Ski season could begin any day now
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Skiers going into withdrawal take heart. Stevens Pass Ski Resort could open any day now.
The resort 65 miles east of Everett has received 14 inches of snow since Sunday, 7 inches on Wednesday alone. It now has a 33-inch base and 42 inches at the top.
In 2003, when it opened Nov. 25, it had a 37-inch base with 39 inches at the summit.
But don’t get too excited. The resort hasn’t set an opening date yet.
It has a deep enough base to open, but rain was in the forecast on Wednesday, spokeswoman Lori Vandenbrink said.
“We’re not going to be making a decision until (today) at the earliest,” she said. “It’s painful to sit here and watch it snow and not be able to go out and make turns.”
For the latest information on the opening, call the ski area hotline at 425-353-4400 or go to www.stevenspass.com.
When it does open, adult lift tickets for a day will be $45, or $36 starting at noon and $28 starting at 3 p.m. The resort will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. most days. There are 10 lifts and 37 runs, with 11 percent for beginners, 54 percent for intermediate and 35 percent for advanced skiers.
Twelve runs and about 400 of the 1,125 skiable acres are under the lights.
For snowboarders, Stevens boasts the only resort in the state that has beginning, intermediate and expert half-pipes for catching air, according to its Web site.
Meanwhile, Crystal Mountain near Mount Rainier announced it will open on Saturday, two weeks later than usual, after 30 inches of snow fell in the latest storm. Crystal has a new $4.1 million lodge.
“We just got dumped on, and it’s still coming down,” Crystal marketing director Stacy Schuster-Lyon said.
The Summit at Snoqualmie reported 2 feet of snow since Monday. On its Web site, it advised skiers and snowboarders to check back this morning about a possible weekend opening.
Mount Baker, east of Bellingham, is already open, with 34 inches of new snow.
The east slopes of the Cascades, including Leavenworth, were expected to get up to a foot of snow on Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. As a Pacific storm front moved across the state, it eroded some of the cold temperatures in Eastern Washington, and the snow remained primarily in the mountains.
With heavy rains predicted in the lower elevations of Western Washington, the weather service posted flood watches for Snohomish, King, Skagit, Whatcom, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Mason and Jefferson counties. The flood watches will remain in effect through Saturday morning.
Coastal flooding was especially likely near Aberdeen and Hoquiam during this morning’s high tide, meteorologist Carl Cerniglia said.
