrees by 3:00 PM. – Will

2023-03-18: 32 degrees at Salmon Ridge 9:15 AM this Saturday March 18. Parking lot had a number of the usual bottomless-abyss water-filled pot-holes. The lot was, as is so typical, a hummocky piles-O-ice conglomerate that allowed one to slowly but safely drive through. Salmon Ridge grooming from the 15th held up as well as could be expected given the subsequent warming then freezing . An icy Razor Hone was skateable at 9:15 and there were on-again off-again classic tracks that were sometimes fairly decent. Far Cougar was icy and intimidating-looking enough that we didn’t ski up it. Near Cougar eventually warmed up enough that I attempted to go up. Near Cougar had no corduroy and looked like a sheet of ice. But at 12:45 or 1:00 PM it had a very, very shallow soft surface. I expect it would have been decent to ascend after 1:30 or so. It had warmed up to just over 40 degrees by the time we left about 1:15 PM. At that time the skate lane had stretches with a shallow layer of softening snow but still there were still icy stretches. -Will 

2023-03-15: Grooming happened this morning on Razor Hone and Near Cougar, but not on White Salmon. “I skated at SR this morning. Good grooming with tracks set on razor hone only. Near Cougar groomed all the way to the bridge. Looking across the creek to the other side, the turnaround around for the groomer looked untouched. I don’t know if he groomed the rest of far Cougar as I didn’t ski down that way.” – Jim [Note: Also, it looks like Anderson was groomed today. Historically, Anderson seems to have relatively good late-season (into April) skate skiing after Razor Hone melts out. – Pete]

2023-03-08a: I skated down at Salmon Ridge this morning. Near perfect grooming and conditions. Soft dry snow on top of a firm base. Skated up and down near cougar. While I was standing on the bridge enjoying the creek view, the groomer was making his turn around on far cougar. no classic tracks on near cougar but I saw that the groomer was laying in tracks on razorhone on his return trip. – Jim

2023-03-08: Grooming is happening this morning, at White Salmon right now and presumably down at Razor Hone shortly. There is lots of snow to groom! NOTE: I have been asked to not post before grooming has been completed. This time I’m in Oregon right now (nice ski at Mt. Bachelor Nordic yesterday) and about to ‘leave the internet’, so am posting now. If you are out there while the groomer is there, please give him a wide berth and give his truck/trailer plenty of space to maneuver! The weather forecasts suggest a little more snow over the next couple of days. It should be wonderful skiing! Also, we have been in discussion with the snopark people about the parking lot – WSDOT is doing the best it can with a very limited budget. We appreciate what they have done, and be careful out there! – Pete

2023-03-05: No grooming at Salmon Ridge recently and about 6” of fresh snow. Temp at the parking lot was 34 and the snow was a bit heavy and mash potato-y in places. If it had been groomed the conditions would have been amazing because in the places of more consistent user tracks it was an excellent glide. The snow is too heavy and lumpy under-ski for skating, and even snow plowing down the hills was a real challenge, especially on Near Cougar. But it was beautiful out and a good adventure, if not excellent skiing. – Michael

2023-03-02: Beautiful snow. About 3 inches of fresh snow on top of yesterday’s grooming at noon today. More snow is predicted! The parking lot is in good shape, DOT has been keeping the main highway open and I’ve been told the potties will be serviced tomorrow. Hope to see you at Nordic Ambassadors on Saturday! – Pete

2023-03-01a: Jim also reports that classic tracks were set on Razor Hone and that the parking lot has been plowed and is in reasonably good shape.

2023-03-01: Look at the snow! Grooming happened today on fresh snow! It looks great! Grooming happened up Cougar Loop all the way to the bridge on both sides! The picture is taken on the Gerbil Loop – hopefully there are classic tracks set on the main trails. More snow is predicted tonight, tomorrow, tomorrow night, and Friday! and maybe Saturday and Sunday and Monday! Go ski! I don’t believe White Salmon was groomed. Thanks to Jim for the picture and the report. (and please forgive me my exclamation points!)

