The Summit at Snoqualmie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Summit at Snoqualmie |
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 The Summit at Snoqualmie
Location in Washington (state)
The Summit at Snoqualmie
Location in the United States
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| Location | Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, U.S. |
| Nearest city | North Bend – 18 miles (29 km) |
| Coordinates | 47°25′26″N 121°24′58″W / 47.424°N 121.416°W |
| Vertical | 2,280 ft (695 m) Alpental – 2,280 ft (690 m) Summit Central – 1,025 ft (312 m) West – 765 ft (233 m) East – 1,100 ft (335 m) |
| Top elevation | 5,420 ft (1,652 m) (Alpental) |
| Base elevation | 2,610 ft (796 m) (Summit East) |
| Skiable area | 1,914 acres (7.7 km2) (combined) |
| Runs | 62 (combined) - 14% easiest - 45% more difficult - 41% most difficult |
| Longest run | International 1.2 mi (1.9 km) |
| Lift system | 21 chairs, 6 surface lifts Alpental: 4 chairs, 1 surface lift Summit Central: 7 chairs, 2 surface lifts Summit West: 5 chairs, 3 surface lifts Summit East: 3 chairs |
| Snowfall | 2,000 inches (170 ft; 51 m) |
| Website | summitatsnoqualmie.com |
The Summit at Snoqualmie is a popular winter resort in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It's located on Snoqualmie Pass in Washington. This resort is a great place for alpine skiing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing (cross-country skiing), and winter tubing.
The Summit is owned and managed by Boyne Resorts. It's about 52 miles (80 km) east of downtown Seattle and easy to reach via Interstate 90.
The resort is made up of four main areas: Alpental, Summit West, Summit Central, and Summit East. These areas used to be separate resorts. They are located near Keechelus Lake to the east and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to the west and north. The Summit at Snoqualmie is the closest ski area to Seattle, making it a quick trip for many visitors.
The height difference from the top to the bottom of the ski runs, called the vertical drop, varies across the resort. Alpental has the biggest drop at 2,280 ft (690 m), while Summit West has a drop of 765 ft (233 m). Together, the four areas have 21 chairlifts and 6 surface lifts to take you up the mountain. The resort is open seven days and six nights a week during the winter season.
Contents
Explore Alpental
Alpental is one of the four main areas at The Summit. It's the only one located north of Interstate 90. Alpental is famous for its challenging slopes and backcountry terrain. It has some of the steepest ski runs in Washington state.
Alpental's Beginnings
The land where Alpental now stands was first claimed by miners around 1960. Bob Mickelson and his friends bought these claims. They planned to build a ski area on Denny Mountain and a community below. To help promote their idea, they asked filmmaker Warren Miller to create a video called "Alpental." To get to the area, they needed permission from the Sahalie Ski Club to build a road through their land. Alpental agreed to maintain this road for 99 years in exchange for access.
The Alpental ski area officially opened for the 1967-68 winter season. It started with 3 lifts and 5 rope tows. Night skiing was available from the very beginning. In 1977, the ski area was sold to Westours, an Alaska tour company. Then, in 1984, Westours sold it to Ski Lifts, Inc.
Discover Summit West
Summit West is known as the best place at the resort for beginners to learn. It's mainly a beginner and intermediate area. Summit West is home to the Summit Learning Center (SLC), which offers many different types of lessons for families.
Summit West's Past
In 1933, the city of Seattle opened a park called Municipal Park where Summit West is today. The city ran this park until 1940. At that time, people felt Snoqualmie Pass was too far for a city park. So, operations were given to Ski Lifts, Inc., owned by Jim Parker and Chauncey Griggs. They had been running the concessions since 1937, adding rope tows that year.
Under Ski Lifts, Inc., the area was renamed Snoqualmie Summit Ski Area because it was at the top of the mountain pass. In 1942, Griggs and Parker sold Ski Lifts, Inc. to Rance Morris and Webb Moffett. Later, it was sold to Booth Creek and then to Boyne Mountain, a family-owned company that runs nine resorts in the United States and Canada.
