Snoqualmie ski resorts close midseason for first time in decade

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. — Snoqualmie Pass is closing its slopes for the first time in 10 years after an already late start to the ski season. The resorts there say there just isn't enough snow. The last open lift at Alpental closed around 4 p.m.
 
"A lot of trees, stumps, creeks," said Christian Milton about what he saw on his last few runs down. The friend he was skiing with didn't make it down at all. 
 
"He caught a little stump on the way down, and fell into a ditch and that wasn't very good," Milton said.
 
The ski resorts say the snow isn't so bad up top but the weather is too warm for the cats to do their climbing and push the snow to the base.
 
When we told the workers at Gerk's Ski in Issaquah about the closure they said they were worried.
 
"Yeah it definitely affects business," Kevin Dreher said.
 
He says 70 percent of the skiers who come in the store are headed to the pass.
 
"Certain areas are up, like our shop area is up, our rental business has been up -- but our sales have been down," Dreher told us.
 
Skiers who do brave conditions end up needing repairs or opt for rentals; of course that won't be the case now. Gerk's just hoping people will think ahead to next season and take advantage of next week's big sales.
 
"There's a lot of savvy customers out there," Dreher said.
 
The resort tells us when this happened in 2005 they actually closed and reopened several times over the course of the season, which usually runs through Cinco de Mayo. They said there's just no way to predict how long the closure will last this time.  

We also asked about the workers. The full-time, year-round employees will continue working through the closure, but the majority of the employees are seasonal and will be laid off.

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