The good times are carrying over into the New Year for skiers and snowboarders, and many ski resorts reported a record turnout during the Christmas holiday break.
“We had a great holiday period once we got the power back on and the roads cleared, and actually had record crowds,” said Guy Lawrence, the marketing director at the Summit at Snoqualmie.
“I think half the population of Seattle came up,” Lawrence said. “It was a good scenario and a very strong start to the season both for the conditions and a business point of view. We have plenty of snow for January and February, and maybe well into March.”
Make plans to visit Summit East and take a ride up the new Rampart quad lift providing access to unique trails and gladed tree areas, and a crossover trail between Summit East and Central.
Unlimited Digital Access. $1 for 4 weeks.
“The new crossover trail is proving to be a great link between the two areas, and has an improved family friendly zone around Silver Fir and Summit East,” Lawrence said.
A new run will be dedicated 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at Summit East called Sarrah’s Run. The run is named after Sarrah A. Powers who tragically died in a car accident last March near Snoqualmie Pass.
Elsewhere places like Crystal Mountain Resort actually received a foot of snow in the past week bringing the season snowfall total to 244 inches. There are still good pockets of powder and smooth groomed corduroy conditions along the main trails.
Stevens Pass Resort is boasting a season snowfall of 198 inches with excellent conditions from the top of Seventh Heaven clear down to the base area. At White Pass there is 7 inches of untouched powder in the basin, but skiers and riders should stay away from deep tree wells. Their season snowfall total ranges from 179 to 203 inches.
A strong start to the winter season makes Heartstopper and Sideburn great choices for downhill backcountry skiers and boarders or snowshoe treks at Scottish Lakes High Camp south of Lake Wenatchee State Park in the north-central Cascades.
Cross-country gliders can find prime trail conditions at Summit at Snoqualmie; White Pass; Stevens Pass; Cabin Creek and Erling Stordahl trail system located 10 miles east of Snoqualmie Summit at Exit 63 off I-90; and east from Leavenworth to the Methow Trails.
At Lake Wenatchee State Park, look for fair to good soft snow along trails at Nason Ridge, South Park, Kahler Glen and North Park with Chiwawa seeing the best conditions in years. There is some debris on trails from trees shedding snow. A Sno-Park permit is required, with self-pay stations located at each parking area. The area also has snowshoe trails and a sled hill.
Other great cross-country-skiing bets are the Cabin Creek area in the Snoqualmie Corridor, Leavenworth (which has 26K groomed trails) and 49 Degrees North (which has 25K of trails open).
Mount Rainier National Park is open for winter activities, and the snow-play sliding hill at Paradise is open on weekends and holidays. Ranger-guided 1.8-mile snowshoe walks are available Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through March 27 at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. outside of the Jackson Visitor Center. Sign-ups begin one hour before each scheduled time. Be sure to check the website for road conditions and restrictions before heading up. Through Wednesday, Paradise was covered with 101 inches of snow. For updates, go tohttp://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm.
The snowy weather pattern last month has come to an end for the moment although a weak low-pressure system brought a little dusting of snow to the Cascades in the past few days. The snowpack remains robust, and while this month might not see any heavy snowfall it won’t end up being one to worry about either.
Snowshoers tour the forest at Snoqualmie Pass on a ranger-led hike in 2011. (Ellen M. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times)
Snowshoers tour the forest at Snoqualmie Pass on a ranger-led hike in 2011. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times)
High pressure will move back in bringing partly cloudy to mostly clear skies Friday through Sunday. The freezing level will jump around from 1,500 feet to as high as 6,500 feet.
In Oregon, Mount Bachelor (86-115 inch base), Timberline (86), Mount Ashland (59-91), Hoodoo (56), Mount Hood Meadows (79-108), Mount Hood Ski Bowl (56-58) and Anthony Lakes (45).
In Idaho, areas open daily include Sun Valley (57-80), Brundage (52-77), Tamarack (46-61), Pomerelle (70-87), Schweitzer (39-67), Lookout Pass (47-74), Soldier Mountain (50-65), Bogus Basin (44-50) and Silver Mountain (27-50).
In Montana, Whitefish Mountain Resort is open daily, and has a 57-inch base, and 139 inches so far this season. A total of 105 trails and 10 lifts were operating.
To the north in British Columbia, areas open daily include Whistler-Blackcomb (66), Cypress (126), Mount Washington (58-77), Whitewater (75-76), Manning Park (50-63), Big White (83), Revelstoke (28-64), Fernie (33-68), Mount Seymour (69-116), Red Mountain (67), Grouse Mountain (85-128), Kicking Horse (29-49), Apex (63), Silver Star (51-62), Sun Peaks (53-58), Panorama (22-38) and Kimberley (48).
Latest snow and lift reports:
Which ski areas are open and closed:

Resort

Hours

Base

Summit West, SnoqualmieOpen: Fri, and Wed-Thu: 4pm-10pm; Sat: 9am-10pm; Sun: 9am-5pm; closed Mon-Tue75 inches
Summit Central, SnoqualmieOpen: Fri-Sat and Mon-Thu: 9am-10pm; Sun: 9am-5pm75 inches
Summit East, SnoqualmieOpen: Sat-Sun: 9am-4pm; closed Sun-Jan. 1575 inches
Nordic Center, SnoqualmieOpen: Fri-Sun: 9am-3pm; closed Mon-Thu. Tubing center open Fri-Sat: 9am-9pm; Sun: 9am-5pm75 inches
Alpental, SnoqualmieOpen: Fri-Sat and Tue-Thu: 9am-10pm; Sun: 9am-5pm; closed Mon85-120 inches
Mount Baker Ski AreaOpen daily: 9am-3:30pm103-135 inches
Crystal MountainOpen daily: 9am-4pm59-90 inches
Stevens PassOpen: Fri-Sat and Wed-Thu: 9am-10pm; Sun: 9am-6pm; Mon-Tue: 9am-4pm54-74 inches
White PassOpen daily: 8:45am-4pm; night skiing Thu-Sat until 9pm. Nordic center is also open60-82 inches
Mission Ridge Ski & BoardOpen: Fri-Mon and Thu: 9am-4pm; closed Tue-Wed; night skiing Sat until 8pm53-60 inches
49° North MountainOpen: Fri-Tue: 9am-3:30pm53-91 inches
Mt. Spokane Ski & SnowboardOpen: Fri-Sat and Wed: 9am-9:30pm; Sun: 9am-4pm; closed Mon-Tue46-68 inches
Ski BluewoodOpen daily: 9am-4pm53-65 inches
Whistler-BlackcombOpen daily: 8:30am-3pm66 inches
Mt. BachelorOpen daily: 9am-4pm86-115 inches
Leavenworth Winter Sports ClubOpen: Icicle River, Leavenworth Golf Course and Ski Hill nordic trails. Ski Hill open Sat-Sun: 9:30am-5pm; Wed and Fri: 3pm-8pm37 inches
Methow TrailsOpen daily: 21 trails groomed Jan. 6-7 at Mazama; 19 at Rendezvous; 21 at Sun Mountain; and 13 at Winthrop


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