2023-02-23a: 27 degrees at 3:40 PM at Salmon Ridge and a great day to skate-ski there. Grooming was decent for skating all the way to the end of Razor Hone. The corduroy continued up Far Cougar about 80 % of the way to the Bridge. After that there were spots where one had to take off skis or “portage” and ski somewhat off the edge of the trail. Toward the high point of the trail it would have been necessary to take off the skis to access the corduroy beyond. Near Cougar had corduroy all the way to the point where you can see the bridge. There were a few rocks in the trail shortly after you start up Near Cougar. The sun is setting later these days and since it wasn’t cloudy it was still skiable until 6:00 PM. – Will

2023-02-23: Grooming happened today with classical tracks at Razor Hone, Anderson, and the Silver Fir Campground. White Salmon was not groomed. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. Go ski! And then, more snow is supposed to be coming! Thanks, Magenta, for the report. Note: I just heard that classic tracks were only set a little past the end of Mom’s.  Maybe they go all the way to the washout on Anderson? It might be worth a ski out in that direction.

2023-02-21: Beautiful snow! Terrible parking lot! The report (Thanks, Mary Beth) is that Razor Hone has 6-8″ of fresh snow, beautiful user-created tracks and maybe a bit more snow tonight. Wednesday and Thursday look like nice weather, then maybe some more snow! No grooming yet, but will post here if we see/hear of some. (And the expectation is that once DOT gets the main highway in good shape, they will plow out the parking lot…)

2023-02-18: Snow, but no new grooming. White Salmon looks great! Lots of new snow (picture on left is White Salmon, Feb. 18.) – Dan. A separate report on Cougar: Cougar loop was thin at the top before and after bridge. Good skiing conditions today! – Catherine.

2023-02-17: No new grooming, but some fresh snow. Lynne reports that the temperature was in the 32-34 degree range and the warm, wet snow was sticking to skis. But it sure is nice to have some fresh snow! I’m guessing that White Salmon has quite a bit of snow and user-created tracks. Note that the optimistic predictions suggest significant new snow in the next several days.

2023-02-10a: Razor Hone groomed up to where Mom’s creek crosses. Snow is soft but very skiable with one classic track set. After Mom’s still good for skate skiing though there’s a bald spot at about one mile you have to take your skis off and you can continue past the bridge but we didn’t go all the way to near cougar due to sparse spots. Anderson road has not been groomed but good for skating 3/4 of a mile before you run out of snow, no classic tracks. Compact snow with a few icy spots. – Deb & Mark

2023-02-10: Grooming is happening this morning. NOTE: I have been asked to not post before grooming has been completed. I’m in Alaska right now and about to ‘leave the internet’, so am posting now. If you are out there while the groomer is there, please give him a wide berth and give his truck/trailer plenty of space to maneuver! My reading of the weather forecasts is that White Salmon should be beautiful, but might be getting more snow on top of the grooming. And that Razor Hone and Anderson are going to remain pretty thin. I’ll post again tonight if anyone sends me an on-snow report. – Pete

2023-02-08 – Sorry I didn’t post yesterday. Grooming happened yesterday, Feb. 7. White Salmon was groomed, but got significant snow since then – covering the grooming. Razor Hone and Anderson were groomed, but with only a little bit of snow since then, so the overall cover is still pretty thin. Skiing today was reported as very nice (but thin). Classic tracks were set for the first part of Razor Hone. Weather predictions for tomorrow are problematic. – Pete

2023-02-03: Trails were groomed this morning – and an in-person report: “really good up to the first bridge [Razor Hone] but after that some thin spots and rocks showing so treacherous to come down from near cougar. We also did Anderson on the other side of road – not groomed recently and 1-2 inches of fresh snow on it but quite nice too. Very skiable.” – Deb. White Salmon was also groomed. Warning: Weather predictions do suggest that there is a fair amount of rain in the forecast…

2023-02-02: As of late Thursday afternoon, Razor Hone had passably good classic tracks and was OK but not great for skating if you kept your eye out for rocks. Near Cougar has lots of rocks. Anderson was OK for skating until the weeds/grasses poked through the center of the trail at about three-quarters of a mile in. No classic tracks at Anderson. White Salmon was in reasonable shape for both classic and skating. – Will

