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How to: Smoking on the Slopes

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One of my favorite nostalgia moments when hitting the mountain is when you’re on the chairlift and you get that first intake of a dank smell from other mountain shredders getting their ganja on in the clean alpine air. Of course that usually makes one yearn to have a little smoke session of ones own, and hopefully the cycle repeats.

The numero uno, unrivaled feeling I have had on the mountain is having said toke session and then cruising some untouched, fresh powder lines through various tree runs or trails, capped off by sticking some gnarly little cliff jump. And to share that with a group of friends or family is my personal ultimate good time whilst cruising the slopes.

The issue of not being able to consume cannabis as openly as tobacco or beer and alcohol is still 100% real and at the mountain you have to be especially weary of this. Personally I’ve never let that slow down my consumption and I’m gonna key y’all in on some pro-tips I’ve picked up over the years to efficiently and safely have a cannabis filled day on the mountain.

#1 Doob tubes.

When you’re at the store stocking up make sure you get some pre rolls that come in joint tubes. Or if you roll your own, save them from previous purchases, you can always reuse those things. The little plastic or glass tubes pre-rolls come in have saved me much heartache over the years whilst on my more physical adventures. The doob tubes are handy because they are not bulky and they keep the joints in pristine shape until they are ready to be blazed.

#2 Mindful of where you blaze

I know weed is legal yada yada, you ain’t gotta tell me, I am the furthest thing from a closet smoker. Although, when on the slopes its important to not push the envelope. Cannabis consumption on the mountain should still be done in a discreet fashion. Don’t smoke on the chairlift unless you got the mountain to yourself and even then be careful you could get in trouble from a not so cool lifty and get your pass taken. I always urge peeps to find the trees, have a pow wow, its always a good time and sometimes a needed break. For the extremely initiated, pack the dab rig in the car depending on where were skiing you might have access to stop in throughout the day. Or hit it in the A.M. and let it chill in the whip until your ready to head home. Do yourself a favor and dump the water out in between uses. There is nothing worse than a bong or dab rig impeded by frozen water.

#3 Carry a Pack

Carry a pack of joints, carry a pack of edibles, hell, carry a pack of blunts if that’s your thing. Whenever I’m on the mountain and trying to consume these things its always smart to stash them in an easy to grab spot. Whether that’s in my snow jacket or my bibs, its key to have easy access to the danks and a lighter! Personally I don’t like carrying a backpack, but lots of my friends have in the past and it works for them. If carrying a backpack, stash it with all the essentials plus some water or snacks to guarantee your endurance on the slopes.

#4 Be Responsible

Charge your vape pens, pack a couple lighters, you know, plan for the day. Nothing worse than needing something that you don’t have and being stuck without it on shred day. That goes for the non paraphernalia items as well. Pack a multi tool, extra pair of goggles/gloves/ change of clothes. I don’t know how many times I’ve been blessed by someone bringing something that I forgot or vice versa. Preparation is always key to a good time. And now for probably the most important thing to remember, pack in what you pack out. Leave your smoke spot cleaner than what you left it and ready for the next set of shredders to do the same.

^ White Pass ^

Ski The Loup • Mountain Webcam view from the Bottom (NOTE: If this view is missing, camera is temporarily offline.)

^ Ski the Loop! ^

Loup Loup Ski Area and Sitzmark – under celebrated and not crowded.

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Ski or snowboard, it doesn’t matter — the season is right around the corner, and Cliff Mass thinks we are going to have a wet and wild winter! Avid borders are getting their Subarus, VWs, and Audis up for multiple trips up the mountain. If you don’t have your own gear, and helicopter, getting to some of the more desirable, dangerous, and exhilarating spots is difficult; go to the touristy, more expensive spots is an arduous journey in crowds, high costs, and long lines at the lifts can really put a damper on the spirit. If only someone put out a guide of a couple awesome spots with no lines and awesome runs, where to stay on the cheap, where to eat, and of course – where to grab some pot.

