Hey Guys, currently a junior in high school and narrowing down my college search for the year after next. I've really honed in on the university of Washington Seattle and the university of Oregon, Eugene. As a big skier one of the factors coming in to play is ski opporatunities. I know Seattle is relatively close to Baker and Stevens pass and Eugene is somewhat near Hood, If anybody from that area has any input or other resort ideas please let me know.
May 8 2016 11:46PM
.lenconHonestly neither of those colleges are "great" for skiing. U of U, MSU, Westminster, UNR, SNC, and WSCU are much better for skiing.
UW is a fantastic college for skiing. Less than an hour to Snoqualmie, which has cheapish passes, night skiing, great terrain, and occasionally a solid park. Also great backcountry opportunities. Hour and a halfish to Stevens, which always has a great park and also some decent sidecountry access. 2 and a half to Baker, which is Baker. Not to mention Crystal, which is solid and maybe 2 hours away. Don't have to deal with unstable continental snowpack, can usually lift access ski into late April if not May. Easy road trips to Whistler, Hood, and Bachelor. Having done maybe 30 days in Utah, I would say I prefer skiing out here.
May 9 2016 12:06AM
byuboundUW is a fantastic college for skiing. Less than an hour to Snoqualmie, which has cheapish passes, night skiing, great terrain, and occasionally a solid park. Also great backcountry opportunities. Hour and a halfish to Stevens, which always has a great park and also some decent sidecountry access. 2 and a half to Baker, which is Baker. Not to mention Crystal, which is solid and maybe 2 hours away. Don't have to deal with unstable continental snowpack, can usually lift access ski into late April if not May. Easy road trips to Whistler, Hood, and Bachelor. Having done maybe 30 days in Utah, I would say I prefer skiing out here.
Yeah I guess UW isn't bad. And yeah I guess there's a lot of places if you want to travel a ways, but I wouldn't.
May 9 2016 12:07AM
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May 9 2016 1:13PM
tac0.slayerI would look into Western Washington, only 45 min or so to Mt Baker. Plus Bellingham is honestly one of the coolest towns, and great mountainbiking if your into that.
.lenconIt actually like 1.5 hours at least. If there's lots of traffic it could be closer to 2 hours.
Bellingham is so great. But yeah, the drive to Baker gets super long after you've done it several times.
May 9 2016 1:34PM
From Eugene it is about 1 hour to Willamette Pass (66 miles) or about 1.5 hours to Hoodoo(86 miles), weather will add to that time. Both those ski areas are dope but are just at pass level so the season is really affected if we don't have a good snow year. When the snow is good Hoodoo and Willamette Pass have some of the best terrain around.
It can take 3 hours to get to Hood or Bachelor (less if you hit the traffic and weather right) There are buses from Eugene that go the Hood and Bachelor as well as to the closer areas.
May 9 2016 1:43PM
.lenconYeah I guess UW isn't bad. And yeah I guess there's a lot of places if you want to travel a ways, but I wouldn't.
having the ability to ski after class or before class is amazing. you cant really get that in the PNW....you can if you drive like a maniac all day but iv gotten VERY tired of 3+ hours in a car for skiing. the PNW offers things places like utah/montana cant. like access to an OCEAN. which is pretty neat if you surf/kayak/are a stoner who likes watching sunsets with ya bros.
May 9 2016 3:18PM
Bakerpowhaving the ability to ski after class or before class is amazing. you cant really get that in the PNW....you can if you drive like a maniac all day but iv gotten VERY tired of 3+ hours in a car for skiing. the PNW offers things places like utah/montana cant. like access to an OCEAN. which is pretty neat if you surf/kayak/are a stoner who likes watching sunsets with ya bros.
Oh for sure. Bellingham is sick no doubt. I actually considered WWU heavily but just couldn't do that for skiing. I've lived 20 minutes away from my ski hill my whole life an adding a hour to that for my skiing commute would not work for me haha.
I chose UNR cause I do like to ski and i can kayak, SUP, and maybe even surf behind a boat at Lake Tahoe. And if I do want to go to the ocean it's like a 2-3 hour drive to some beaches.
OP if you do want to stay in PNW I'd go UW, WWU, or PSU.
May 9 2016 4:20PM
May 9 2016 4:24PM
Bakerpowhaving the ability to ski after class or before class is amazing. you cant really get that in the PNW....you can if you drive like a maniac all day but iv gotten VERY tired of 3+ hours in a car for skiing. the PNW offers things places like utah/montana cant. like access to an OCEAN. which is pretty neat if you surf/kayak/are a stoner who likes watching sunsets with ya bros.
Idk, I work a deal job in Kirkland and ski for 3 hours in the morning every pow day, and am back at my desk, showered and sending emails by 1.
Ill also usually ski at least 1 day after work up at snoqualmie- it's about a 1.75-2 hr Rd trip, dealing with rush hr on the way there.
Maybe I'm biased after living in the bay area previously, but world class skiing 45 mins from my front door doesn't suck haha.
Also, the biggest benefit of Seattle is that you have a world class city, and culture. You just aren't going to get that in SLC or Montana.
May 9 2016 5:09PM
AmateurPilgrimHey Guys, currently a junior in high school and narrowing down my college search for the year after next. I've really honed in on the university of Washington Seattle and the university of Oregon, Eugene. As a big skier one of the factors coming in to play is ski opporatunities. I know Seattle is relatively close to Baker and Stevens pass and Eugene is somewhat near Hood, If anybody from that area has any input or other resort ideas please let me know.
So I just read your profile and IDK what I just read or why I read it to the end. If you do architecture at UO they have a program in Portland and Eugene so you might end up in either place. UO is a top undergrad program for Architecture.
If you are still looking into your options I also suggest checking out some private colleges here in Oregon. We have a bunch of top small colleges here in Oregon and for an out of stater (or even for a local) the out of pocket cost is often less than UO because of scholarships.
Linfield, Lewis and Clark, Reed, Willamette U. are a couple to look into.