The Summit at Snoqualmie

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The Summit at Snoqualmie
Location: Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, US
Nearest city: North Bend (35 miles west)
Top elevation: 5420 ft (Alpental)
Base elevation: 2610 ft (Summit East)
Skiable area: 1914 acres
Lift system: 19 chairs, 10 surface lifts
Web site: summitatsnoqualmie.com - official site

The Summit at Snoqualmie, located on Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, is a winter resort providing alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, and winter tubing owned by Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc.. The Summit consists of four base areas that used to be individually owned and operated resorts. Alpental, Summit West (formerly named Snoqualmie Summit), Summit Central (formerly named Ski Acres), and Summit East (formerly named Hyak), border Lake Kecheelus on the East and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness on the West/North. The Summit at Snoqualmie is the closest ski area to Seattle, and is easily accessible via Interstate 90.

The vertical drop ranges from 2280 ft. at Alpental, to 765 ft. at Summit West. Combined, the four base areas have a total of 19 chairlifts, and 10 surface lifts. The resort is open seven days a week, with night operations 6 nights per week.

Contents

[edit] Alpental

See also: Alpental
Top of Armstrong Express (also known as Chair 1)
Top of Armstrong Express (also known as Chair 1)

Alpental is the only one of the four base areas located north of I-90 and is known for its advanced and backcountry terrain including some of the steepest runs around.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Elevation

  • Base - 3140 feet
  • Summit - 5420 feet
  • Vertical drop - 2280 feet

[edit] Terrain

  • 302 acres - lift serviced
  • 825 acres - backcountry
  • Advanced/expert - 75%
  • Intermediate - 20%
  • Beginner - 5%

[edit] Lifts

  • 1 high speed quad
  • 3 double chairs
  • 1 rope tow

[edit] History

The existence of the Alpental ski area is owed primarily to early prospectors of the valley. Bob Mickelson and some friends bought options on the mining claims around 1960 with plans to develop a ski area on Denny Mountain and a community in the lower area. To help out with their plan, they enlisted Warren Miller to produce a promotional video simply titled "Alpental". To gain access to the area, an agreement had to be made with the Sahalie Ski Club to allow a road through their property. Alpental ski area agreed to maintain this section of road at their cost for the Sahalie group in exchange for this access for 99 years.

The ski area opened for the 1967/68 seaon with 3 lifts and 5 rope tows, had night skiing from the beginning and even back then was not open on Mondays. In 1977 the ski area was sold to Westours (an Alaska tour operator) then in 1984 Westours sold to Ski Lifts, Inc.. In 1998, Alpental (along with the three other Snoqualmie Pass ski areas) were sold to Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc.

[edit] Summit West

Summit West contains the most popular learning terrain of the whole resort. Mainly a beginner/intermediate area, Summit West is home to the Summit Learning Center which offers many lesson varieties for the whole family.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Elevation

  • Base - 3000 feet
  • Summit - 3765 feet
  • Vertical drop - 765 feet

[edit] Terrain

  • 197 acres - lift serviced
  • Advanced/expert - 25%
  • Intermediate - 55%
  • Beginner - 20%

[edit] Lifts

  • 2 quad chairs
  • 2 triple chairs
  • 2 double chairs
  • 1 magic carpet
  • 2 rope tows

[edit] History

In 1933 the city of Seattle opened a park called Municipal Park on the location which is now called Summit West. The city operated this area until 1940 when the town people thought Snoqualmie Pass was too far away to be running a city park. Operations were turned over to Ski Lifts, Inc. who had been the concessionaire since 1937, the year they added rope tows to the park. Ski Lifts, Inc. operated the ski area through 1998, acquiring the other 3 ski areas over the years and selling the entire operation to Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc. in 1998.

[edit] Summit Central

Summit Central provides a variety of terrain and is typically the most crowded of the areas. It is also home to a large terrain park and half pipe, which hosts many events throughout the season.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Elevation

  • Base - 2840 feet
  • Summit - 3865 feet
  • Vertical drop - 1025 feet

[edit] Terrain

  • 350 acres - lift serviced
  • Advanced/expert - 25%
  • Intermediate - 60%
  • Beginner - 15%

[edit] Lifts

  • 1 high speed quad chair
  • 2 triple chairs
  • 4 double chairs
  • 2 magic carpet
  • 1 handle tow

[edit] History

In 1948, the "Ski Acres" ski area was opened by Ray Tanner. In 1980, Ski Lifts, Inc. acquired Summit Central and combined the operation with adjacent Summit West.

[edit] Summit East

A mix of intermediate and advanced runs, Summit East is where to go for glade skiing, cross-country and snowshoeing.

Looking from slopes above Easy Gold chair at the Summit East ski area.
Looking from slopes above Easy Gold chair at the Summit East ski area.

Summit East (formerly known as "Hyak" is the easternmost of the four base areas and is accessible via I-90 exit 54. Adjacent to the alping ski area, the Hyak area has free cross-country skiing on groomed trails along Lake Keechelus on the Iron Horse Trail (maintained by the Washington State Parks).

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Elevation

  • Base - 2610 feet
  • Summit - 3710 feet
  • Vertical drop - 1100 feet

[edit] Terrain

  • Advanced/expert - 40%
  • Intermediate - 45%
  • Beginner - 15%

[edit] Lifts

  • 2 double chairs

[edit] History

Hyak was the primary stop for the Milwaukee Road railroad on Snoqualmie Pass after the 2-mile train tunnel to Rockdale was completed. In 1936 the Milwaukee Road Railroad began clearing the mountain above Hyak and built a ski lodge to create one of the largest ski areas in its day, the "Snoqualmie Ski Bowl". The National Ski Jump championships were hosted at the ski bowl in 1941 and 1942. After closing during World War II, the area reopened under the name "Milwaukee Ski Bowl" in 1946 and the ski jumping tournaments resumed. In 1947 the Milwaukee Ski Bowl hosted the United States Olympic Trials.

In December 1949 the ski lodge burned to the ground but the resort ran for one more season using the train cars as a temporary lodge. In 1950 the Milwaukee Road decided to get out of the ski business and shut down operations.

In 1959 a new ski area was developed on the north side of Hyak Mtn by 3 businessmen who formed the Hyak Ski Corporation. The company made some bad financial moves and in 1972 a ski lift accident that left a 14 year old skier with permanent damage, and subsequent lawsuit sent the area into bankruptcy in 1977. The area was purchased in 1980 by Pac West until they too filed bankruptcy in 1988. In 1992 the area was purchased by Ski Lifts, Inc who now owned all 4 local Snoqualmie Pass ski areas. In 1998 Booth Creek purchased the areas from Ski Lifts, Inc. and continue to operate them today.

[edit] External links

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