CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, Wash. - Forget the snow, two local ski resorts want you to visit for the dirt and the wildflowers. Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass are proposing new projects to become year 'round resorts.
Crystal Mountain is finalizing financing on a $5.3 million gondola that would ferry visitors from the base to the summit. It’s been a 10-year project. The resort hopes the gondola will not only bring in the cold weather guests but also attract crowds during the summer for hiking and horseback riding.
“You don’t have to be a skier or snowboarder to come to Crystal Mountain anymore,” said resort spokesperson Justus Hyett.
The long-term goal is to expand the Summit House restaurant on top of the slopes to become the highest full service restaurant in the state. Right now, about 350,000 visitors come to Crystal Mountain in the winter. Only a couple of thousand visitors come during the summer. The gondola would be a first in Washington and Oregon.
Hyett says those who haven’t been to the resort during the summer are missing out.
"It’s beautiful. There are wildflowers everywhere. The views are incredible,” said Hyett.
Stevens Pass is waiting for the final approval from the Forest Service to launch a summertime mountain bike park. The adventure park would be modeled after the highly successful mountain bike resort at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia.
“Mountain biking is a logical extension of winter. It fits into our business model well,” said Stevens Pass Director of Marketing, Chris Rudolph.
The proposed park would start with five trails and eventually expand to more than 25 trials. The current lifts would be altered to allow guests to load their own bikes onto the chairs. Once the resorts get approval construction will begin with an opening tentatively scheduled for the end of summer. The resort hopes to attract about ten thousand visitors during its’ first full summer season.
