49 Degrees plans new lodge, lift

Officials at 49 Degrees North on Tuesday said the resort near Chewelah will add another chairlift and a mid-mountain lodge, but construction will likely not begin until next year.

Spokesman Brad Northrup said the lift purchased from Copper Mountain in Colorado will be delivered Thursday. When in place, the lift will move 1,100 skiers per hour to the summit of Angel Peak, bringing the area’s total lift capacity to 7,700 per hour, he said.

Skier visits this season, around 80,000, were a record for five-day-per-week operations, Northrup said, adding, “It helps to have a lot of snow.”

The lift will give skiers better access to seven trails and glade terrain cut two years ago, he said.

Northrup said the lodge will be built at the top of the Blastface and Silver Ridge trail systems. The design for the two-story structure, with a daylight basement, allows for 2,500 square feet of space, he said, but the floor plan may be expanded.

The facility will have a heated deck, dining area with in-floor heating, and first-aid room.

Northrup said completion of the five-acre, 640-car north parking lot is also expected next year.

Washington Trust Bank is handling financing for the expansion, which is part of a five-stage, $13 million program developed in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service in 2006.