Snow falling for skiers

Associated Press

Ski resorts in the Cascade mountains of Washington are predicting brisk business this season, with plenty of snow drawing hordes of skiers and snowboarders to the slopes.

Three major ski areas — The Summit at Snoqualmie, the Mount Baker Ski Area and Stevens Pass — are anticipating near-record snowfall.

As of Saturday, Snoqualmie was reporting a 103-inch base at the top of the mountain — second only to the 135 inches reported at Mount Baker’s Pan Dome.

"I’m sure it’s going to be a great year," said David Skurnik, who was skiing with his 9-year-old daughter at Snoqualmie recently. He said it’s rare to have so much snow at Christmastime.

At Crystal Mountain, 19 feet of snow has dumped down, making for a 97-inch base at the top and boosting lift-ticket sales 63 percent over the same period last year, said sales and marketing director Stacy Schuster.

"I think there was a lot of pent-up frustration of last year," Schuster said. "Up here, there’s no sign of recession."

Snowfall was skimpy last ski season because of the drought. It doesn’t look like that will be a problem this year.

"The snow hasn’t just been great, but since we’ve had some real cold days, the powder has been fabulous, light and fluffy," said Mount Baker spokesman Gwyn Howat.

Mount Baker has sold a record number of preseason passes, and more snow than usual has fallen so far — nearly 29 feet.

In Central Washington, Mission Ridge is also reporting more snow and more people heading to the slopes.

"We’re off to one of our best starts since 1994," general manager Mark Milliette said. "Our snowpack is greater now than it was all of last year."

As of Saturday, the snowpack at the top of the mountain was 47 inches. "We never got above the mid- to low-30s last year," Milliette said. "If the snow continues, and conditions remain as good as they are now, we’ll probably see good spring business."

At White Pass in the southern Cascades, managers are also optimistic about prospects for snow and profits this year.

"We’re well ahead of our record year two years ago," Kevin McCarthy, general manager of White Pass ski resort. "These are the largest crowds I’ve seen."

Like many ski areas across the state, White Pass opened in late November this year, more than a week earlier than usual.

About 130,000 skiers visited White Pass in the 1999-2000 season — a record resort managers say they expect to meet or break this year.

Some predict the region’s high unemployment could keep more would-be skiers from spending the money for lift tickets or season passes.

"The soft economy, the war, the snowfall, those are all variables," said Scott Kaden, president of the Hood River, Ore.-based Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association, a trade association representing ski-lift operations in Washington, Oregon Idaho and Alaska.

Yet, with the Winter Olympics set in Salt Lake City, Kaden said it’s also possible the good snow will draw spectators to the slopes.

"You will have 17 days of coverage," Kaden said, "and with skiing on people’s mind and networks and newspapers covering it, it will be interesting to see what happens."

Check this Web site for ski area conditions: www.skiwashington.com.