Tue. Feb.20th, Alpental in-bounds

Pretty good Wed too.  Not as many inches as I had hoped, but it was just foggy enough to keep it cold and fresh in the AM without wiping out visibility.  They opened chair 2 about 9:30 and there were an unending stream of high traversers.  After the morning at Alpental I joined my wife for the afternoon at Acres...pretty nice there too, although heavy off-groom.

I dont agree with skiers and riders heckling other skiers and riders who are trying their best to get the mountain safe for everyone. That said , I have to disagree completely with the statment concerning how hard the patrollers work at the Seattle ski areas(Stevens , Crystal, Summit). I have spent the last 6 years of my ski-bummery in this beautiful state and have had some of the best days of my life here. Sometimes I really feel like those hecklers did, I tend to hold my tongue but i understand their frustration. Here is why: I have lived and skiied all over the world and Washington is the ONLY place where the patrol and the mountain managers are consistently behind the eight ball when it comes to getting their mountains open. Its not like we have no idea when major storms are going to blow in. Many, many times I have waited at the bottom of lifts on a powder day at 9:45, 10, 10:30. It is very frustrating when you have woken up at 5 am in order to beat the lazy, late skiers to the mountain only to have them catch up to you while you wait for the unprepared staff to get the lifts open! Never did this happen at Bridger Bowl, Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Whitewater, AND those places have a far more difficult snowpack to deal with!! The reasons, I believe are many. The main one being that they DO NOT START EARLY ENOUGH! I have been with Bridger Bowl patrollers as they load the lift with bombs at 5;00 am. 5 am!!!! Do you think those Alpental patrollers were already throwing bombs at 5:30am? I doubt it. It is a symptom of the overall non-mountain town attitude of the Seattle ski areas. They are about making $ and little else. The patrols are understaffed, and therefore can not adequately deal with the demand for powder around here. I, like those Alpental hecklers, am sick of beating everyone to the mountain just to have the sleepy, hungover, hordes shredding the same newly opened line as me at NOON.

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I'm glad SOMEONE said it. Thanks Blindman. Without disrespecting Alpental patrol and the hard work they do, I have to say I completely agree about their late, late openings of Chair 2 in comparison to other prominant ski areas. What's become the accepted norm, is anything but. I don't know if it's due to it's proximity to Seattle, understaffed ski patrol, money-grubbing resort holders, or something else entirely.

I skied all week at Alpental. On Tuesday at about 10am they had a female patroller (very cool) checking b/c passes on the high traverse. The next 4 runs I made there was no one there and there were some snowboarders trying to boot packing it. I think if they are going to have b/c policy they should enforce it. Check for a pass and proper equipment or have an (at you own risk policy).

I know there are the dangers from above the traverse, but as paying customers, these issues should be addressed before the lifts open for the day or after the lifts close @ 3:30.

On a side note, I rain into a couple groups of patrollers outside of the B/C area while ski touring during the week. One pair was very cool and we skied with them, the other group was borderline Nazi.

I'm glad SOMEONE said it.  Thanks Blindman.  Without disrespecting Alpental patrol and the hard work they do, I have to say I completely agree about their late, late openings of Chair 2 in comparison to other prominant ski areas.  What's become the accepted norm, is anything but.  I don't know if it's due to it's proximity to Seattle, understaffed ski patrol, money-grubbing resort holders, or something else entirely. 

Alpental patrol isn't perfect, however both yours and Blindman's posts disrespect the area patrol. Things are never as simple and clear cut as they seem. Your statements are full of assumptions, suggesting that all areas are the same, and deal with the same variables is naive, they aren't and do not. Alpental is a small area, and has a small pro patrol staff to match. Apental also has high ratio of terrain aspects relative to it's size, and running all the control routs necessary to open the place is a not an easy task. Also, a new policy that was inspired by people crossing closed rope lines before control work was completed hasn't helped either. Seriously, until you have worked on the pro patrol staff at Alpental you aren't qualified to comment.