2023-01-31: White Salmon received snow since the grooming this morning [Tuesday]. The classic tracks appeared to be in good shape and had been skied in since the snow fell. The skate skiing lane was also in very good shape with a little soft stuff over a great base. Anderson had quality corduroy for the first half mile or more. About seven-tenths of a mile it was still groomed but there were some weeds in the center of the skate lane. You could feel your ski poles sink into the gravel beneath the thin layer of snow. There were no classic tracks set at Anderson. Salmon Ridge was groomed nicely with good classic tracks and skate ski corduroy. The groomer did a great job covering up the section that was bare rock about three-quarters of a mile up the trail. – Will

2023-01-31: Grooming happened this morning at White Salmon and Anderson. I’m assuming that Razor Hone was also done, although I don’t have direct evidence of it. Weather predictions call for a mix of rain, snow, and sunshine. Go figure. Or go ski! – Pete

2023-01-27: Yes, there was still corduroy yesterday on White Salmon, but not today! Fresh snow (and beautiful peek-a-boo views today. (see picture). No report on the lower trails. Thanks, Dan, for the picture.

2023-01-26: 35 degrees +/- 1

degree from Salmon Ridge up to Heather Meadows. No fresh grooming today. I enjoyed skate skiing White Salmon and the classic tracks were in very good shape and look like they’ll hold up. Razor Hone was skiable for three-quarters of a mile today before one must take off their skis to “portage”. And yes, rocks are starting to show through on the first hill on one side but it is still very skiable. Didn’t ski Anderson but viewed from the road it looked skiable. – Will

2023-01-25: Skied down the SE Extension of White Salmon. Snow and grooming in great shape. Reasonably good classic tracks out the main White Salmon, but not down the extension. Fresh corduroy (one day old) all the way down to the overlook of the extension. I stopped and looked at Razor Hone – it wasn’t bad! I was worried, but it had tracks and good skating. I did not ski out the trail – some of the hills might have thin snow cover and the spots where overflow happened are going to be bare gravel. Parking lot was manageable. Main highway was in excellent condition. 34 degrees at noon at White Salmon, 38 degrees at Salmon Ridge. All good enough that we’ll have Nordic Ambassadors this Saturday from 10-2. Maybe see you there! – Pete

2023-01-24a: Anderson not groomed but skatable for 0.6 mile, with a little fresh snow. Razor Hone has classic tracks that are intermittently good and not so good. – Will

2023-01-24: Grooming today at White Salmon, out to the Knob. I’m guessing that there is plenty of snow and pretty nice skiing! The weather prediction shows it to be on the cusp between rain and snow right now, then partly sunny tomorrow. Razor Hone was also groomed – but no promises as to snow quality there. (33 degrees and light rain) I anticipate a ski report later today and will post. – Pete

2023-01-19: Beautiful day. It snowed 6-8″ at White Salmon last night – so nice fluffy white snow, but no groomed corduroy or classic tracks.  Skiers were out though and when I was skiing back, after 7 people had skied in the track, it wasn’t bad. And should only get better. The one guy that was out skating had pretty heavy going though. I stopped and looked at the start of Anderson. 1+ inches of snow – you could see the set tracks under the snow. Nobody had skied it yet. I actually think it would be pretty good. Same for the campground. I didn’t look at Razor Hone, but reports had it that the snow wasn’t enough to cover up the rocks and debris. 34 degrees at Salmon Ridge, 30 degrees at White Salmon at 1:00. – Pete

2023-01-18a:  I skied Razor Hone last night, and it’s holding up surprisingly well — the classic track was well defined, and the skating deck was loose corn up to the first washout, which comes before bridge 1. Beyond the washout gets increasingly thin and dirty, OK for rock skis and boot packing. So, repeats to the first hill are a thing, for both skating and striding. – Hans

2023-01-18: Grooming happened this morning at White Salmon. No on-ski reports, but I’d guess that it’s pretty good! Weather predictions call for a little rain/snow (the snow level is supposed to be 3000 feet, which will hopefully keep it as snow). Then Friday is supposed to be nice!

I don’t think any grooming happened down the hill at Razor Hone – nor do I think there is anything worth grooming right now. Hopefully new snow will be coming. – Pete

2023-01-15a: Thanks to Dan for a snowshoe trip report, posted on the WTA site. He posted a number of pictures of both River Trail and the snow on Razor Hone. Trip report.

