What's New This Season at Washington's Biggest Ski Areas
The new Kehr's Chair at Stevens Pass will haul more skiiers uphill per hour.
Image: Delaney Adrian/Vail Resorts
As the 2023–24 ski season finally creeps up on us, we pray for snow and start thinking about where to hit the slopes. We appreciate Washington's independent ski areas, but sometimes you want to hit the big guys, all owned by large or midsize multi-mountain corporations. That backing can mean constant upgrades and posh amenities, like a mid-run beer at an on-mountain yurt or a new chairlift with bigger seats. Here's what's on tap at the local resorts.
Stevens Pass Ski Resort
The favorite two words for any skier: new chairlift. Stevens Pass welcomes a replacement to Kehr's chair, which up until last year was a creaky two-seater that inched up the far east side of the base area. Over the summer, crews replaced it with a quad version (though not a detachable fast one) that should haul more skiers up the frontside to the backside-access Double Diamond chair.
Other new features include the Pacific Cantina, with Mexican fare (including margaritas) open Friday through Sunday. The My Epic app, from owners Vail Resorts, allows visitors to store their lift ticket on their phones and offers real-time alerts about which lifts are spinning.
Crystal Mountain Resort
The good news is that construction work on Crystal's new Mountain Commons lodge continued through the summer. The bad news is that no opening date is set, so it won't be part of the season kickoff today. The resort is debuting a new yurt near the base of Rainier Express, until now one of the few on-mountain connection points without food service. The yurt will have grab-and-go snacks and a shop with hand warmers and other essentials.
Also new: RFID technology for ticket scanning, meaning no more wrestling the pass out of a coat pocket. A new NASTAR ski racing course will be open to the public, and the new Lot G parking area that increased parking capacity last year now has 35 RV spaces, adding to the overnight spots in Lot B. Unchanged but still exciting: Crystal will continue free bus service from Enumclaw.
Summit at Snoqualmie
New chairlift alert! (There are those special words again.) Alpental's old two-seater Sessel chair has been replaced with a larger three-seater, though like the new lift at Stevens Pass, it is not a detachable one. Still, the Sessel improvement is just part of the major facelift that will hit Alpental next season, including a replacement for the Edelweiss chair and a brand-new International chair (i.e., a new route, not just a swap in the same spot).
In an El Niño year, Summit's pass guarantees are one welcome returning feature. Season pass holders get a partial credit to put toward next year's purchase if Summit at Snoqualmie isn't open at least 100 days over the course of the season.
