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This year was exceptionally heavy with news on the outdoors beat, especially as national politics intruded on the solitude of hikers and backpackers. Changes in federal public lands policy had direct and indirect impacts on Washington’s mountains and trails that generated headlines and prompted local responses.
Beyond the whiplash-inducing pronouncements coming from the other Washington, there were also lighter notes that marked the year that was from new chairlifts to international competitions to a heartwarming anniversary to the debut of an ambitious mountain bike trail.
January began with skiers taking full advantage of the Internationale chair at Alpental, which was inaugurated a few days before the new year and heralded the biggest change at the Snoqualmie Pass ski area since it opened in 1967. It was also inauguration month in politics. In Olympia, Dave Upthegrove became commissioner of public lands just as a budget shortfall hampered the Department of Natural Resources’ ability to implement a recreation plan prepared by his predecessor Hilary Franz. More quietly, former REI and Snoqualmie Tribe staffer Joe Impecoven became Gov. Bob Ferguson’s special assistant on outdoor recreation, only the second person to hold a still new position in the governor’s cabinet.
The big news in politics, however, was Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office. Days later, Canada banned Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers from entering British Columbia, although the Canadian government insisted the decision was unrelated to rising U.S.-Canada tensions. The first shock of the new administration was the so-called Valentine’s Day massacre, when probationary employees across the federal government were fired. The temporary loss of dozens of Forest Service employees in Washington shuttered the Franklin Falls trailhead and threatened spring and summer trail maintenance on the state’s federally owned public lands.
While winter was in full swing, two international competitions came to the Pacific Northwest. Whistler Blackcomb, B.C. hosted the first-ever winter edition of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games for injured veterans and service members in February — and Washington competitor Bianca Hayden won gold. In March, the FIS Ski World Cup Finals came to Sun Valley, Idaho’s newly built Super Bowl of ski courses.
The heart of the winter was kind with prodigious snowfall in February, extending the season well into the spring — Crystal Mountain didn’t close until Memorial Day. But the midwinter was also marked by tragedy. Seattle skier Kyle Watson, founder of the ADL Ski Club, died in an avalanche while skiing in Japan. As the season wound down, Alpental bid farewell to Chair 2 (Edelweiss) and Crystal sent off Rainier Express (REX). Another tragedy struck in May when three alpine climbers died while climbing the Early Winter Spires in the North Cascades.
By spring, mountain bikers were ready to hit the trail — none longer than Orogenesis, a 5,000-mile bikepacking route the length of the West Coast, whose Washington segment went online this year. In December, ultra-endurance cyclist Kurt Refsnider reached the tip of the Baja Peninsula after 135 days in the saddle that began in August at the Oroville-Osoyoos Border Crossing in Okanogan County.
As spring sprung, volunteer trail crews began fanning out as the state’s conservation and recreation nonprofits worried about the impacts that federal staffing and budget cuts would have. Some major Washington Trails Association projects completed this year included wrapping up recovery from the 2017 Norse Peak fire along Highway 410 by reopening 18 trails and finishing up lingering work to remove logs on Tiger Mountain from the November 2024 bomb cyclone.
The run-up to summer saw attention turn to our state’s national parks, which marked the two-year anniversary of the Hurricane Ridge Day Lodge fire, whose reconstruction is finally moving forward according to a December announcement from Olympic National Park. Mount Rainier National Park dialed back its timed-entry reservation system in year two to Sunrise, only given a spate of construction projections elsewhere in the park.
As summer entered full swing, there was a brief media firestorm over a proposal by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to sell off large swaths of federal public land, which would have made an estimated 5.4 million acres in Washington potentially eligible for sale, but the proposal was rescinded after major pushback from hunters and hikers alike.
Coastal communities questioned the wisdom of unrestricted fireworks displays on Washington beaches. Concerns about summer hiking overwhelming understaffed public lands reached a fever pitch in the Enchantments, prompting congressional ire and even demands from within Chelan County to close the popular hiking destination on an emergency basis — especially after multiple fatalities.