2023-01-15: No new grooming, but there is some skiing. Will reports:

Salmon Ridge was 36 degrees at 11:00 AM today. The parking lot was a slightly wet lumpy mass of ice. The first mile of Razor Hone was still holding up despite not being groomed since Wednesday and receiving a bumper-crop of rain. At first, over that mile, the skate lane was too borderline icy for easy skating. Within the span of two hours the skate lane surface improved due to warming temperatures and multiple laps by skate skiers. Those that went beyond the first mile brought back disconsolate tales of the second trail washout and debris on the trail. Razor Hone classic tracks were still in reasonable shape for that first mile.

No reports from White Salmon. That’s where I would go…

2023-01-13: There’s still skiing at Salmon Ridge! Report from Will:

• Salmon Ridge Temp was 37 degrees at 10:00 AM.
• Rain was light to medium from 10 AM to 2 PM when I left.
• The parking lot was still a bumpy ice field with water puddles in abundance
• Wednesday’s Razor Hone grooming held up well for a bit more than the first mile. Skating was still very good on that stretch, a firm base with enough give on the top layer.
• After about 7 minutes of skate-skiing you’ll need to take off your skis and walk across a 12-foot stretch of water trickling over the trail.
• The rain has washed away some of the snow that covered a good bit of debris.
• After a few more minutes you’ll need to take off your skis one more time to cross a 2 ½ foot stretch of trail wash-out.
• Razor Hone classic tracks now alternate between being in good shape to non-existent in some stretches
• Skied up Far Cougar for a few minutes. If you’re prepared for the occasional debris in the trail, it wasn’t too bad. After 3 minutes of climbing the trail looked like it was washing out too much for my liking.
• The first stretch of Near Cougar is now pretty much un-skiable with more rocks are sticking through large patches.
• Skate-skied Anderson which has improved since Wednesday. No longer a rock-hard-ice surface, there is just enough give to make skate skiing good for about seven-tenths of a mile. Unfortunately, Anderson wasn’t groomed since last week but there are still sections of the classic track that would be OK to ski.

 

2023-01-11: Grooming happened today. Both White Salmon and Salmon Ridge. No particular details, but reports suggest that skiing was still pretty good, all things considered. I’d expect that White Salmon is pretty nice! – Pete

2023-01-09: 35 degrees at 3 PM. The parking lot was a bumpy ice field with water puddles throughout. Razor Hone hasn’t been groomed since Jan. 4th; it was icy with just barely enough softness at the surface for a fast & moderately-in-control skate ski all the way to Far Cougar. As the snow is melting out, there is a certain amount of debris building up, but still skiable. The classic tracks are holding up pretty well. Far Cougar doesn’t have as much snow and has not been groomed recently. Near Cougar has rocks poking through in the middle of the trail near the first corner of the uphill. Anderson is really holding up pretty well. It was reasonably good for skate skiing and the classic tracks were in good shape. – Will

2023-01-08: It was raining (or “almost snowing” depending on your attitude) a fair bit, especially in the late morning, but snow coverage was pretty good! Better than New Year’s Eve. Anderson was a bit fast, firm with a little bit of ice on top. Good for skating.
We also did Razor Hone. Snow was still fairly firm, but not as iced over as Anderson. It felt like you could get a better edge. Mom’s loop was just lovely. Not slushy yet. – Sarah

2023-01-05a: “Salmon Ridge had a number of spots that were more icy than the bulk of the trail, but on the whole, very skiable for both classic and skate skiing. The Anderson skating was about as good as skate-skiing gets with a virgin-corduroy soft upper layer grading to very firm about 1 or so inches down. Great classic tracks at Anderson yielded excellent skiing.” – Will

2023-01-05: Skied out to the Knob on White Salmon around noon today. Very nice classical tracks were set yesterday. Plenty of snow – well groomed, but warm enough that the snow is sort of soft. It was a great ski! SE Extension was groomed for skating, but not tracked. I checked Anderson and the Campground on my way by. Nice classical tracks there too. White Salmon parking was plowed out by the groomer and the big Salmon Ridge lot was in good shape. Weather predictions look a little warm and wet… – Pete

