The Adventure Guys - Archives for: March 2008, 29

The inside story on outside recreation

Saturday, March 29th, 2008

Ski Season still going strong ... until April 13

Posted by Craig Hill @ 07:06:34 pm

Ski season isn’t over yet, but the end is near.

Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass will shut down for the season April 13. White Pass and Alpental switch to weekends after April 13. White Pass will stay open on weekends for the rest of the month. Alpental plans to continue weekend operations until May 4.

Summit West and Summit East are Closed. Mission Ridge closes Sunday. Mount Baker goes to weekend operations next week.

Snow conditions are still good at Washington’s ski areas, but they say they must close for two reasons.

First, they are required to write a closing date into their agreements with the National Forest Service. Second, it’s no longer profitable to stay open because skiers and snowboarders aren’t visiting as much.

“It comes down to supply and demand,” said Gwyn Howat of Mount Baker. “There’s plenty of snow but mountain biking, gardening, golf, soccer, baseball and all those spring activities take business away.”

Categories: Craig Hill, Adventure Guys, Skiing/Snowboarding

The Adventure Guys

We admit it. We've got great jobs. How many people get told by their bosses to go out and play? We write about those experiences each Thursday in The News Tribune’s Adventure section. But there's always more to the story. Here, Craig Hill and Jeffrey P. Mayor will share the inside stories on their adventures - including their misadventures - plus post news and answer your questions.

CRAIG HILL

Craig Hill is The News Tribune’s injury-prone Adventure writer. After eight years covering college football and basketball, he started writing about adventure sports in 2004. He writes about everything from mountaineering and cycling to skiing and camping. You can reach him at craig.hill@thenewstribune.com

JEFFREY P. MAYOR

Jeffrey P. Mayor has been The News Tribune’s Adventure editor since 2003, and oversees our weekly Adventure section. His coverage focuses on fishing, hunting, Mount Rainier and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. You can reach him at jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com