Cheap. Only two hours from Seattle, and even closer to Tacoma and Olympia, you can visit as a day trip or stay in convenient slope-side lodging that ranges from charming suites to fully furnished condos. Of dispatching with the hunt for bumps and glades. The recent Vail acquisition can be thanked for some newly upgraded lifts, but not to worry, the resort still maintains its local mountain vibe. These Photos Prove It. Iron Mountain sits on the edge of Tahoe ski country, and offers ski tourers a unique experiencepark at the top of runs, rather than the bottom. //--> Thunder Ridge, seven hundred vertical feet poking above a neighborhood of single-story homes an hour north of the city, hit just right. 509 Olive Way, Suite 305, Seattle, WA 98101 Phone: 206-957-2234 Fax: 206-447-3388, By Have you seen any abandoned buildings in Washington being reclaimed by nature? At the bottom of a steep bowl I scare up a group of whitetails nested like birds in the high grass and instead of just bounding off toward the forest they turn and bark at me like feral dogs. Rope tows, T-bars and small lifts would carry people up the hills, schools often provided the equipment and kids often skied for free. , Alpenglow Ski Mountaineering what was the premier league called before; Backpacking Has Changed a Lot Over the Past 50 Years. abandoned ski areas washington. Seattle Met. Then Windham. They were the smallest mountains I would ski for years. setTimeout('alive_931("'+u+'")',0x249F0); 1420 Iowa Street, Bellingham, WA, 98229. On a clear and warm June day amid whoo-ha throngs of nouveau fitness warriors I muscled up and down those hills, climbing ropes and hauling 40-pound sandbags up the incline and clawing the mud beneath an endless field of coiled barbed wire. On one desk tucked into an alcove sits a cardboard presenter stacked with pamphlets from the 2011-12 ski season, still glossy and sharp-edged and crisp. Soon Vermont: Stratton and Killington and Mount Snow and Okemo. But they all hold value. Buckle your boots were going for a trip to the hidden gems of yesteryear. After the dust settled a new plot of land was purchased, this time chosen with skiing specifically in mind, and a new lodge was built. var s='s='+(isCSS||isNN4? I tell people all the time -- usually in association with trips into the Mountain Loop/Monte Cristo area -- that there used to be a ski area at Pilchuck. You can head out and explore this deteriorating (and haunted). Lost Ski Areas of Washington Lost Oregon Ski Areas McKenzie - Highway 28 near McKenzie Pass Tollgate - Highway 204 at Spouts Springs Mtn. //--> History Project. } var t='t='+t+';'; The area closed when Hurricane Ridge opened as a visitor destination in Olympic National Park with rope tows that are still used today. Many of those who came to delve into the mountains lived in the nearby town of Crystal City, which, like its namesake mill, still stands, albeit largely abandoned. And when they are and when I pull up to the ratted buildings and forest of climbing vines and tilted rusty machinery and walk among the wreckage in the August afternoon at least I will be able to remember the place as it was in its snowy sculpted heyday, lifts turning and skiers streaming down.