2023-01-04: Grooming happened this morning, including White Salmon! The Pisten Bully made it out to the Knob and out Razor Hone to the end. Maybe not Anderson, the Campground, or Cougar Loop. Interpret the weather predictions as you see fit, but there were two inches of fresh snow yesterday before the grooming and it’s not too warm out there now – should be nice skiing! And the rain predicted for tomorrow is “mainly after 4pm”. Report from GPS data from the groomer, not from personal observation… – Pete

2023-01-03: “Salmon Ridge temperature was 32 degrees when I arrived at 3 PM today. The parking lot was mostly iced over with that new snow on top. The icy base from last week’s grooming had another couple inches of rather dry snow on top. No grooming at Salmon Ridge or Anderson but the classic track was holding up very well at Salmon Ridge. The new snow was well ground into the icy base in the track so it was fast whenever I jumped in the track on my skate skis. The skating at Razor Hone was passable. Skate skiing was better at Anderson where I appeared to be the only one who skied Anderson since the 2 inches of new snow fell. Anderson has a classic track with 2 inches of snow in it. They will be great tracks as soon as they are skied in. The moon was lighting up the trail enough to ski a good bit after sunset. – Will

2023-01-01a: Happy New Year and Happy Crust Cruising! Folks were both Classic and Skating on the crust today which started to soften at 2 PM. I stayed were it was flat and cruised along the crust in my XC BC non metal edged fish scale touring skis with skate ski poles and skate ski boots – used a little bit of everything a Smorgasbord of classic, double poling and skate technique. It was fun!
Forget those icy hills when you can just cruise along the flats.
When trails get groomed skiing should be SWEET for Classic and skating until it freezes again. A little Off trail crust cruising was a possibility early today … – Mary Beth

2023-01-01: “Happy New Year!!! Went for a x-country ski jaunt today and wanted to let you know that Salmon Ridge is groomed [several days ago – I think on 12/29 – pete] but icy…. Anderson creek has a hint of grooming – but icy. Looks like a skate skier has been there recently. Parking lot was decent. Many folks were braving the icy conditions and were skiing and snowshoeing on a sunny first day of the new year.” – Jane 

2022-12-31: “I was out at Salmon Ridge this afternoon. Until I got within about 5 miles of the snow park, it looked like there would be no snow. When we arrived at Salmon Ridge, there was plenty of snow with a good classic track. No grooming on Mom’s which was covered with snowshoe tracks. So, don’t be discouraged by the lack of snow driving in. You will be able to have a good classic ski on New Year’s Day.” – Mark

2022-12-29: Grooming today on Razor Hone, Looks pretty nice, complete with classic tracks. Mary Beth posted a nice video on the club’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nooksacknordicskiclub/videos/702745151248610 . thanks! No reports on Anderson, the campground or White Salmon. Sorry for posting it late – I got side-tracked with grandkid visiting in Seattle. – Pete

2022-12-28a: I skied Razor Hone and Cougar Loop today. Good skating, light corn snow over consolidated base. There are a couple rain washouts requiring skis off between the bridges. Far cougar is very thin with multiple washouts and lots of debris toward the top. From Bagley Creek back down Near Cougar had good coverage, fast but easy to scrub speed. A couple of thin spots with rock/gravel hazards. Classic tracks are thin at best. Recommend avoiding far Cougar between Razor Hone and Salamander Trail until there is fresh coverage. – Hans

2022-12-28: There is still snow up at Razor Hone, although it’s a little mushy. DOT drained the pond at the entry to the parking lot, so no problems there. – Pete

2022-12-27: It was great skate skiing at both Razor Hone and Anderson, as well as a fair chunk of Far Cougar and Near Cougar. It was 36 degrees and rainy when I arrived at 10:15 AM. Huge puddle for 10 yards as you start to drive in stay to the right as much as possible. Depart on that side too, I discovered it was much deeper on the other side as I exited. Trail washed out in a few places but I’ll take a day like today anytime over the icy conditions we skied on a few times this season. You’ll need to ignore a bit of tree debris on the trail if it doesn’t snow tonight and you decide to go up tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. Far Cougar somewhat before the high points was washed out and I decided to take of my skis and “portage”. There were a few places where rocks poked through on near Cougar but I was able to ski almost all the way to the bridge before the tree debris got to be too much. The rain decreased to a trickle at 12:00 PM. When I left at 1:30 PM the rain had stopped completely. Several creeks were raging at Razor Hone and a couple were raging at Anderson. There were no trees down over any of the trails.

