As a resident of the Puget Sound Region of the PNW, I never expect a White Christmas. If you are a resident of Western Washington, you shouldn’t either. Over the last century, the city of Seattle has only had four Christmas Days with snowfall. In outlying areas, the total is higher, but not much. In the Pacific Northwest, …
Olympic Mountain Snowpack: Dec. 16th, 2016
The last week of fall is here, meaning that true winter is just around the corner. For most of the Olympic Peninsula, winter has been in full force for the better part of December. After a wet and wild fall, cold air is sitting on our region, giving our mountains a well-deserved blanket of snow. …
Olympic Mountain Snowpack: Dec 9th, 2016
Snow has fallen all around the lowlands of the Pacific Northwest, so you know what time it is! Welcome to the first of many snowpack updates for the Olympic Mountains for the winter of 2016-17. As I am writing this, I am watching the four inches of snow we received last night in Olympia melt …
How Many Mountain Goats Are in the Olympic Mountains?
On January 1st, 1925 the United States Forest Service released four mountain goats near Mount Storm King above Lake Crescent. The goats, from the Selkirk Mountains in Canada, were placed on Mount Storm King as an experiment to see how adaptable they would be to the rugged mountains of the Olympics. The goat’s ability to …
ASS-KICKING DAY HIKES ALONG THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA’S HOOD CANAL
These five day hikes are for the rugged, the hearty and the slightly insane. Each of us has a hike that we consider to be the hardest day hike we have ever attempted. These hikes have caused pain and agony, both physically and mentally. Tucked in the deepest recesses of our minds, we compare each …
Saying Goodbye to the Olympic Mountain’s Quickly Melting Snowpack
As we have been reporting all year, the snowpack of Washington State is quickly vanishing after a slightly above average snowfall last winter. Right now, the majority of Washington State is below 50% of average snowpack, with some regions close to or at zero. The Olympic Mountains, which The Outdoor Society primarily focuses on, are at …
Olympic Mountain Snowpack Update: April 4th, 2016
Despite extremely warm temperatures and sunny skies to end March and start April, the snowpack of the Olympic Mountains has barely changed. In fact, it appear that in the higher elevations, barely any snow had melted. Many of you will probably assume that the high temperatures put a nice dent in our snowpack, but the …
The Olympic Mountain Snowpack: Winter 2015-16
After a record low snowpack during the winter of 2014-15, the Olympic Mountains have once again returned to their snowy splendor. The winter of 2015-16 is on record as being a normal year, but compared to the barren peaks of last year, normal seems quite impressive. Across the mountain tops and even down in the …
Six Mountains to Climb in Olympic National Park’s Staircase Region
Residents of Washington State are spoiled with beauty and probably more spoiled than anywhere else in the nation. Washingtonians have access to the most incredible scenery in America, just 90 drive minutes away from nearly every major city. To the north, south, west and east, we have no shortage of jaw-dropping destinations. Even often over-looked Eastern Washington …
September Snow: Coming Soon to a PNW Mountain Near You?
I refrain from writing weather posts, as they tend to lose their usefulness quickly. However, this week’s forecast is something I can’t skip over. During the first week of September, 2015, there is a chance of snow for the mountains around the Pacific Northwest, something drastically needed during the driest, hottest summer in recorded history. …