By Mark Yuasa
Courtesy of The Seattle Times/McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
Skiers and snowboarders are gearing up for the winter season, and Washington resorts have been busy sprucing up their hillsides.
The biggest project is happening at 49 Degrees North near Spokane, where they're installing a new double chairlift.
In 2009, 49 Degrees North started a major resort improvement project for Angel Peak. The area gave way to seven new, wide-open runs, including an additional 170 acres that were thinned of trees to create more glade-type terrain.
The double chairlift will cover 1,144 vertical feet on Angel Peak, and moves 1,000 guests per hour to the summit. The area has seven chairlifts.
A new mid-mountain lodge is expected to be completed at 49 Degrees North by the 2014 winter season.
The Mount Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park finished a 1,200-square foot addition to the main lodge, with 100 more seats and a new outdoor deck.
The Summit at Snoqualmie recently broke ground on the new Silver Fir Lodge, which includes completing the foundation before the first snowfall.
"We're at a point where we'll button it up soon on the first phase of the lodge," said Guy Lawrence, director of marketing for The Summit at Snoqualmie.
The second phase of construction will begin next spring, and plans are to have it open by the 2013-14 winter season.
"It will be a little higher-end lodge, and a great place to hang out with some nice food and rental offerings, and more retail space," Lawrence said.
Beginner and intermediate riders on the Pacific Crest quad chairlift at Summit West will see a nice upgrade this winter that will make loading easier.
"This chair's loading area has always been a tough transition and we're adding a conveyor system, which will make it easy to use and provide more safety," Lawrence said.
The new system allows the chair to run more efficiently with less stop and go time. People will wait behind a gate, and once it opens they'll step onto the moving conveyor, and it automatically loads them onto the chair.
This conveyor system technology has worked very well at many European destinations, and is now catching on fast in the United States.
Those looking for bargains on gear and learning about the latest news on ski and snowboard areas should make plans to visit the Washington Ski Fever and Snowboard Show Oct. 26-28 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.
Show hours: 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday. Cost is $12 adults, ages 6 to 12 is $3, and kids under age six are free. Details: www.skifever.org.
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