And yes, a raincoat was an absolute necessity today. Also, dry clothes to change into immediately after skiing. – Will

2022-12-26: A lot to report. Before you read this and dash out to Salmon Ridge for a beautiful ski, do check the weather and go prepared for a variety of conditions. Rainy weather is predicted and then snow. But I had a great ski today. White Salmon, 12:00. 37 degrees. No grooming, but nice snow. Consolidated on top of old grooming, I think it would make a very pleasant ski tour. With several people skiing, you’d make a nice set of tracks. You won’t sink too deep. But I just looked, I didn’t put my skis on. Razor Hone / Cougar Loop. 12:00-2:00. 37 degrees. Not raining! I think Razor Hone was groomed 3 days ago (Dec 23), but it still looked fresh. There were shallow classical tracks for the first 1/2 mile, but they might have been left from the previous grooming. They sort of disappeared after that. I skied with my skinny classical fishscale skis and they worked pretty well. Good kick and glide, but better tracks would have been nice. Skating conditions were actually very good – without exaggerating too much, the word ‘excellent’ might almost creep in. I got out to Far Cougar – I think it was last groomed 2 days earlier, Dec. 21, but it was still in good shape. I trudged up it on fishscales, with a bit of herringbone. The animals could skate up it. But the big news is that the hill down to the bridge on the Far Cougar side was groomed! This is the first time in years that it was done. Thanks both to the contractors who improved the trail and the groomer for going down. I admit that I side-stepped a bit of it, but it was easy with the wide grooming and much of it could be skied. Then back on Near Cougar – which was fast, but reasonable. Snowplow – but no side-stepping.

Anderson – I just skated out around a couple of bends. Very good condition for skating, but no classical tracks. We’ll ask the groomer again to put them in.

Campground – groomed, no classical tracks. I did not ski into it.

Predictions: I really couldn’t say. There is plenty of snow. I don’t think it will disappear. (There are a few places where running water has melted it out, but all manageable.) There is lots of rain predicted. I think the snow will absorb the rain and still be passable skiing – though maybe not as nice as today. Bring layers, including a raincoat. They are currently predicting snow on Wednesday and Thursday.

Parking lot – cleared down to ice. Very slippery. The pool at the entrance takes both AWD and faith that it’s not too deep (it isn’t). As I left, DOT was trying to do something about it with a pickup truck. Hopefully they will attack it with something heavier. There is parking on the other side of the road. You might park there and ski Anderson!

The River Trail – is probably under water from the stream going through it. I didn’t go down it, but it’s pretty clear that it’s flooded at the moment.

2022-12-21 a: The groomers truck and trailer were in the Salmon Ridge parking lot at 10am this morning when I drove by. I did a ski tour up at White Salmon. Excellent deep dry powder! No sign of grooming when I left at 2:30pm [at White Salmon] – Jim.

The weather looks pretty good for tomorrow (Thursday) – (high of 19) : then snow on Friday and ‘heavy rain’ on Saturday. Sounds like tomorrow is the time to go! – Pete

2022-12-21: Happy Solstice! Happy 12″ of snow in my driveway in Bellingham! Everything below this entry on this page is obsolete. We’ve had quite the snowstorm. But I have no news of grooming. This will be where I put it when I get it. 🙂 Meanwhile, enjoy the snow. (And if you find trees down across a trail, please let me know.) – Pete

2022-12-18: (about 2 pm) About 6″ of new, very light (temp 20 degrees) snow at Salmon Ridge. All grooming has been buried but there’s a nice base beneath the fluff and a variety of user tracks, both ski and snowshoe. It was quite enjoyable and beautiful. Didn’t do the Cougar Loop, but I ran into some friends who did it counter-clockwise and they said it was pretty nice and skiable. SR 542 was partially snow covered and speeds were not much above 40mph from Deming on. A small part of the parking lot had been plowed by mid-afternoon. – Michael

