I nearly bit it this morning on Highway 3 in Canada. I was trying to get to the Manning Park Resort ski area when I hit nasty compact snow and ice.

The semi behind me had just caught my attention. I thought to myself, "If I spin out I'm done because there is no way that semi is going to be able to stop."

Turns out I was wrong. Thankfully.

Unable to tell the difference between the road and the dirt shoulder on the 2-lane highway I slipped off the road and spun out.

Heading east, I spun backward into the westbound lane as the semi rumbled past. Then I smashed into the snowbank and came to a stop facing west. No damage, just a major scare.

Luck or providence (I call it the latter) I was grateful to be alive and in one piece. Considering I was now facing west, I took it as a sign I should head back instead of taking a chance by driving the final 18 miles to the ski area.

Instead, I headed to Hemlock Valley closer to Vancouver for a few runs (and helped a family dig themselves out of a similar incident on a less crowded road). After sampling the heavy coastal powder I returned home after bagging four ski areas in four days.

Here's a picture of the hole I left in the snowbank on Highway 3.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.

Due to severe weather conditions and high avalanche danger, the Washington State Department of Transportation has closed U.S. 2 from Scenic to Rayrock. The highway will remain closed until WSDOT crews are able to safely clear debris from an avalanche that occurred earlier today. Visiting guests and Stevens Pass employees have been safely transported off the mountain.

With currently existing and expected high avalanche danger, an opening date and time has not been set. As a result, Stevens Pass Winter Resort will remain closed through Saturday.

Check the resort’s website for the most current weather and operational information.

About 49,000 Trek MT220 girls bicycles, manufactured in China and Taiwan and imported by Trek Bicycle Corp., have been recalled because the frames can break during use.

The company has received 13 reports of broken frames, including four reports of minor injuries.

The bikes were sold at authorized Trek dealers around the country between April 2004 and June 2007.

For details, call 1-800-373-4594 or visit www.trekbikes.com or www.cpsc.gov.

The road from Paradise to Longmire at Mount Rainier National Park has been closed because of winter conditions.

Like the rest of the Cascades, the park has been hit hard by snow in recent weeks. Paradise, at 5,400 feet, has received at least a foot of snow every day but one since Jan. 28. More than 156 inches --13 feet -- of snow has fallen in the past 11 days.

“We’re closing the road from Longmire to Paradise to protect park visitors,” park superintendent Dave Uberuaga said in a release. “Continuous winter storms have increased the avalanche hazards and made it very difficult to keep the road open.

Heavy mountain snow and windy conditions are expected to extend through today and into the weekend.

“We have the plows and drivers necessary to clear the snow, and we will reopen the road as soon as conditions improve,” said Uberuaga.

To check road and weather information at the park, call 360-569-2211 and then select 1.

A water line break means the North Cascades Visitor Center near Newhalem will be closed until early March.

A break in the main water line has shut down all water resources to North Cascades National Park’s visitor center located on Highway 20, including restroom facilities and fire protection capabilities.

Repairs to the water line have been hampered by heavy snow and poor road conditions. The visitor center was closed last weekend to the public. Park managers are hopeful that the water system will be restored by the first weekend in March.

For additional park information, call the North Cascades National Park headquarters at 360-854-7200.

I’m in Hope, B.C., the morning after an epic day on the slopes and the roads.

I woke up this morning to almost 2 feet of fresh powder at Silver Star. It was like skiing in butter. I didn’t see my skis or boots for my first five runs. My guide was David Todd, a retired mountaineer. Together we mined the hill for stashes of powder all day.

The real adventure started when I hit the road. Conditions are as nasty up here as they are in the Cascades. My 3-hour drive from Silver Star to Hope turned into a 6-hour journey. Even with compact snow on the road in areas, it was easy cruising to Merritt where the highway was closed because of an avalanche on Coquihala Pass.

As I was planning an alternate route at a gas station in Merritt, the woman behind the counter suggested I just get a hotel in town. She said she heard stories of rocks on the road and nasty conditions in the Nicola Canyon between Merritt and the Trans-Canada Highway.

I told her I had a non-refundable room booked in Hope and was going to try anyway. She smiled and wished me luck. She was right about the road. It was horrible.

I had to swerve to avoid hitting three chair-size boulders. I had to stop at one point to clean my headlights with a handful of snow. I thought I was in the clear once I hit the TCH, but that’s when the rain hit. Standing water and poor visibility made the drive painful. As I write this I still feel queasy from the drive.

It was truly the type of day that makes ski road trips so memorable. But I’d trade 6 hours of torturous driving for 6 hours of Champaign powder almost any day.

Here’s some video of Todd taking a run through a skied off area late in the day. I shot the video while skiing behind him. Once again, this would look a lot better with a helmet cam. So, E-mail web editor Mark Briggs if you’re getting sick of the unsteady cam.