Seattle Mags...Need beta!!

Ok, here is the situation.

I've been accepted for a 3 month training program over at Microsoft in Redmond (Apr 18th - Jul). I'm asking my company if they will allow me to drive out from Denver, allowing me to bring my bike, skis, BC gear, hiking crap, etc.

I see your finally getting some snow up in the PNW (solid!, you guys have waited long enough). How far are the resorts from Redmond? I see on Bakers site that it's roughly 2 1/2 hrs from Seattle, what about Crystal? Stevens? Snoqualmie? Whistler?

What else is there to do around Redmond? I'm definitely bringing the mountain bike. Any good rides within the area for afterwork / weekends (thinking of the part from late May onward) What about BC opportunities? How long does the season typically last? (Definitely have to hook up with some PNW mags for some tours, local knowledge, etc).

Pretty stoked about this. It should be an excellent opportunity for me professionally, and also allow me to check out the Seattle area. Any beta would be extremely appreciated!

Try sending a PM to Dr Crash. He works for Microsoft and lives in Redmond. Have a safe and fun drive!

Let's just get one thing straight. You're not actually going to go to any of training classes, right?

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Originally Posted by Son1cdeth

Ok, here is the situation.

I've been accepted for a 3 month training program over at Microsoft in Redmond (Apr 18th - Jul). I'm asking my company if they will allow me to drive out from Denver, allowing me to bring my bike, skis, BC gear, hiking crap, etc.

I see your finally getting some snow up in the PNW (solid!, you guys have waited long enough). How far are the resorts from Redmond? I see on Bakers site that it's roughly 2 1/2 hrs from Seattle, what about Crystal? Stevens? Snoqualmie? Whistler?

What else is there to do around Redmond? I'm definitely bringing the mountain bike. Any good rides within the area for afterwork / weekends (thinking of the part from late May onward) What about BC opportunities? How long does the season typically last? (Definitely have to hook up with some PNW mags for some tours, local knowledge, etc).

Pretty stoked about this. It should be an excellent opportunity for me professionally, and also allow me to check out the Seattle area. Any beta would be extremely appreciated!

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I don't ski resorts, but from Seattle,
Baker is 2.5-3 hours
Stevens is 1.5
Crystal is 2.5ish
Alpental is 50 minutes

Backcountry? Are you kidding? I've been skiing the past 17 months without really trying. The volcanos are sick. If you're willing to work for it, the backcountry possibilities are endless.

Dunno about biking. Good climbing around here, too.

Son1c,

Yer gonna love it out here.

Yah, Baker is your best bet right now for snow. A 2.5 hr drive is correct. next closest would be Snoqualmie/ Alpental (not open), Stevens Pass (currently not open) and furthest away would be Crystal mountain (only about an hour and change and my personal favorite)

Hiking and Biking are going to be off the proverbial chain in the springtime.

Redmond is close to Lake Samammish (personal Wakeboarding stomping grounds) as well as Lake Washington (which I currently live on)

Hope you enjoy it, and shit mang, excellent work on the Microsoft hookup. Those are great contract jobs.

Not from Washington, but I visit every year to climb Mt. Rainier. As far as BC opportunities go, you can climb up to camp muir and ski down the 5,600 ft of vertical. Below camp muir you don't need to worry about crevase danger.

We start weekly Tiger Mountain after work rides as soon as the Sun stays out long enough (probably mid-May). Tons of options for both cross-country and north shore type riding (Tiger is more like the riding found up in Vail or Winter Park)- easy 25-30 minute drive after work, followed by microbrews in Issaquah afterwards.

Carpooling is easy to the mountains, especially on weekends. Whistler and Hood are within reach for late season- and you've also got the Volcanoes for year round stuff.

I went to school in Boulder- and I'd say Seattle is very similar to Denver (except on the water). The rivers kick ass too, so if you are into whitewater kayaking- good stuff and lots of options, too. And the classes usually start up in April/May if you are looking to get into it (I did this last year- it was a blast).