2022-12-17: Still pretty nice skiing today. Trail was ‘hard’ but not icy. (And it was starting to snow when I left at 2:30) Classical tracks on Razor Hone had been skied in and were actually pretty good (shallow, but skiable.) Near Cougar was groomed (two days ago) all the way to the bridge, but no classical tracks. Pretty fast coming down the hill. Huckleberry is in great shape for snowshoeing, all the way to the bridge (one log down in the upper section, but it’s easy to go around. – Pete

2022-12-16: They did groom yesterday and today was pretty good skiing! Razor Hone had classic tracks set (not really deep, but as good as conditions allowed.) The snow is damp, PNW snow that makes for a fairly hard trail, but it wasn’t what I would call icy. Near Salmon was groomed and forgiving conditions for skiing downhill. My guess is that it will remain relatively nice through tomorrow, then depending on how much it snows, the grooming might disappear later on Sunday, but it should be a good base, regardless. – Pete

2022-12-15: The word on the street is that the groomer was observed being unloaded at White Salmon today. (Thanks, Marcy.) Presumably that means that Razor Hone was also done. If I were looking for a ski tomorrow, I’d go up to White Salmon, early enough to get one of the *limited* parking spots. (Remember, if there is enough room, we are suggesting that you back up and park diagonally, so that you have a clear route to exit after your ski – and that we can fit in as many cars as possible. Or you could ski out Razor Hone and snowshoe up the Huckleberry Trail. – Pete

2022-12-12: Grooming report. The groomer did make it out yesterday (Sunday, Dec. 11). Razor Hone and parts (not sure which parts) of Cougar were groomed with a shallow set of classical tracks on Razor Hone. Conditions were ‘fast’ (or as translated by a skier in the parking lot – ‘you mean icy’) (at 11:00 AM). Anderson was groomed, presumably as far as the washout. Smooth for skating, but no classical tracks. Given the weather predictions for the week, I’m guessing that it’s going to stay hard and fast most of the day, possibly softening up a bit in the afternoon. White Salmon was not groomed – It was reported to have ‘lots more snow. Snowshoe tracks down middle of road. Could blaze ski tracks on the side. Snow is crusty.’ Potties were put in place this morning. (On the base which was installed an hour earlier.) The parking lot was being scraped with a front-end loader as we left. The highway was clear – though it looked slippery to me. I drove pretty carefully. If you are out there later this week and see fresh grooming, let me know and I’ll post here. – Pete

2022-12-11: Grooming happened this morning, both Razor Hone and Anderson. Not sure of the details. – Pete

2022-12-10: Skied late this afternoon. No potties, lot unplowed, no grooming. Wet and crusty, skating not possible. Tracks broken in, pretty good for moderate striding. You’ll want big powder baskets on your poles, and maybe some bushwhacking for extra work. – Hans. / Potential grooming: If I were to speculate from previous years, I would guess that there will be no grooming Sunday, but likely fresh tracks on Monday or Tuesday. Will post a report Monday afternoon. – Pete

2022-12-7: Magenta confirmed that White Salmon was groomed at the same time as Salmon Ridge.

2022-12-6: Grooming! Snow! Wonderful! What a great day out there! You might have seen reports of nice snow. The groomer has been out – beautiful, smooth corduroy. No classical tracks – the snow is too shallow to put in tracks at this point, but it makes a great base. Do watch out for a few exposed rocks – the first hill past Mom’s has a couple of partially hidden ones.

Significant amounts of snow are predicted for the rest of the week. Hopefully we’ll see tracks soon. The snow wasn’t wet – extra blue on classical skis would have been perfect.

Groomed:

• Razor Hone – to the end
• Near Cougar – to the high point (and it was ‘perfect’ to ski down! Now is the time to ski it.)
• Anderson – thanks to the groomer (Sean) for widening the slot through the one set of recently downed trees. He got the groomer through. We didn’t go past that, but I’m guessing it’s groomed to the washout. If you ski it and find out, please let me know.
• Mom’s – fragment from the Cross-over to the Gerbil Loop and at least part of the Gerbil Loop. (Skaters should try this out. It’s a fun little curvy ski.)
• White Salmon – not sure how far, or if the SE Extension was groomed or not.

