Skiers and snowboarders should find an open road to Hurricane Ridge this weekend — but don’t expect lots of snow.
Snowpack depth has fallen to 52 inches, 9 inches below last Thursday’s measurement at the snow stake, according to Olympic National Park reports.
With pleasant weather predicted for most of the weekend, you should probably consider taking the 50-passenger snow bus, run by the Hurricane Ridge Public Development Authority, to the top.
If and when the Ridge parking lot fills up, the road will close to additional traffic, leaving all who don’t take the bus — regardless of weather — out in the cold.
A round-trip ride on the bus costs $5 and is the most convenient way to get to the Ridge.
The bus departs Vern Burton Community Center — Fourth and Peabody streets in Port Angeles — at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It leaves the Ridge at 4 p.m., when lift operation ends.
The development authority will also soon bring at least one of its three recently acquired 27-passenger shuttle buses online. The group’s goal is to eventually run two shuttles (plus the snow bus) while keeping a third shuttle on standby.
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The rest of Darrick Meneken’s outdoors column appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News sports section. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.