Significant November snowfall and a La Niña forecast offer potential for continued growth at ski areas throughout the Cascades this season.
White Pass marketing director Andy Mahre said season passes sold out once again, prompting the addition of a waitlist, and there are plans for a new lodge in the base area as well as other expansions to help accommodate the growing numbers of skiers and snowboarders. At the same time, White Pass remains committed to maintaining its culture as a small, independently owned ski area.
"The main thing I would say that allows us to keep that hometown feel or family feel is our working staff here," Mahre said. "Our employees are approachable. You show up to the ski area, there's a smiling face. You're greeted by these people."
Longtime season pass older Ward Whitmire used the common term "White Pass family" to describe people he knows at the mountain, many of whom he's skied with for decades.
Generations
The 63-year-old's parents met at White Pass in the early 1950s and his father, photographer Ken Whitmire, often took photos at the ski area. Ward now skis about 10-15 times per year with his daughters and grandchildren, and he's devised strategies to avoid the worst of growing crowds by going to different parts of the mountain at different times.
Mahre grew up at White Pass as well thanks to his father, Olympic silver medalist Steve Mahre, whose father, Dave, managed the ski area for three decades. The Mahre and Whitmire families are among those who have seen big changes to White Pass, most notably the 2010 expansion that essentially doubled the number of skiable acres inbounds.
That came with the addition of High Camp, the mid-mountain lodge, and additions to the lodge at the main base area along US Highway 12. Whitmire said management's handled growth well and noted even though the lines have gotten longer, they don't compare to what visitors might see at larger areas such as Crystal Mountain or Stevens Pass, which Whitmire acknowledged offer great skiing opportunities.
"You don't get as much of that family vibe where everybody's kind of in it together and working together and keeping everybody safe," said Whitmire, whose youngest daughter held a seasonal job at White Pass for a couple seasons. "They take very good care of their employees, which is unique because it is a part-time job, so to speak."
Massive crowds fueled by pandemic restrictions elsewhere led White Pass to break all of its visitor records in the 2020-21 season, and 2021-22 turned out to be the area's second-busiest winter ever. Mahre said new limits on daily lift tickets based off of historical attendance data aimed to keep crowds from overflowing as increased demand forced management to take a more proactive approach. Lines have still gotten longer,
More efforts to spread out crowds arrived this season with the introduction of peak pricing, an extra $5 for lift tickets on Fridays and Sundays, and another $5 for Saturdays and holidays. Mahre said they hope to encourage more people to visit mid-week, since Saturdays often sell out and draw the biggest crowds.
Geographic factors limit White Pass's growth more than anything else, since it's not near a major metro area and faces limited expansion options for both skiing and parking due to the surrounding wilderness areas. Mahre said that also keeps White Pass from developing much infrastructure for post-skiing activities, so they focus primarily on enhancing the on-mountain experience.
"We have a lot of core White Pass users, so people that continue to come here year after year after year," Mahre said. "People come from other areas that have never been here and they fall in love with it instantly."
Adapting to demand
A flurry of ownership changes at Washington ski areas over the last seven years highlighted how White Pass differs from many of its larger, busier peers in Washington State.
Three years after large companies based in Michigan and Colorado bought Summit at Snoqualmie, Stevens Pass and Crystal Mountain, White Pass sold 100% of its ownership to a group of Yakima-based businessmen, Andrew Sundquist, David Severn, Dan Plath, Adam Dolsen and Patrick Smith in 2021. That same year Kevin McCarthy ended his 36-year tenure as general manager, replaced by Rikki Cooper, who had already spent more than a decade working full-time at White Pass as the area's controller since 2009.
Mahre said it's often beneficial to be able to approach things from a family-oriented viewpoint rather than receiving orders from atop a corporate ladder. He knows White Pass can't offer everything found at one of the larger ski areas, but some of those amenities don't match the vibe White Pass wants to create.
They're always trying to encourage more people to try skiing or snowboarding, and a new terrain-based learning option created by a company called SNOW Operating offers a different experience for beginners this season. Mahre said the features designed to control speed and body position will be added near the base area when more snow is available, making the learning process more enjoyable without the fear of falls and injuries.
Whitmire's excited about another big change coming next offseason, when White Pass is set to install a fixed grip quad chairlift to replace Chair 4, the mountain's last double riblet lift. Mahre said it's just another way White Pass will improve safety and enhance its capabilities, just like the new permanent snow guns that provide additional capacity and flexibility for snowmaking.
"We have reached that threshold and it's come down to now exploring new options and how do we manage this in a way that still can keep things in a way to keep that original feel?" Mahre said. "(We're) trying to accommodate the customer that is just looking for somewhere just to go ski."
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