Not groomed:

• Far Cougar, Near Cougar from high point down to bridge. But the dirt work that was done on the Far Couger hill down to the bridge definitely makes it a little easier to ski. And you can always walk and/or side-step. 🙂 I still recommend skiing the Cougar Loop clockwise. Coming down Near Cougar is a blast.
• Most of Mom’s
• Silver Fir Campground

The state and groomers are switching to new hardware for the gps system and it is not yet live. So neither the Winter Rec Grooming Map listed at the top of this page nor my connection to the live grooming is functioning. That means if you see fresh grooming that hasn’t been reported here, please send me a message. – Pete

2022-12-6: More on potties. No potties today, but it is reported that a contract has been written and they will be up there shortly. – Pete

2022-12-5: There have been questions about the lack of potties at the Salmon Ridge parking lot. The potties are paid for through the state snopark program (and your snopark passes) and through a contract administered by the program. No company (including the one that did it last year) submitted a bid to maintain the potties this year. The state is looking for one who might do it. In the meantime, many stop at the Glacier Ranger Station on the drive up (Thanks, Forest Service!) and I believe the outhouse in the Hannegan Pass Road trailhead is open, although I have not confirmed that. – Pete

2022-12-3/5: I’ve been out for a few hours at a time at each of Salmon Ridge, White Salmon, and Heather Meadows/Artist Point during the past week, so here are quick impressions:

Skiing at valley bottom out of the SnoPark is still pretty good once you out-distance the walkers and snowshoers; the temperature inversion has kept temps quite cool, and surface snow remains fluffy and cold with a supportive–but shallow–base. Old school waxable skis should serve very well for as long as the inversion lasts. 

I skied early last week down to The Knob at White Salmon, right before another foot of dry snowfall. [Parking: freshly plowed for 6-10 cars, on 12/5. ] I lost a phone somewhere between my low point and the parking lot, so if anyone turns up an iPhone SE there’ll be a reward in universal currency (i.e., beer) available at (360) 223-0132. My phone should be buried about a foot deep right along the main trail, but its “Find My Phone” signal has gone dead.

The Heather Meadows area has been remarkably well-used, with giant superhighways of trodden snow in all directions. A couple of days ago, light crusts were forming where sun-exposed, with a solid foot of consolidated powder over an excellent base elsewhere–excellent skiing on tele or AT gear, somewhat awkward for skinny skis. Surface hoar was forming throughout, and this may have avalanche implications once new snow arrives. Ski area parking over the weekend was full, suggesting a choice of very early arrival or waiting until mid-afternoon (the latter being my personal preference). – Mark

2022-12-4: We skied this morning, and there was about 12″ of snow (measured by pushing my pole until it hit the gravel on the road) on the trail by the river. The snow was light and fluffy, without any crust and minimal consolidation from the weather. There was at least one and usually two decent tracks laid down from other skiers. Downed tree where cougar loop downhill trail meets with the river trail, but about 2-3′ of a gap available to ski through. There were about 20 cars at the trailhead when we left about 11:30am. Parking lot was plowed with a shallow packed snow surface. – Mike

2022-11-30: No Grooming. I skied around River Trail and back on Mom’s. Beautiful! 12″ of snow. Logs and brush have been cleared from River Trail enough that touring skis work well on it. The parking lot was plowed and Mt. Baker Highway was in great shape (which can change momentarily…) – Pete

2022-11-29: Magenta (with the Forest Service) sent out a report of what she found today. “Razorhone Road #3070 has about 6” of snow. Suitable for XC skiing. The parking lot was not plowed and grooming has not started. Anderson Creek Road #3071 patchy snow. Gated and closed at mile 0.1 due to a washout. White Salmon Road #3075 has over a foot of snow starting at the junction with SR 542. Parking at the junction is very limited. Parking along the highway prohibited.” Thanks, Magenta, for the report! (And the pictures!)

2022-11-22: People have been out skiing, but there’s not much snow there! I’d recommend going on up the hill to Heather Meadows and poking around out past the parking lot. But you are in the right place to check for news about the Salmon Ridge snopark!

 

 

Conditions at other ski areas:

• Cypress Mountain, BC
• Whistler Olympic Park, BC
• Ski Callaghan, BC
• Manning Park Resort, BC
• Methow Valley Sport Trails Association, WA