Spokane7
68°
May 19, 2011 in City
Mt. Spokane gets go-ahead to expand ski terrain
Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park will be allowed to expand into pristine terrain on the mountain’s northwest face.
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission voted 4-0 Thursday afternoon to allow the expansion to move forward, after hours of discussion about recreational desires versus the need to protect old-growth forest, meadows and wetlands at Mount Spokane, the state’s largest park.
“This allows the ski expansion, but tried to build in environmental controls by protecting the natural forest below the runs,” said Fred Olson, the commission’s chairman.
“Those who wanted to not allow skiing, they had some very good arguments,” he added. “It’s an incredible resource.”
The commission’s decision clears the way for the nonprofit ski area to expand into 279 acres of an 850-acre area known for its subalpine habitat. Brad McQuarrie, the ski area’s general manager, said the permit work for the expansion will begin immediately.
Ski area operators want to build a new chairlift and seven ski runs on the mountain’s northwest side.
Cecilia Vogt, a commission member from Yakima, spoke against the expansion, but wasn’t present for the final vote.
Skiers always want more terrain, said Vogt, who identified herself as a 40-year alpine skier. But Vogt said she’s also an environmentalist and advocated for more protected habitat.
“This is the classic paradox for the commission, because they have a dual mission of providing recreation and protecting the resource for future generations,” said Virginia Painter, the commission’s spokeswoman.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife opposed the ski expansion, along with the Save Mount Spokane Coalition of community and environmental groups.
The ski area is operated by Mt. Spokane 2000, which would be required to pay for any improvements. The nonprofit board is headed by Jim Meyer, husband of Betsy Cowles, the chairwoman of Cowles Co., which owns The Spokesman-Review.
This is a developing story. Check back later online, or read tomorrow’s Spokesman-Review newspaper for more details.
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selkirks on May 19 at 6:09 p.m.
I hope they add a HSQ on the front side and replace their day lodge before they go ahead with this. I’m not opposed, but it does not seem responsible to add on-mountain capacity without increasing skier services capacity.
spokanistani on May 19 at 6:26 p.m.
i would like to see a map of what is going to be changed. i know a lot of people that would have attended had we known about it. unfortunately parks n rec doesn’t put up info and SR doesn’t put up dates
SoHill_Man on May 19 at 7:46 p.m.
Personally, when I go up to ski, I like to ski and not hang out in the lodge, so I’d rather have more terrain than lodge. The lodge is sparse, but I like it like that, the old trashy vibe of “The Can”. The cost of a new lodge might outweigh the income from expanding it. Of course, I’m not going up there with a family/little kids. I think it’s great they got the go ahead to expand. I find that folks that typically oppose expansion always claim they’re an avid “fill in the blank”. Much like our efforts to get a white water park on the Spokane River; the opposition often say they’re avid kayakers (cough) and are worried about stressing the red band trout that they’re stressing even more by catch and release. The truth is, they don’t want to share the river. I’m an avid fisherman and I want a white water park!!!!! Wow, did I go off topic?
beckyk on May 19 at 7:56 p.m.
Check in with us more regularly, Spokanistani. I wrote a front-page story on the proposed expansion that ran March 14 and an update on May 5. Both stories included info about upcoming meetings and links to the commission’s Web site. My colleague, Rich Landers, included an item Monday about the meeting in his blog.
If you’re not familiar with Rich’s Outdoors blog, it’s an excellent source of natural resource news.
Becky Kramer
RedCedar on May 19 at 9:32 p.m.
One thing to keep in mind, even if you didn’t want the ski area expansion, is that if they close the place down someday, the mountain will recover pretty quickly. Ski runs mostly involve cutting down trees, not doing a lot of earth moving. I used to live in Everett and watched the Mt Pilchuck ski area revert to nature over the course of 30 years or so since it was closed. Compared to other bits of civil engineering that humans inflict on Nature such as highways, dams, and shopping malls, ski areas are fairly benign.
hamrsrscarry on May 19 at 10:31 p.m.
awesome! I cannot wait until I get a shot at that lone wolverine on the backside … hey wolverine, you and me on a black diamond. Keep eating hibernating marmots in their dens and one bluebird afternoon you will taste the power of Volkl.
Thayne on May 19 at 10:42 p.m.
Mr. Olson’s comment should read it ‘was” an incredible resource. When they are done destroying the old growth forests and polluting the wetlands and meadows it will be too late. Does every part of the planet need to be “humanized”?
SoHill_Man on May 19 at 11:17 p.m.
@Thayne, you’re entitled to your opinion of course, but I think you’re dramatizing this specific instance.
@hamrsrscarry, thanks for blowing my whole premise regarding Thayne. You’d better hope the wolverine doesn’t taste the power of hamrsrscarry on his Vokyls.
zac1974 on May 20 at 7:56 a.m.
This is great news! Finally the best terrain on that mountain will have lift access!!!
eagleproducer on May 20 at 8:26 a.m.
zac: It isn’t the “best terrain” on the mountain. I ski over there all the time and the best terrain is actually BELOW chair four.
zac1974 on May 20 at 1:02 p.m.
Well, it will definitely be better than anything they have currently in the resort area, except off of Chair 1.
hamrsrscarry on May 21 at 2:19 a.m.
WTF is below chair 4 except access roads, forest and Blanchard?