Mt. Spokane patrol director urges caution on all-day uphill ski route

The director of Mt. Spokane’s ski patrol is urging downhill and uphill skiers to be cautious on the resort’s new all-day uphill ski route.

“I love that Jim (Van Löben Sels) is opening things up to uphill travel all day,” Eric Ewing said. “(However), I have some pretty grave concerns about B-29, just specifically the B-29 trail open to travel during the day. Because there are some blind corners there.”

In particular, he points to where the B-29 run takes a 90-degree left turn and enters the trees. There it becomes a “roller-coasterly cat track.”

Ewing has been the director of the mountains nonprofit ski patrol for two years. He’s thrilled there is an all-day uphill route, but he thinks the B-29 run in particular is not the best option.

In January, the resort implemented an all-day uphill ski policy.

There have been no uphill skiing related accidents to date.

Van Löben Sels, the general manager for the park, is aware of Ewing’s concerns.

“There are always safety concerns with any type of skiing,” he said. “Our uphill policy mimics a number of other ski areas. As I mentioned, this is a living process and we are adjusting when and where needed.”

He said the resort will monitor use this season and “see if there is a better route selection for next year.”

“We have seen a high volume of daytime uphill skiers,” Van Löben Sels said. “This is exciting. (Jan 16) we had over 35 skiers during the day.”