Washington Ski Area's 'Legendary' Banked Slalom Cancelled
The 36th Legendary Banked Slalom, set to run at Mt. Baker in Washington again this year, has been up in the air due to conditions.
Gwyn, the Legendary Banked Slalom course setter and Mt. Baker's CEO, came on camera with news regarding the event. "Okay, banked slalom racers. It's Wednesday, and we said we'd give you an update."
Since 1985, Mt. Baker has hosted the Annual Legendary Baker Banked Slalom, and the event is one of the "longest running and most respected gathering of snowboarders in the world," according to Jones Snowboards.
Gwyn says, "as of Sunday, we were hopeful. We needed 3 things to happen: to not lose a lot more snow, the temps to cool down, and a good shot of snow this coming weekend to have enough for the race."
"We were hopeful based on what forecasts we were seeing and all of that, that we had a good shot at that. However, things have shifted."
In a recap of the past few days, Gwyn explains that the resort has lost 14 inches of snowbase, had 3 inches of rain, and the atmospheric river is slow moving, meaning the rain will stick around for awhile.
While officials believed the rain was going to stop today, there is actually a couple inches still on the way.
On top of that, they are not seeing potential for new snow.
The conditions are just not there, and while it pains everyone at Mt. Baker greatly, "El Nino has washed the legendary banked slalom into 2025."
Watch highlights from the 2020 Legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom (the 34th one!) below.
In the meantime, officials at the resort have been "seeing what's possible" but there are rocks, cracks in trails, and sliding snow everywhere.
"Things have not been in our favor this week."
Luckily, Gwyn says there is a La Nina winter predicted for next winter, which is "the light at the end of the tunnel."
In the past, when they have cancelled the banked slalom, the next season ends up being all time, with extra snow to make up for the winter before.
Hopefully that means next winter will be extra snowy to make up for all of our struggles!
Related: Sierra Avalanche Center Issues Stark Warning As Storm Continues To Dump Snow
Don't miss another headline from POWDER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing.
We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.
