Several Cascade ski areas improving, expanding facilities

On a recent chilly morning at Crystal Mountain, carpenters crunched through a few inches of snow and walked through a doorway into the ski resort’s new $4.1 million Campbell Basin Lodge.

The rustic alpine building of glass, rock and wood near the top of the Forest Queen chairlift had been approved by the U.S. Forest Service for construction before Boyne USA bought the area in 1997.

“But we needed new lifts first – we had to get rid of the old lifts and the lift lines,” said Stacy Schuster, Crystal marketing manager. “That took seven years and $15 million.”

Crystal Mountain, near Mount Rainier National Park, is one of several Cascade ski areas that are expanding and sprucing up their facilities.

A recent upswing in the ski business has helped finance new features, said Michael Berry, National Ski Areas Association president.

“Two of the past four years have been record years for us,” he said. “The two other years have been strong years.”

Comfy lodges, faster lifts and high-tech equipment are keeping the slopes an option for baby boomers. “We’re hanging onto the baby boomers – and we’ve got their kids,” Berry said.

Olympia skier Phil Roberts, who has skied Crystal for 16 years, loves the improved lifts.

“You can sit in there, look at the snow and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate,” she said.

– with jumps, rails and half-pipes for beginners to experts – plus a terrain park for beginners and a skate park.