The Seattle metro area has a habit of going to three places to ski – Crystal Mountain, Snoqualmie Summit, and Mount Baker Ski Area where the prices are steep, and the lift lines can be daunting on those perfect days on the weekend. So, one might wonder how to get a fulfilling and reasonably priced ski adventure in without heading to California, Montana, Colorado, or Wyoming. House of Cannabis has you covered in so many ways. For those of you in our loyal, loving Tacoma crowd, you may never have been to our ‘East of the mountains’ stores. Both are wonderful, fabulous cannabis stores in small towns buoyed by the recreational atmosphere of Okanogan County. There are also at opposite sides of the county, so the landscape and to do list can be varied and wide. For the price of a day at Crystal, Summit, or Baker, you can stay and ski the weekend in Okanogan County. I shall elaborate.

  • TACOMA
  • TONASKET
  • TWISP

The second store we opened has become House of Cannabis – Twisp, in the Methow Valley. It is the closest store to Lake Chelan, and it is right on the Loup Loup Hwy 20 / Hwy 2 Scenic byway.  Twisp offers several affordable, clean places to stay, including the Sportsman Motel ($, Rustic, Clean), Idle-a-While Motel ($, Cute, Quaint, Private), Twisp Terrace Lodge ($$, Modern, away from town), Twisp River Suites ($$$, Modern, walk the town), and even the uber ritzy Sun Mountain Lodge ($$$$, in Winthrop 8 miles North, mountain bike / horseback / cross country ski paradise). There are many other options as well that a simple google search will reveal – Abby Creek Inn, Mt Gardner Inn, and these AirBNBs. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SKIING??

From the “Double Z” ski run at Loup Loup Ski Area

Loup Loup. Yeah, it’s a funny name, but it’s what it has. About 10 miles east from Twisp on Highway 20 is the summit of Loup Loup pass. A couple hundred yards after the summit is the turn to the left of the Loup Loup Ski Bowl, which is well marked. The road is well maintained, oft plowed, but you should have an AWD vehicle and/or chains or the appropriate fitting for your vehicle just in case conditions change while on the mountain. Two different lifts and a tow rope introduce you to varying levels of slopes available for your shredding desires. 1,240 vertical feet of skiing starting at the summit at 5,260 feet awaits you, with little to no lift line, and the highest single day pass starting at $55 each. Ski rentals are available in the towns of Winthrop, Twisp, and at the base of the Loup Loup ski bowl, so if you don’t have your own equipment, that’s ok!

Loup Loup Ski Area Trail Map

The ski bowl has several long, enjoyable beginner and intermediate slopes, and many short and medium run expert slopes, with a skill level and ability to work on form with a variety of hill challenges. Loup Loup also has a tubing hill, and 23km of groomed cross country skiing available. Of course, House of Cannabis is there for you, just down in the town of Twisp, for all your cannabis needs during your stay. Check out the pics below for a current view of the mountain from their webcam, the ski map, and a pic of our fabulous store in Twisp. Continue past the pictures to read up on the Sitzmark ski area near House of Cannabis, in Tonasket.

Just 35 miles past Twisp, to the east, is our 3rd store, House of Cannabis – Tonasket. Aside from being an absolute gem inside its’ central location in the town, the interior is amazingly crafted through the vision of our partnership. Like Twisp, there are several great places to stay like the Red Apple Inn ($), Omak Inn ($$), The Junction ($), and many AirBNB and small resort style stays.

A topigraphic trail map of the Sitzmark ski area
Sitzmark trail map

As for the hill, Sitzmark is ideal for families, or those just learning to ski. Base elevation is just over 4300 feet, and the summit is 4950 feet. Sitzmark has two lifts (one of them is decidedly the main, and most trafficked lift) serving the mountain. One of the things I really like about Sitzmark is positioning of the runs, relative to the main lift. The three expert runs are immediately under and to the sides of the main left, while beginners and intermediates after unloading from the chair will ski to the left quite a bit before beginning their runs. Expert skiers can expect to make frequent runs during a day, maximizing on slope time because of quick access at the top to the black diamond slopes, and at the bottom to the queue for the lift. Beginners and Intermediates will enjoy the long runs back to the base down a variety of green or blue rated slopes. Lift rates are a bit more value driven at Sitzmark, compared to Loup Loup, with the basic adult pass clocking in at $45 for a full day pass.

