Snow Stake Board at Lodge 2

The Snow Stake at Lodge 2

The camera holds a tight, unwavering frame on a purpose-built measuring board set in a timber A-frame housing beside Lodge 2 at Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park. Two vertical rulers flank the resort's sunburst logo: the left column reads Since 4PM for the freshest accumulation, the right one gives the running Storm Total. Both are graduated to twenty inches, and the lens sits close enough that every inch mark stays legible.

A Nonprofit Mountain Above Spokane

Mt. Spokane is the closest lift-served terrain to the city of Spokane, roughly thirty miles to the southwest, and one of the region's longest-running ski areas. Operated as a nonprofit 501(c)(3), it spreads five lifts across the front side and a north-facing back side inside Mount Spokane State Park, topping out near 5,900 feet.

Why a Stake Cam Matters

A snow stake answers the one question a slope panorama cannot: how much. Depth on a groomed run is flattened by machines and wind transport, so resorts plant a board on sheltered, level ground and reset it on a fixed schedule — here at 4PM — to give a clean, comparable figure. Riders across the Inland Northwest read this frame directly rather than waiting on a report.

Surroundings and Setting

Behind the board the ground rises into the dense mixed conifer and shrub cover typical of the mountain's flanks, part of the Selkirk uplands that separate the Spokane valley from the Idaho panhandle. The stonework base and weathered cedar frame are permanent fixtures, giving the shot a steady reference against which the numbers move.