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DISCOVER
Sunday, October 29, 2000
Now all we need is some snow For skiers, the waiting can be the hardest part DARREN SAMUELSOHN, THE OLYMPIAN Snow, please.
It's a simple plea, echoing through the hearts and souls of many a northwestern skier and snowboarder.
Waiting impatiently, these recreation fanatics watch the weather forecasts for the first sign of snow -- and the subsequent opening of the Pacific Northwest's ski resorts.
The buzz among ski bums is that the winter is going to be a good one. Typically, resorts open around Thanksgiving. But Russ Brown, director of the Olympia Ski School, thinks that the snow will come in early November, boosting interest for the entire season.
"If the almanac and the weather people are correct, we're going to have a great year," Brown said. "Early snow makes for excited people."
It's been more than six months since skiers and snowboarders have been on the slopes. Hence the anticipation, of the speed, exhilaration and what many say is the supreme natural high.
"It's probably one of the few things I feel passionately about," says skiing enthusiast David Bollinger of Olympia. "Nothing compares to it. Nothing I do gives me that much thrill. It's just exhilarating. It's like having one day for me just to play."
Except for the weather, which is expected to be more nearly normal than recent winters, skiers and boarders heading out to Washington's resorts aren't going to find many differences from last year.
The most notable addition can be found at Crystal Mountain, where a new high speed detachable quad to Green Valley cuts ride time from 7 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. The other major change is at the Mount Baker Ski Area, where a 600-foot long, 80-foot wide half-pipe gives trick skiers and snowboarders a chance to strut.
"It's a doozy," said Gwyn Howat, the marketing director at Mount Baker.
Beyond those changes, little has been done except for some minor adjustments to quick-stop food services and web sites.
"A lot of these resorts have had really busy years," said Scott Kaden, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association. "Now they're taking a breather."
Washington's ski resorts are in the middle of a boom. New residents, many of them snowboarders, arrived in droves over the last decade.
With that came changes.
At the Summit at Snoqualmie, $10.5 million has been shoveled out over the last four years, primarily on the Central Express at Summit Central and Armstrong's Express at Alpental. Skiers and snowboarders save nearly 14 minutes thanks to the latter, two-year-old lift.
On the radar screen are still more changes at Crystal Mountain. A master development plan and environmental impact statement are in the works on $65 million worth of redevelopment that would include a new base lodge, additional chairlifts, a barrier-free 100-person tram to the Summit House restaurant and a 100-room hotel, said Stacy Schuster, sales and marketing director at Crystal Mountain.
"We're just getting bigger and bigger," said Shuster. "We've made some amazing changes so far and people who haven't been here for a while are going to be pleasantly surprised."
Also in the planning stages is a White Pass expansion that would put a 4,000-foot detachable quad chairlft in the Hogback Basin backcountry. This not-so-new proposal has been a controversial one because it would reach into the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area, marking the first time that land set aside by the Wilderness Act of 1964 would have been been developed with a road.
The drive for more ski terrain is linked to a burgeoning Washington population that each winter craves its skiing and snowboarding. New and improved equipment, including shaped skis, have made it much easier for a beginner to carve and turn on the slopes.
And ski resorts have continued to become more tech savvy. Almost every resort in the region now offers a thorough look at its terrain, rates and other amenities on the Internet. Folks eager for the slopes can already buy season passes for a number of resorts on the web. And at resorts such as Mission Ridge near Wenatchee, skiers can reserve equipment and have it sized and ready before they arrive.
Beginners are also making waves. Ski lessons are a highly sought commodity that are available at each resort. At Crystal Mountain for example, more than 200 people take lessons on a busy weekend day.
South Sounders interested in lessons can head to Crystal Mountain via one of the three ski schools that take folks to the slopes by chartered bus.
Skiers and snowboarders are no doubt waiting for the white stuff to fall. For one, it means exhilaration. For another, it means a refuge from the other common winter occurrence: rain.
"Most people look at the sky and say 'Oh gosh, it's raining,'" said Olympia skier Charles Shelan. "But I've got a big old smile on my face because I know it's snowing in the mountains. And that's going to give me a lot of good powder when I get up there." The Olympian Copyright 2000
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