After your day on the hill is done, there are lots of dining options in the Twisp/Winthrop area until about 8-9pm on weekdays, and as late as 11pm on weekends. In Tonasket, there are several options but the town closes down a bit earlier, but for the night owls, Omak is 20 miles to the south, and features great dining into the night, and also has 12 Tribes Casino on the south side of town.

For more information, you can always check out their websites:

Loup Loup Ski Area

Sitzmark Ski Area (not mobile friendly, really… not the worst, either.)

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Click here for online ordering!
Ski The Loup • Mountain Webcam view from the Top (NOTE: If this view is missing, camera is temporarily offline.)

The current view from the top of Loup Loup

How to: Backwood Blunt Wrap

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Rolling a blunt or a joint can be as artistic as one makes it out to be. For my daily blunts the three things I care most about is that I roll them somewhat quickly, they have at least a gram or two in them, and the most important, that thing better be functional.

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Click here for online ordering!

Blunts and joints can vary in many shapes and sizes, from your basic papers to your specific brand blunt wraps. For the sake of this instructional we’re going to focus on the brand Backwood Cigars being used as the blunt wrap.

The way I learned to roll backwoods differs slightly from how I would roll any other blunt wrap, the beginning and the end is where this technique varies.

Your standard Swisher Sweet or other blunt brand may call for a splitter or ripping or something else but the way that I was taught to break open the Backwood is by unraveling the cigar from the mouthpiece side first. Every Backwood cigar is slightly different considering it is rolled out of a tobacco leaf, which makes each wrap slightly different as well.

After you discard of your tobacco cigar guts you are going to brush off the remaining tobacco off the wrap and check the status of the leaf. If there’s no holes or breaks or anything you’re good to go.

Now for other blunt wraps and joints I would prefer using a grinder than breaking up the marijuana with my hands. When rolling the Backwood I prefer to break up the buds with my fingers, I feel that it helps for that blunt to smoke consistently. Especially if you’re smoking that tippity top shelf weed, you know that super freaking sticky that will clog your blunt up if the weeds way ground up and wrapped to tight. Anyways, I digress, on to the grinding.

Okay so you got your gram or two of weed all broke up with your fingers, its ground to the size of some finely diced onions or cilantro, or maybe a mixture of both. Maybe I’m just stoned and a little bit hungry for some tacos, either way lets roll this freaking blunt.

Next we’re going to flip it around and figure out which way we want to position the wrap. A lot of the time the stem of the leaf dictates which way you’re going to wrap your blunt. I usually wrap the blunt from the mouthpiece side first and roll it to somewhat of a cone style of roll. There is no rush at this stage, take your time. Don’t even worry if the mouthpiece or end of the blunt doesn’t look pretty, we’ll take care of that later.

It’s all rolled up, some of the weed fell out the end and it looks like it needs some TLC. No problemo. Let’s get to doctoring. The way I roll blunts requires two tools. I usually have with me a pair of scissors and a blunt packer of some sort, i.e. a key, anything with the circumference of lets just say a chopstick.

I usually start with the chopstick and gently pack the weed in from the end side first. I pick up whatever weed fell out onto the tray during the roll up and pack that in as well. I will do this 2 or 3 times or until I’m satisfied with how she looks. I usually twist the end of the blunt like a joint to prevent from anything falling out. Repeat the same method on the side you smoke out of until there is a firmly packed mouthpiece.

I then take my scissors and simply trim the excess blunt wrap. When I learned this little tip it gave me the power to roll the perfect blunt damn near every time. Its so simple that Ill run it by you one more time. Basically, however far you packed the mouthpiece side of the blunt in, you cut to. I usually also cut the side that I twisted like a joint just to make it easier to light.

There you go. You got your very own hand rolled tobacco leafed dank ass cannabis blunt, celebrations are in order! What’s that? You couldn’t follow? Im a bad teacher? Well, if that’s the case so be it. But if you’re down for a round two, I saw a video of these dudes and they make this shit look easy, so click the link below. Your welcome.