Amid the turmoil in public lands, August marked the 25th anniversary of the Hanford Reach National Monument. The month also saw the potential final summer of Lake Wenatchee YMCA Camp. Back on the slopes, summer was high season for both Alpental and Crystal to replace the chairlifts they had decommissioned in the spring.
By September, two more federal storylines emerged. First, the Great American Outdoors Act — which funded an impressive $271.2 million to Washington over five years to fix up trails, campgrounds and national parks — sunset with no immediate signs of renewal. The second was an announcement by the U.S. Forest Service to rescind the Roadless Rule, which limits development on National Forest land not designated as federal wilderness. One local development in September: Chelan County released a draft environmental impact statement and began accepting public comment on Mission Ridge Ski Resort’s proposed expansion.
A partial federal government shutdown began in early October, though impacts on Washington’s national parks appeared limited as the region entered shoulder season with many facilities already closed for the winter. Meanwhile, REI hit the fashion news cycle over its collaboration with Swiss shoe brand On and Japanese clothing brand Beams. The month stayed stylish as the first-ever Seattle Outdoor Fashion Week strutted through Pioneer Square — and Capitol Hill outdoors boutique Windthrow landed on The New York Times list of the 50 Best Clothing Stores in America.
The first snow hit surprisingly early in October, a false omen for the region’s skiers and snowboarders, but also the beginning of ski resort news trickling out. Crystal made headlines with its $1,500 Reserve Pass while Summit at Snoqualmie’s highest-in-the-nation parking fees came back down to Earth. The Northwest Avalanche Center, the second oldest in the U.S., celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first-ever avalanche bulletin on Dec. 6, 1975.
A warm, wet November kept Washington ski areas from opening in time for Thanksgiving, but Mission Ridge managed to make enough snow for an early December opening. A Seattle Times headline posited “All downhill from here?” Taking that metaphor at its most pessimistic — yes, it all went downhill from there as multiple high-powered atmospheric rivers annihilated what little snowpack Washington had and put ski season on pause.
Lowland trails, forest roads and mountain highways grappled with catastrophic flooding, while fierce downslopes toppled trees galore on the east side of the Cascades. There were initial fears that the state’s ski season would not reopen before the first surge of peak visitation days between Christmas and New Year’s.
Among the most acute impacts were felt along the Highway 2 corridor. Stevens Pass evacuated its staff ahead of anticipated road closures and Leavenworth canceled a critical December weekend of its perennially popular Village of Lights and Christmastown Festival. While the lights came back on in Washington’s faux-Bavarian village within a few days, Highway 2 remains closed — potentially for months according to Gov. Bob Ferguson — leaving Stevens Pass in a lurch.
In the initial days of the disaster, Stevens Pass leadership blamed a lack of snow for not opening the ski area. That rationale became increasingly flimsy as winter showed up in full force and a feet of snow finally blanketed the Cascades. With owner Vail Resorts declining so far to offer refunds or deferrals to season passholders, and potentially expecting Seattle-area skiers and snowboarders to endure a 100-mile-plus detour when Stevens Pass does eventually open, irate customers have launched a Change.org petition calling on the Colorado-based company to issue refunds. The groundswell of frustration has echoes of the early days of the tumultuous 2021-2022 season, when Stevens Pass ran at half steam due to staff shortages.
Digging out from the atmospheric river and windstorm, Mission Ridge raced to clear downed trees and repair the Chair 4 haul line, while Crystal Mountain and Mount Baker worked with WSDOT to draw contingency plans so skiers and snowboarders could drive through washed out stretches of Highways 410 and 542, respectively. White Pass and the Summit at Snoqualmie also fired up the lifts, putting every other Cascades ski area online, while grooming began on Nordic trail networks from the Interstate 90 corridor to Methow Trails.
Call it a Christmas present or a latter-day Hanukkah miracle, but with the exception of Stevens Pass, what seemed like a complete washout just a few weeks ago has been salvaged. Skiers and snowboarders wondering if they’d even be hitting the slopes by the holidays are now closing out the year by making some turns — and perhaps grateful they can turn the page on 2025.