Ski Lifts, Inc. grew over the years. They bought Ski Acres in 1980, Alpental in 1983, and Hyak in 1992. In 1996, they agreed to sell all their operations to Booth Creek Ski Holdings, Inc.
Experience Summit Central
Summit Central offers a wide variety of terrain for skiers and snowboarders. It's often the busiest area at The Summit. It's also home to a large terrain park, which hosts many events throughout the winter season.
Summit Central's Story
In 1948, the "Ski Acres" ski area was opened by Ray Tanner. In 1980, Ski Lifts, Inc. bought Ski Acres and combined it with the nearby Snoqualmie Summit. In 1988, new ski runs were added on the south side with a triple chair lift called Silver Fir.
After Booth Creek bought the resort in 1997, Ski Acres was renamed Summit Central. In 2008, the Silver Fir triple chair was replaced with a faster, detachable quad chairlift called Silver Fir Express. In 2019, the Holiday Riblet double chair was replaced with a new quad chairlift that has a loading carpet to make it easier to get on.
Visit Summit East
Summit East, also known as "Hyak," is the easternmost of the four base areas. You can get there by taking I-90 exit 54. This area has a mix of intermediate and advanced runs. It's a great spot for glade skiing, which means skiing through trees.
Next to the alpine ski area, the Hyak area offers free cross-country skiing on groomed trails. These trails run along Lake Keechelus on the Iron Horse Trail and are maintained by the Washington State Parks. A new chairlift called Rampart was built at Summit East in the summer of 2014. It's a fixed-grip quad chair with an easy-load conveyor system. It opened on New Year's Day 2015.
Summit East's Past
- Further information: Milwaukee Ski Bowl
In 1959, a new ski area was developed on the north side of Hyak Mountain by three businessmen. They formed the Hyak Ski Corporation. The company faced financial problems. In 1971, a chairlift had an accident, which led to a lawsuit. This, along with a bad ski season, caused the area to go bankrupt in 1977.
The area was bought in 1980 by Pac West. Pac West was one of the few ski resorts that allowed snowboarding early on, along with Mt. Baker. Bob Barci helped organize the first snowboard competition there in 1985, which was won by Craig Kelly. Pac West also filed for bankruptcy in 1988.
In 1991, Ski Lifts, Inc. bought the area. This meant they now owned all four local Snoqualmie Pass ski areas. The name was changed back to Hyak. In 1998, Booth Creek bought the areas from Ski Lifts, Inc., and Hyak became Summit East.
In 2009, a large landslide damaged the Keechelus ski lift and some houses. This stopped downhill skiing and snowboarding for the rest of that season and the entire next season. Alpine operations returned for the 2010-2011 season. They installed a used triple chairlift and reopened terrain using parts from old lifts.
The new Rampart Chairlift was a much-awaited addition to Summit East. It greatly increased how many people could go up the mountain. It also opened up a large area for glade skiing. Dan Brewster, the general manager of The Summit at Snoqualmie, said that the new chairlift helps complete the fun and adventurous side of The Summit. He noted that skiers and snowboarders love the varied terrain and freedom of the Silver Fir/Summit East zone with its beautiful glade terrain and amazing views.
Cross-Country Skiing
Several miles of cross-country ski trails are maintained by Washington State Parks. You can get to these trails from the Sno-Park next to the Summit East base area.
Other Fun Activities
Summit Tubing Center
Across from Summit Central, you'll find the Summit Tubing Center. It has thirteen machine-groomed runs, making it the largest tubing center west of the Mississippi River. The runs are about five hundred feet long. The Summit Tubing Center used to be called Snow Flake Tubing Center before Booth Creek bought it. The tubing center now has a new magic carpet lift, which was added in the summer of 2016, to take tubers back up the hill.
