One of the great things about living in the Seattle area is the abundance of outdoor activities. From hiking and biking to floating a river in the summertime this area never disappoints, and Winter is no exception! In about 45 minutes to an hour, you can easily be downhill or cross country skiing at the Snoqualmie Pass area. Don’t get me wrong, downhill is one of my favorite things to do, but in the past few years, it has been getting more and more expensive (check back soon as I’ll have a post on budget skiing or how to save some money while skiing). Also on the topic of Downhill or Cross country, if you Cross Country ski there is no doubt in my mind you will be a better downhill skier, you’ll be stronger, faster, better balanced, and have better stamina… leading to better runs and more of them.
Cross Country Skiing compared to Downhill on the other hand is infinitely less expensive in comparison. Here’s a good example of the costs: On Craigslist I bought 2 pairs of Cross Country Ski’s, 2 pairs of Poles, and 2 pairs of boots for $75.00… Let me say that again…
2 COMPLETE SET UPS TO HIT THE TRAILS FOR $75!
Doing that for Downhill Skiing is (at least in my world) completely unheard of! You might be saying to yourself, okay sure, this guy came across a once in a lifetime deal and just lucked out… quite the contrary my friend! I have looked for other friends and found very similar deals all over the state of Washington, and I’m reasonably sure if you live anywhere near cross country skiing you can also find killer deals to get started on craigslist.
So back to the whole cost thing, downhill skiing as I mentioned is expensive, and that’s even when you have the gear… Right now Snoqualmie is charging $67-$96 for a single day, Crystal Mountain is charging $109-$149, and Stevens Pass is charging $79-$119! Damn, that’s a lot in my book, and that doesn’t even get into prices at places like Whistler Blackcomb… So you might be thinking with downhill prices so high, cross country has to be pretty spendy too, ahhh again we find out it’s much much less… A day trail pass at Snoqualmie is… $35 or about half of what you would spend to downhill, and even better if you go to a Washington State SnoPark, it’s $20 dollars for the day to park. That’s right friends $20 to park! So what do you pay for the trail pass? Here’s the beauty $0, it’s free to use the trails, they only charge for the parking…
So the first time we went out to a state SnoPark, we had spent $35 each on gear plus $10 each on parking, if we carpooled we could have spent $5 or less!!! I’ve been using the same gear for about 3 years now making the cost of my gear less than $12 per year! On top of that I liked it so much the first time I went that I bought a Groomed Trail Parking Pass for $80, we used to at least 8 times, dropping our price to only $5 per person per trip!
You might be thinking, damn Sandwich I’m sold… Now how do I get out there and do this!?!?
First off you can watch some youtube video’s (I’m not gonna link any since I’m pretty sure searching beginner Cross Country Skiing would get you more results than you could ever watch). Or perhaps you can take a lesson (Snoqualmie Summit offers them, along with many other places)… or even better find a friend to take you, odds are they have a pass, and odds are they can show you how to get functional in 10 minutes or so, maybe 30 if you’ve never seen snow… You also might be thinking, what if I don’t like it, now I’m out the cash for the gear… Well you could always re-sell it… or if you wanted to you could rent through REI for $22-$33 (depending if your a member or not)
Second… GO! Now I know that might seem crazy, but honestly, You’re gonna be Okay, You’ve got some gear, you watched a couple of videos or something and you’re ready to go… the question is where? Answer: As I mentioned before Washington State has tons of SnoParks, all are a little different from each other and have different things going for them. For example, Hyak is arguably the closest to Seattle, it great for beginners, has a nice lot and nice facilities… Maybe the Parking Lot is full (that’s been the case this Covid year)… keep driving, the very next exit is a great place called Crystal Springs… Maybe you don’t like snowmobiles… Keep driving, again THE VERY NEXT EXIT is another SnoPark called Cabin Creek, this one is also good for beginners, has some more advanced trails, and also has some expertish level trails…
Bottom Line… Get the hell out there and get skiing, it’s Awesome!
Below you can find a map with a lot of the places you can cross country in Washington, most are shockingly close to Seattle. If you’ve fallen in love (or hate) drop me a line a let me know what you think of the sport!