Has anyone here skied Mt. Pilchuck?

I know there used to be a ski area up there, but was wondering if anyone has any info on where it was? Any beta would be greatly appreciated.

Here are the search results for Pilchuck in the trip reports section... lots of info.  Haven't done it myself.

EDIT!

DOH! Can't link directly to the results. Try a search. Here are the top two:

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...ex.php?topic=16674.0

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...ex.php?topic=13576.0

When you get to the end of the road, you're standing where the parking area and base lodge for the ski area used to be. It's hard to believe because the trees have grown up so much since 1980, when the area closed. I posted a picture of it in the following thread:

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi...index.php?topic=1950



Since then, I've found more pictures of the ski area in the Bob & Ira Spring collection, although the picture above is hard to beat.

Wow Lowell. That is an amazing photo. I worked for a guy about twenty years ago. He had a poster sized photo of a lone skier in his office. Turns out it was taken at Pilchuck and he used to work there. It was my understanding that the low snow year of '76/'77 killed Mt Pilchuck. That was to be my first year skiing (fifth grade), but we were advised to wait until next year due to the lack of snow.

The recent improvements (not so recent now) to the summer trail at Pilchuck take you past some ruins. I imagine that they're the ruins of the top of that lift in Lowell's photo.

Last time I skied Pilchuck it was great. Mission Ridge road was closed due to maintenance so we couldn't ski there. We'd drive up to as close to the parking area on Pilchuck as we could, skin up sort of parallel to the summer hiking trail but a little to the East. Find an old cat track to climbers right and that switchbacks up to the left eventually. Then it's climb as you can until you inter sect the summer trail again higher up. From there just climb snowfields to where ever you want to ski down. Or you can continue on across to the SW and on more snowfields to just South of the summit there is a steep drop called the South East Chute or Gun Barrel. Only drop a couple of hundred feet. You can take a right and drop a few more feet but you will be retracing your steps to the saddle to the North. From there it's a short climb to the East then down the ridge veer left and drop. Now look up and boot back to familiar environs of the old ski area.

thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.

It was my understanding that the low snow year of '76/'77 killed Mt Pilchuck.  That was to be my first year skiing (fifth grade), but we were advised to wait until next year due to the lack of snow.

Here are some notes on this subject:

alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/ms/goldthorpe-1980.html

"The winters of 1977 and 1978 were poor snow years. In 1976-77, the area was open 2-1/2 months and in 1977-78 just three weeks. 1977-78 was the last winter of operation of Mt Pilchuck Ski Area. The following year, in 1978-79, the ski area was passed back and forth between USPRC and USFS, with each agency blaming the other for lack of movement on a concession-lease agreement. Finally, due to uncertainty over their ability to renew the lease, Heather Recreation, Inc. decided not to continue operation. The authors write that it was the inability of government entities to get together and make a decision that really killed the area, not poor snow conditions or financial problems of the ski area operators. The authors also blame Governor Dixy Lee Ray for working to kill the state's only winter recreation park. "

You can find a few more odds and ends under "Mt Pilchuck" in my lost skis areas reference:

alpenglow.org/ski-history/subjects/S-info.html#ski-areas-lost

This one is particularly interesting:

alpenglow.org/ski-history/notes/period/n...wskier-1979-jan-5-p2

When operators of the Mt Pilchuck ski area applied for an extension of their lease, the Forest Service rejected their expansion plans. Ski area spokesman Gary Barrett said that in order to be economically viable, the area needs to expand. "If our ten-year operating plans allow for expansion, then we won't get a lease renewal. On the other hand, if we can't expand, we can't operate. It's a double bind." The area did not operate in 1977-78 and does not expect to operate in 1978-79, due to uncertainty about its lease.

In the 2-20-79 issue (p.2) Joe Nadolski of the Forest Service offered the agency's view of the problem. "It's not that we don't want to see skiing up there. It's just that we haven't seen much skiing there since the area opened. That's the major reason for rejecting the lease renewal and expansion proposal. It's a low altitude area and it's often that there's no snow. We weren't responsible for Pilchuck's closure the past two seasons; the weather did them in." The area opened in the 1950s when a private ski club from Everett leased the land. By 1956, the operators received a special lease permit good for thirty years. Pilchuck applied for an extension of the lease to run for another twenty years and the Forest Service rejected it, maintaining that the area is inherently poor for skiing.