So come' on up and join us! (provided you bring more snow)
We've got a great crew of maggots up here.

[QUOTE=Son1cdeth]... in Redmond (Apr 18th - Jul). ...

...How far are the resorts from Redmond? I see on Bakers site that it's roughly 2 1/2 hrs from Seattle, what about Crystal? Stevens? Snoqualmie? Whistler?

What else is there to do around Redmond? I'm definitely bringing the mountain bike. Any good rides within the area for afterwork / weekends (thinking of the part from late May onward) What about BC opportunities? How long does the season typically last? ...
QUOTE]

Congrats on the Redmond gig.

From Redmond downtown,
Snoqualmie Summit's just over an hour
Stevens is 1.5 to 2 hours
Crystal is about 2 to 2.5
Baker is more like 3 to 3.5
Whistler is a passport and 4-5

This is a rotten winter for snowfall though, so our season for lift served is week to week. Most years, lift-served runs into late April or May and even June sometimes but not this winter. BC and touring is very accessable.

For Mt Biking, see here: http://www.bbtc.org/home/index.php
They have descriptions of trails under "Recreation" - "Trails"

Here's a book on area bike trails that I like:
TITLE: Kissing the Trail , Author: John Zilly
Around 40 rides close in that'll get you started.

Thanks for the info guys. Mucho appreciated. I'll try to bring as much of the white stuff with me :biggrin: Will definitely have to hook up with the mags once I get settled in...

Mtn junkie. Nope, it's a intense 3 month training session that my company and MS developed together.

Redmond is a suburban wasteland of strip malls, aggressive techoweenie drivers and fast crude snaqmarts. Kirkland has a much better scene for eating, drinking and jigglewatching.

As far as the BC action, typically, it rools into August. Unfortunately, this has not been a typical year. That being said, I'm pretty sure that the usual circuit will be available: Chinook Pass when it opens, followed by Dege Peak (Sunrise side of Rainier) for a couple of weeks after the road opens. After Dege is done, there's some easy access to be had off Sunrise, but the best action is up on the Inter Glacier, also on the Sunrise side, but up out of Whiter River Campground. Sunrise access road is a few miles past Crystal on SR410.

Hiking to alpine lakes is great out of Snoqualmie, Stevens, Mountain Loop, North Cascades and Nooksak, not to mention Rainier, Adams or Goat Rocks. There's tons of mtn biking around Seattle too. You should get up to Stehekin, Ross Lake and do a tour of the San Juan Islands to complete the picture.

The west side of Washington offers just about every type of biking you could want. There are local MTB playgrounds like St. Ed's State Park in Kirkland, Tapeworm in Renton, or Tolt-McDonald in Carnation which offer quick, fun weekday after-work rides.

Tiger mountain is a 20-30 min drive out on I-90 and offers real distance, real climbing, and real downhill. Once we switch to DST here in a week or so that becomes a viable after work ride provided you get on the trail by 4:30 or so.

Areas that are local to other cities like Galbraith Mt. in Bellingham and the hills outside of Anacortes are interesting enough to warrant weekend daytrips, and there is a ton of out-there day trip rides like Devil's Gulch/Mission Ridge, and all the stuff south around St. Helens and getting into the Olympic Peninsula. Then there is the stuff up in Canada... the Shore and Whistler.

I agree w/ Buster that Kirkland (just down the road from downtown Redmond proper, on Lake Washington) offers a better selection of restraunts and drinking establishments, although there are a few good places in Redmond.

For riding stuff, check out the bike forum here, there are a few ride reports w/ pics that Sq99 posted of Tiger, the shore, and Whistler

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Originally Posted by Son1cdeth

Ok, here is the situation.

I've been accepted for a 3 month training program over at Microsoft in Redmond (Apr 18th - Jul). I'm asking my company if they will allow me to drive out from Denver, allowing me to bring my bike, skis, BC gear, hiking crap, etc.

