Washington ski areas

Several of the ski areas in Washington opened this week. The rain in the lowlands usually means snow in the mountains. And plenty of it, I hope. Current conditions and more information are available at www.skiwashington.com. Here are most of Washington's downhill ski areas, sorted north to south:

• Mount Baker (Whatcom County) on State Route 542
• Sitzmark (Okanogan County) southeast of Oroville
• Loup Loup (Okanogan County) east of Twisp
• 49 Degrees North (Stevens County) east of Chewelah
• Hurricane Ridge (Clallam County) south of Port Angeles
• Echo Valley (Chelan County) north northwest of Chelan
• Mount Spokane (Spokane County) northeast of Spokane
• Stevens Pass (King/Chelan Counties) on Highway 2
• Leavenworth (Chelan County) north of Leavenworth town
• The Summit at Snoqualmie (King/Kittitas Counties) at Snoqualmie Pass
• Squilchuck (Chelan County) south southwest of Wenatchee
• Mission Ridge (Chelan County) south southwest of Wenatchee
• Crystal Mountain (Pierce County) east of Mt Rainier
• White Pass (Lewis/Yakima counties) on Highway 12
• Ski Bluewood (Columbia County) south southeast of Dayton

Most popular Washington high school mascots

I've long collected the names of interesting high school mascots during my travels, but Mark Sheehan has compiled the most comprehensive list I've ever seen. You'll find it at http://www.halcyon.com/marcs/MascotsWA.html. Based on his list, here are the most common mascots among Washington high schools.

-1. Eagles (24 schools)
-2. Tigers (16)
-3. Bulldogs (15)
-4. Panthers (14)
-4. Vikings (14)
-6. Lions (12)
-6. Wildcats (12)
-8. Cougars (11)
-8. Warriors (11)
10. Falcons (9)

Washington college mascots

Anchormen: Puget Sound Christian College
Bulldogs: Gonzaga University
Cougars: Washington State University
Eagles: Eastern Washington University
Eagles: Northwest College
Falcons: Seattle Pacific University
Geoducks: The Evergreen State University*
Huskies: University of Washington
Loggers: University of Puget Sound*
Lutes: Pacific Lutheran University*
Minutemen: Heritage College
Missionaries: Whitman College*
Pirates: Whitworth College
Redhawks: Seattle University
Saints: Saint Martin's College
Vikings: Western Washington University
Wildcats: Central Washington University
Wolves: Walla Walla College

*Some of the mascots in this list are unique among American colleges. Washington is home to the only Geoducks, Loggers, Lutes, and Missionaries.

Additional nicknames:
Cougs: Washington State University (informal)
Dawgs: University of Washington (informal)
Sun Dodgers: University of Washington (former name)
Zags: Gonzaga University (informal)