Crystal Mt. Could Have Earliest Opening In 30 Years

Great news for skiers and snow boarders, one local ski area could have its earliest opening day in 30 years. The snow is really coming down at Crystal Mountain, and this year the resort has some exciting new features.

The calendar may say October, but Sales and Marketing Director for Crystal Mountain Tiana Enger says winter has already arrived at the resort.

“With the early snowfall we're looking at a possible early opening, the earlier we can get open obviously the better,” said Enger.

According to Enger it has skiers and snowboarders anxious to hit the slopes.

“They're getting their bags packed already cause here things can happen really quickly in a matter of 24 to 48 hours you can go from having no snow to having enough snow to open,” said Enger.

Enger says the ski area could open in a matter of days, if Mother Nature picks up the pace. There’s about a foot and a half of snow up top right now, but just a few inches at the bottom.

“It looks like the forecast is calling for more snow which could mean a really early opening,” said Enger.

Work crews are hoping for a break in the weather, they’re still trying to complete the brand new Mt. Rainier Gondola the first of its kind in Washington State.

“In the final stages of completing the gondola construction we've got a Chinook helicopter scheduled to arrive November 1st we will fly towers into place when we get a weather window next week,” said Enger.

The gondola will take 8 passengers from the bottom of the mountain directly to the summit in just 9 minutes. Enger says something else that’s new this year a radio frequency identification system allowing skiers to swipe and go.

“It's a great way to save it's also a nice convenience to be able to preload that at home and bypass the ticket windows when you arrive here and go directly to the lifts. We can't wait to get the lifts open and I think a lot of people are really excited,” said Enger.

If Crystal is to open by the end of the month the base of the mountain will need another 3 feet of snow, on top another two feet. The new gondola is schedule to open the first week of December.