Snow Days: Resorts' Season Started Slow But Finished Strong

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Pacific Northwest ski areas enjoyed another successful season despite a slow start and some of the lowest snowfall totals since the disastrous 2014-15 winter.

White Pass followed the trend of late starts with a Dec. 14 opening, but attendance began to rise significantly in January as more snow and cold weather arrived. Some massive storms in February brought even more visits than the previous month, establishing a solid base that has kept the mountain in good shape with two more weekends of skiing and snowboarding left.

"We feel like in years like this, once we got open, everything just fell right into place," marketing director Kathleen Goyette said. "If we had to be disappointed in anything, Spring Break didn't treat us very well because we ended up right on the cusp of rain and snow."

That kept White Pass from breaking any attendance records, which Goyette said appeared to be within reach through the second weekend in March. Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association president Jordan Elliott said full season numbers won't be available until May, but it's clear significant snow in February provided a huge boost.

He acknowledged it's possible unusually high amounts of snow at lower elevations contributed to higher attendance across the region in January compared to February, when Summit at Snoqualmie closed for two days after blizzard conditions shut down I-90. Still, Elliott said over the long term wintry weather provides a benefit for ski and snowboard areas, something Mt. Hood Meadows saw despite some closures of I-84 in the Columbia Gorge.

"If there ever is ice conditions or snow or storms in Portland, that ultimately helps us more than it's going to hurt us," vice president of communications Dave Tragethon said.

The region's largest independently owned resort saw more than 100,000 skier visits in January, February and March, with snow continuing to fall and leaving a strong base well into April. Daily operations at Meadows end this week, but it's expecting to remain open Friday through Sunday until May 4 and even plans to operate two lifts for Memorial Day Weekend skiing.

Northeast Washington ski areas received less snow, as usual, and closed after the first weekend of April. Mt. Spokane general manager Brad McQuarrie said the mountain saw record attendance in January, February and March as people came out to enjoy the debut of the long-awaited Chair 6, which services seven new runs.



"It was the most used chair," McQuarrie said. "Everybody just got back there and skied all day. It was a huge buzz in the community and (we saw) lots of new faces."

He said cold temperatures throughout the winter both in Spokane and at the mountain kept people primed to go out to experience consistent, quality snow. Tragethon said some powder was so light they referred to it as "smoke" and Goyette agreed the fresh snow invigorated skiers and snowboarders experiencing March's record-low temperaturesin Yakima.

But long before massive amounts of snow started falling, area resorts were thriving thanks to snowmaking operations Elliott said have improved considerably over the last few years. Goyette said the last offseason's additions to infrastructure, especially for areas below 5,000 feet, contributed to a fast start once the mountain opened in mid-December.

Elliott also noted many places continue to invest in equipment for snow harvesting, something Tragethon said Meadows does frequently to take snow from the parking lot to the mountain. As a result and thanks in part to more early snowfall than other areas in the Cascades, Meadows began limited operations on Nov. 24.

White Pass generally avoids taking snow from the parking lot because Goyette said it contains debris, but she added they'll occasionally move snow from unused parts of the mountain if necessary. Fresh snow can also be brought in to rebuild ramps at the terrain park.

As the season winds down Goyette said White Pass could soon be finalizing some exciting plans for next season, and it will be one of three Washington resorts to partner with the new Indy Pass to provide discounts for skiers and snowboarders seeking to try multiple independent ski areas. Stevens Pass and Summit at Snoqualmie intends to upgrade lifts, Mt. Spokane plans to do more work on its new runs, and Tragethon said Meadows will add 250 spaces of overflow parking while construction begins on the new lodge expected to open by Christmas 2020.

Elliott said this winter gave resorts plenty of reason to keep investing for the future as the Northwest continues to draw more attention from skiers and snowboarders. He noted connections to Stevens Pass, Crystal Mountain and Summit at Snoqualmie through corporate passes will help not only those mountains, but the communities surrounding them as well.