Mt Baker Banked Slalom

[420calvin]

I got in the Banked Slalom at Baker this year, stoked! Does anyone have any insights to share on the event? Not the course so much (although would be good to know what to expect) but beta on where to stay, vibe of the event, and what board to ride would be appreciated. :)

It looks like the course is in a gully, so am thinking more BX type of board (165-168) than my usual 170 - 185cm stuff but not sure...

I'm really psyched to be going! Am thinking of bringing my family (girls 5 and 2) but not sure there either.

[tex1230]

It's been 20ish years since I was there, but yeah - a softer Bx-type board is the call. Best of luck - get some video, and have fun!

[Dan]

Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing some pics/video.

I can't tell you where to stay, but I can tell you to be sure to book early. I wanted to head up there a few years ago to watch the LBS and do some riding, and everything close was booked up. Probably a good idea to book now.

[420calvin]

Cool thanks guys! Definitely plan on pics/vid and stoked on riding Baker, too, which looks amazing. Hoping for great amounts of snow. Bachelor is getting hammered and our coverage this early is better than I've seen in 8+ years I think. Should be a good sign that Baker is going to get totally submerged. :)

[Keenan]

I would stay with a board 170 or under, it's usually a fairly tight course so a BX would be a good choice. The best bet for lodging, especially with family, would be to rent a cabin and plan on cooking. We got a hotel near the mountain a few years ago, walked into the room, saw spiders the size of small cats, checked out and drove back to Bellingham. Unless there has been a big change, there isn't much in the town of Golden. Chances are you will be the only hardbooter on course, good luck.

[OhD]

I've competed in it twice recently, not very successfully. The course is tough because it is a single track that isn't changed during the event, so if there's much frech snow shortly before or during, it becomes heavily rutted, even between the gates. This makes speed control very difficult since skidding in a rut incurs a great risk of snagging one end of the board in the deep snow. The turns are sometimes the smoothest part because a lot of riders slash them with big skids. If you make a couple of clean, efficient carved turns you'll be going way too fast when the course dives into the steep part of the gulley. Your setup should be more oriented toward bump absorbtion, agressive skidding turns and lots of flexibility to accomodate a very imperfect surface. The big banks and varying pitch of the course can be kind of disorienting, especially if it's foggy, so keep your gyros healthy and your ears clear.

I don't know what sort of terrain you might have to practice on, but anything very much like the actual course is going to be hard to find. Quarrter- and halfpipes would be a good place to get comfortable with the odd attitudes and the forces. Most of the turns are heavily banked, more like BX than freecarving or SL/GS courses, so you're dealing with lots of compression and relatively low edging angles.

The drive from Bellywash to Glacier isn't usually all that bad, but if you have the time to get set up at a place in Glacier you'll have a little more time to relax. The condos at SnoWater are pretty decent (in my experience - staying at a for-rent-by-owner-to-friends-of-friends place). YMMV. Grahams can be good for casual(!) dinner and music (on occasion). If you try a B&B make sure the breakfast is early. While the course is most convenient to the upper parking/lodge complex, the event operates out of the new White Salmon lodge, which is one of the most attractive anywhere. It tends to be pretty crowded, but the artwork, architecture and general vibe are really cool. The volunteer crew who support the event are terrific.

Make sure you have decent wheels with AWD or chains, and be prepared to get the chains on expeditiously. The highway from Silver Fir up to the ski area is not to be taken lightly, and you really don't want to be getting underfoot on race days. DO NOT bring any contraband with you to the mountain. Those aren't rescue dogs. Good luck and have fun. I'd be trying to go this year but opted to do SES instead.

[420calvin]

You serious? They have dogs at Baker just to check for contraband? Seems crazy coming from Bachelor, where smoke in the air is the norm.

Thanks for the great tips. The course sounds gnarly. Maybe I'll ride softies (stiff Nidecker carbons) and my Never Summer Titan 168. I've ridden at Hood quite a lot (just stayed at Silcox last weekend) and that natural half pipe under Palmer is pretty sweet, maybe good training for the course. It can't be THAT bad though.... can it? From what you wrote it sounds like the most gnarly course ever. I might just curl up into the fetal position at the start.

I'm most stoked about riding Baker and I hope it DUMPS during the event so there's massive pow!

[DiveBomber]

theres video on you tube

PS read this:

<div><object style="width:800px;height:1220px" ><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf?mode=embed&viewMode=presentation&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&pageNumber=30&documentId=090128010028-752c544fb4fa4d829e0dd4c41703427f&docName=issue4_anglais&username=slashmag&loadingInfoText=Slash%20Snowboard%20Magazine%20Issue%20%234%20English&et=1291263654994&er=67" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" style="width:800px;height:1220px" flashvars="mode=embed&viewMode=presentation&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&pageNumber=30&documentId=090128010028-752c544fb4fa4d829e0dd4c41703427f&docName=issue4_anglais&username=slashmag&loadingInfoText=Slash%20Snowboard%20Magazine%20Issue%20%234%20English&et=1291263654994&er=67" /></object><div style="width:800px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://issuu.com/slashmag/docs/issue4_anglais?mode=embed&viewMode=presentation&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&pageNumber=30'>http://issuu.com/slashmag/docs/issue4_anglais?mode=embed&viewMode=presentation&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true&pageNumber=30" target="_blank">Open publication</a> - Free <a href="http://issuu.com" target="_blank">publishing</a> - <a href="http://issuu.com/search?q=issue" target="_blank">More issue</a></div></div>

[OhD]

You serious? They have dogs at Baker just to check for contraband? ....

I'm most stoked about riding Baker and I hope it DUMPS during the event so there's massive pow!

Baker doesn't. The Whatcom County Sheriff and/or the State Patrol might - I've seen it go down and heard a first-person account from an involuntary participant in a little episode down at the Silver Fir XC trailhead.

Be careful what you wish for... Deep powder means that if you're two feet below the groove you're way slow, and if you crash in the powder you're done, but if you're an early runner you can't be sure that everyone in your group won't screw up too, so you have to flounder back up to the course and try to get a time. Even if you're not early, you may not know how many ahead of you have finished with good times since the results aren't posted at the start for quite awhile. Two minutes of thrashing in the pow might save you a 4-minute time, which might just qualify you. Time flies when you're having fun... Of course a big dump makes all but two qualifying runs and maybe two final runs potentially epic, so whatever you wish for, enjoy what you get.

Beware of off-time bumps right after the big left turn at the bottom. Lots of racers got screwed up there and either missed the last gate or failed to finish.

The Palmer gully would be OK as long as there's good coverage on the (riders) left slope. Lay down a difficult, turny line then spend the rest of your session trying to follow it exactly. Get about 100 friends to help, so you can sort of imitate the condition of the course by day 2 of the event.

[slopetool]

Thats cool you got in. Its a fun race. I've been there as a spectator to watch the event in the past. I was there when Terje won it riding fakie.

I always stay at the Glacier Creek Motel and Cabins. Its reasonable and a quick walk to grab a beer. I think a 165cm or so would be a great size to race with in the gully.