Colin Meagher
Crystal Mountain opened in 1962 and first came to national attention in 1965 when it hosted the National Alpine Championships.

David Stoecklein
The Whistler-Blackcomb resort is located about 75 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Gene Glasunow
Snowshoers meet outside Snowbowl Hut near Mount Rainier National Park.

Northwest ski resorts offer variety of services, adventures

Everything depends on when the snow begins to fall, where it falls and how much falls.

But one thing is certain. When the snow does fall, skiers will find it.

Most of those will be the traditional downhill skiers that keep the chairlifts full. But the number of snowboarders continues to grow. And, perhaps less visible, a slowly growing number of people are heading down the untracked powder on the back side of the mountain for some telemark skiing.

As the equipment improves, more downhill skiers are turning to telemark, said Russ Gilsdorf of The Alpine Experience in Olympia. Telemark is a style of Nordic, backcountry skiing in which the skier turns by advancing the outside ski and turning it inward.

While some skiers might mount telemark bindings on downhill skis, that's not necessary. New skis that resemble alpine skis are designed for telemark skiing on ungroomed backcountry slopes.

And many people who telemark still spend most of their time on groomed slopes, Gilsdorf said.

Some good telemark areas in Western Washington include the Muir Snowfield -- also increasingly popular with serious snowboarders -- the Hogsback, behind White Pass ski area and at Hurricane Ridge, he said.

Though snowshoeing is growing in popularity, it hasn't taken off as some expected, said Hugh Ewing of Olympic Outfitters. But Ewing expects to see a growth in snowshoeing among snowboarders as a way to get into some of the great backcountry more traditionally the domain of telemark skiers.

With the snowboard strapped to their backs, some boarders will head up the hills on snowshoes. When they get to the top they will switch -- packing the snowshoes as they ride the boards back down.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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