chrsdipietro94@
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2020
We left Sun Valley at about 3 PM and drove 5 hours to Pendleton OR. We were left with about a 2 hour drive to the ski area the next morning. We arrived shortly after the chairs started spinning.
Tickets at Bluewood are free for Mission Ridge pass holders so the price was right for a short day. This ski area is another Mom and Pop spot located deep in the Umatilla National forest. The mountains over here aren't quite as majestic as the Cascades, but it is still a beautiful spot. The area has the second highest base elevation in the state at 4,550 ft.
It's a pretty rural location. The closest city (?) within striking distance is Walla Walla. Access is via a 20 mile forest road outside of the tiny town of Dayton. 1 main chair services about 1100 vertical feet. The area is well known for spectacular tree skiing. There are a lot of big old trees. They had reported 36 inches over the past 5 days. It was supposed to be a short stop on the way back to Wenatchee. We had planned to depart for home around lunch time.
That was until we discovered the Vitner's Ridge area. $5 gets you unlimited cat rides up onto the ridge.
We took a few runs in the main area. The snow was really nice. Then we started riding the cat. For all of the trips we shared the cat with the same 2 people. Needless to say, the service is a bit underutilized. We traversed from the drop spot to find untracked snow in the trees late into the afternoon. It was a great way to closeout a fantastic trip.
Old School NFS Signage
As you would expect base amenities are Minimal
Free Ticket and a $5 Cat Pass
Trail Map
Main Chair... definitely not an "express" chair... it was undoubtedly the slowest chair of the entire trip.
Chair 2
Cat Pickup
Sweet Sidecountry
Easy Exit traverse back to the Ski Area
It's looking like it will stay good in the Blue Mountains of Southeast WA... they're supposed to get another 10 to 12 inches tonight.
Tickets at Bluewood are free for Mission Ridge pass holders so the price was right for a short day. This ski area is another Mom and Pop spot located deep in the Umatilla National forest. The mountains over here aren't quite as majestic as the Cascades, but it is still a beautiful spot. The area has the second highest base elevation in the state at 4,550 ft.
It's a pretty rural location. The closest city (?) within striking distance is Walla Walla. Access is via a 20 mile forest road outside of the tiny town of Dayton. 1 main chair services about 1100 vertical feet. The area is well known for spectacular tree skiing. There are a lot of big old trees. They had reported 36 inches over the past 5 days. It was supposed to be a short stop on the way back to Wenatchee. We had planned to depart for home around lunch time.
That was until we discovered the Vitner's Ridge area. $5 gets you unlimited cat rides up onto the ridge.
We took a few runs in the main area. The snow was really nice. Then we started riding the cat. For all of the trips we shared the cat with the same 2 people. Needless to say, the service is a bit underutilized. We traversed from the drop spot to find untracked snow in the trees late into the afternoon. It was a great way to closeout a fantastic trip.
Old School NFS Signage
As you would expect base amenities are Minimal
Free Ticket and a $5 Cat Pass
Trail Map
Main Chair... definitely not an "express" chair... it was undoubtedly the slowest chair of the entire trip.
Chair 2
Cat Pickup
Sweet Sidecountry
Easy Exit traverse back to the Ski Area
It's looking like it will stay good in the Blue Mountains of Southeast WA... they're supposed to get another 10 to 12 inches tonight.
