SEATTLE — With a La Niña winter on the horizon and several systems bringing snowfall to the mountains this week, skiers and snowboarders are itching to start the winter ski season.
Several ski areas have announced opening dates with the earliest one happening this week.
Here is when Cascade ski areas expect to open for the 2024-25 season.
Crystal Mountain Resort
Crystal has not announced an opening date yet.
Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort
Mission Ridge could open Saturday and Sunday, but this is dependent on conditions.
The resort plans to open two chairs for operation Fridays through Sundays beginning Nov. 29. It expects to add a third chair starting Dec. 7.
Daily operations with three chairs could begin the week of Dec. 16. Full operations with all chairs are expected to begin Dec. 21.
As of Monday, Mission Ridge reported a base depth of less than 18 inches.
Mount Baker Ski Area
Mount Baker will open for season pass holders Wednesday and for the general public Thursday.
The ski area plans to open the Heather Meadows base area, Raven Hut Lodge and Chairs 1-4 and 6 on Wednesday. It hopes to expand operations to Chair 5 on the Shuksan side “later in the day” Wednesday. If conditions allow, the White Salmon base area could also be open by the weekend, according to the ski area.
As of Monday, Mount Baker had 59 inches of snow at the base of Heather Meadows and 65 inches at Pan Dome. In the 24 hours ending Monday, the ski area received 12 inches of snow, according to the KING 5 First Alert Weather Team.
Stevens Pass Ski Resort
Earlier this fall, Stevens Pass set a target opening date for Dec. 6.
Steven Pass has not posted updated data on snow base depth. According to the KING 5 First Alert Weather Team, the ski area received seven inches of snow in the 24 hours ending on Monday.
Summit at Snoqualmie
The Summit at Snoqualmie has not announced an opening date as of Monday. The ski resort said it would announce one once it has enough snow to operate.
Summit West is typically the first area of the resort to open, according to the ski area.
The resort said it needs at least a few feet of snow to open Summit West and “quite a bit more” to open Alpental.
As of Monday, Summit West and Alpental have bases of 11 inches.
White Pass Ski Area
White Pass expects to open for season pass holders Friday. The resort will open to the public starting Saturday and Sunday.
White Pass will be closed Nov. 25-28. It will then be open Nov. 29-Dec. 1, although services that will be available are still to be determined.