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Why would you ask a corporation if you can bring your equip from one state to another? Do they own you or what? Seriously - what do you mean?

btw Whistler is good, so come on up!

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Originally Posted by Turn Up The Gravity!

Why would you ask a corporation if you can bring your equip from one state to another? Do they own you or what? Seriously - what do you mean?

btw Whistler is good, so come on up!

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You would not reasonably be able to schlep all that gear out if you were flying. Being able to drive out allows him to bring all that stuff.

Typically it is the company's decision whether you can drive or fly because it is thier time you are wasting driving halfway across the country to go live out in WA for a month on their bill, as they would most likely be paying you on those travel days as well as covering mileage expense and gas costs.

Welcome to the real world, and how things really work.

Did you guys catch this article in Saturday's Seattle Times?

Bikers to get an urban habitat

By Tan Vinh
Seattle Times staff reporter


After years of being kicked off hiking trails and public parkland, local mountain bikers will soon have a place to do wheelies off rocks, bunny hop over logs and leap over large boulders.

The Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club (BBTC) is building Seattle's first mountain-bike park on a 1.5-acre site under Interstate 5, off the Lakeview Boulevard exit.

The stunt park, which will include obstacle courses and rock- and log-strewn trails, will be one of the nation's few municipal mountain-bike parks, according to the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

Despite the increasing popularity of mountain biking, places to ride are scarce, said Justin Vander Pol, executive director of the BBTC.

"We are facing the same challenge skateboarders went through 15 years ago before the city put in skateboard parks," Vander Pol said. "This project is a big victory for mountain bikers."

The stunt park will be part of a project called I-5 Open Space, which will encompass nearly eight acres. The bike park will cover about a quarter of the area and the rest will be used for a off-leash dog area, a 200-foot stairway, a pedestrian and bike path, public art and 14 parking spaces. The park is expected to be open by October.

In the mountain-biking community, the stunt park has generated buzz because many bikers have complained that authorities are cracking down on riding on trails and parkland.

In recent weeks, the U.S. Forest Service has stepped up security to keep mountain bikers from damaging the habitat around the lower Garcia Road at Snoqualmie Pass, a popular training ground even though it is off-limits for mountain bikers.

The Shoreline School District tore down jumps and a billboard-size wall that bikers had built at the southeast corner of Shorecrest High School.

"Kids have been building jumps in the woods. There is proof of that all over the city," said Jack Tomkinson, executive director of Urban Sparks, a community group that advocates for more public recreational spaces. "That is why we are trying to make it legal and safe."

The Fremont-based group lobbied for the I-5 bike park and is pushing to get other bike parks built in Beacon Hill, West Seattle and South King County.

The BBTC will pay for the design and maintenance of the stunt park, city officials said.

The rest of the park project will cost $1.8 million and is funded by the Pro Parks levy that Seattle voters approved in 2000. Construction started Wednesday.

The bike club has raised $115,000 and will start construction in late April.

The club wants to raise an additional $100,000 to add lighting and to complete 10 trails so riders, from beginners to pro-level, can practice turns, jumps and balance. The club will use volunteers to haul in thousands of boulders and rocks to simulate back-country terrain.

The stunt park originated with Simon Lawton, 36, a mountain-bike coach who, after moving to Eastlake in 1997, spotted the I-5 location and urged the biking community to lobby for a stunt park.

The project has picked up momentum in the past two years. The minutes from four public meetings indicate it has had overwhelming support from the Eastlake neighborhood.

A few residents, though, worried that bikers will make the park unsafe for other users. But park officials said the off-leash dog area will be fenced and bikers won't ride faster than 3 to 5 mph with all the boulders and logs on the trails. BMX motorcycles and other motorized vehicles will be banned from the stunt park.

The bike park "is entirely separated from the other [park area]. That was the key to getting the city's approval," said Andy Sheffer, the city's lead project manager for the I-5 park.

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