If your Memorial Day weekend bingo card includes sliding on snow alongside some backyard grilling and the Northwest Folklife Festival, you’re in luck.
Crystal Mountain Resort announced Friday that it will extend the ski and snowboard season to May 26, in keeping with a custom of pushing resort operations as long as Mother Nature allows. The decision comes after 61.5 inches of snow came down in March, putting Crystal at 126% of its historical average season snowfall, according to a news release.
Daily operations end on April 20, but Crystal will reopen on Friday through Sunday for the last weekend in April and first weekend in May. Operations switch to Saturdays and Sundays on May 10-11 and 17-18, ending the month with a Friday to Monday holiday weekend season sendoff.
“Any time we can extend our season for our skiers and riders, we are going to do it,” said the resort’s President and COO Matthew Darbous in a statement.
March delivered much-needed snow across the Cascades, with Mt. Baker Ski Area clocking the highest total of any local ski area at 143 inches month to date, according to resort staff. Their closing day remains set at April 20, however, the same day projected at the beginning of the season.
“No extension and never say never but I don’t see extending this season,” wrote Operations Manager Mike Trowbridge via text message. “To my knowledge, we’ve never gone beyond posted closing day with an extension.”
April is indeed the cruelest month, as T. S. Eliot dubbed it, with most lift-serviced skiing popular among Washington residents coming to an end for the season. At a quartet of area ski hills, clip in one last time on April 13 — the tentative planned closing day at Stevens Pass, and confirmed last day at Idaho’s Schweitzer, Mt. Spokane and Alpental.
For the latter, that’s an unusually early closure at what is traditionally The Summit at Snoqualmie’s longest-running ski area. While season passholders have complained about getting shortchanged on an Alpental season that typically runs through May 5, the decision will lead to short-term pain for long-term gain as Summit management prepares for the replacement of Chair 2, or Edelweiss Chair.
Taking down the vintage Riblet double requires moving heavy machinery into place over snow due to the lack of roads up steep Denny Mountain. Instead, the season wraps on April 20 at Summit Central. A week later, Mission Ridge winds down on April 27. White Pass has yet to announce a closing day.
Crystal will almost certainly be the last place to spin lifts in Washington, but dedicated skiers and snowboarders craving turns deep into the spring have options across the Northwest. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort in Chewelah, Stevens County has posted operating dates through May 5 and announced on its website, “We will remain open as long as conditions allow!” In Oregon, Mt. Hood Meadows calls it quits on May 3, but Mt. Bachelor will push on and spin lifts daily until May 26. Although Whistler Mountain shuts down on April 21, neighboring Blackcomb keeps going until May 19.
(All of this late-season skiing is, of course, conditions dependent. Check resort websites before heading up to the mountain in shorts and T-shirts.)
And if you’re eager to keep the streak going under the summer sun, take solace: Last year, Timberline on the flanks of Mt. Hood didn’t end its season until August 18.
