White Pass Nordic Center — Wednesday, Mar. 12, 2025

We visited the White Pass Nordic center for the first time this week. It is only groomed on weekends, so we did not need to pay to use the trails on a Wednesday. A few inches of fresh snow had fallen since the last grooming, but the trail conditions were good for our classic skiing style. Before lunch, we explored the North Loop, which climbs to a nice viewpoint over Leech Lake and the alpine ski area across the highway. On the way back down we took a shortcut on the ungroomed Pacific Crest Trail. I would only recommend taking the shortcut if there is plenty of snow cover and you have some off-trail skills. After lunch we headed out to "The Hill" which is the only black diamond route in the nordic area. They were not lying; it is a long, very steep, and winding hill. After that we took the easy Dog Lake Loop to round out the day. Skiing in the open, mature forests was delightful, and the varied terrain made for interesting routes.