Cascade ski areas crossing fingers for early start to season
Nov 24, 2014, 5:29 AM | Updated: 5:29 am
Skiers will find new chairlifts and other other improvements at a number of Cascade ski areas this season. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
With the first heavy snow of the season hammering the Cascades over the weekend, ski season is just around the corner.
It’s unlikely, but depending on how much falls, Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass and Mount Baker could open by Thanksgiving if the snow gods are in a giving mood.
“We need a good couple of feet of wet heavy snow before we can get things going,” says Crystal’s Director of Marketing Tiana Sorenson.
Given the vagaries of the weather, it’s impossible to say when local areas will have enough to open.
Once they do, skiers will find significant improvements throughout the Cascades.
Crystal Mountain added two new chairlifts over the summer. The old High Campbell chair will be replaced by a new fixed-grip double, while the new Quicksilver quad will replace the old double – increasing capacity by nearly 800 skiers an hour.
“We’re not even half-way through with what is yet to come in our future plan and we’re really committed to making Crystal as great a place as it can be. As we grow here it just keeps getting better,” says Sorenson.
The Summit at Snoqualmie is putting the finishing touches on a brand new fixed-grip quad chair at Summit East. Located on the northern facing slopes, it will increase uphill capacity and open up a sizable portion of new glade skiing in the area, says Marketing Director Guy Lawrence.
“It really gives people access to that really nice terrain people crave,” he says. “We hope to have it running by the holidays or the first of the year.”
But after a dismal early season last year that saw the popular Summit at Snoqualmie areas remain closed until after Christmas, the resort spent much of the summer clearing brush and taking other steps to allow it to open sooner with less snow.
“People will see a really nice difference this year,” says Lawrence.
For those that can’t wait, Mission Ridge outside of Wenatchee was able to open Saturday thanks to its network of snow-making. But the other Cascade areas have to rely solely on Mother Nature.
