stevens pass
Stevens Pass is one of my favorite ski areas, with something for everyone. A few years ago Vail Resorts purchased it and built an expansion, adding additional double black terrain, and updating an old lift to a quad detachable.
Stevens is also great for beginners, with the usual discovery chair, and a variety of options from it to allow beginners to try downhill without committing to go down something they feel is too steep.
Some of my favorite areas of Stevens are 7th heaven (highest part with several double black options), the backside (Mill Creek), and the new Double Diamond.
Advantages:
- Variety of terrain, something for everyone
- Good groomed, powder, tree, cliff options
Disadvantages:
- Parking fills up quickly, especially on weekends
- Highway 2 traffic jams at peak hours can double drive time
- Can get very crowded
- Medium size, other resorts are larger
Overall rating: 4/5
COVID: Stevens is part of Vail Resorts, which has standard policies for all their resorts:
- Reservations required
- Masks required to access lifts
First day: people are coming too close... why is your mask below your nose in the lift line... oh, so if I'm going down a real run I need to breathe. Ok got this: lifts mask on, skiing mask off. You a single? Want to ride the chair together? ...no.
Second day: I know what to expect... this isn't so bad. No, please don't sneak up and join me on the chair.
Third day: this is chill, most singles don't pair up (weekday). Lifties are yelling at people to pull their mask up