Snoqualmie summit uphill policy?

Yep; you're right! Fixed!

Is that the extent of the ski area's recourse?  RCW 79A.45.070 appears to apply. The ski area has the USFS lease, and patrollers need to be able to work without worrying about killing anyone below.

Touring into Alpental during control work is like holding a picnic in the middle of a rifle range.

Who wouldn't, from self-interest alone, check in with patrol on a day when substantial control work is almost certain?

Such a choice puts patrollers at risk, delays/compromises the opening of the (awesome) ski area, and makes it hard for ski areas to consider accommodate ski-touring interests.

Edit: Whoops, meant 070, as bfree says. 030 was in the copy-paste buffer.

Agree on all points...
Pass clipped might be the first shot across the bow.
I am willing to bet that they keep a record of such offenses.
Perhaps there is something beyond for repeat offenders.
If it were Colorado, there would probably be police waiting in the parking lot.

Merry Christmas and Happy holidays everyone, stay safe out there!

It's misdemeanor trespass in WA. Whether or not patrol calls the Sheriff is up to them.

For what it's worth, a couple weeks ago (before the big dumps began) I was skinning up at Summit West when a lift operator called me over and told me I needed to have a lift ticket to skin uphill within the ski area. This was the first I've ever heard of that at Snoqualmie. I did a lot of skinning there last season and was never told this.

The lift operator offered to accompany me to Guest Services to buy a pass. When we got there I talked to the fellow who is in charge of ticket sales and he told me the same thing, that I would need a pass to skin uphill in the ski area if I was planning to ski back down in the ski area. I asked if this was a new policy and he said that, as far as he knew, this had always been the policy.

If anybody knows more about this, I'd be eager to learn more. When I mentioned this to my regular skinning buddies we agreed that we'd be willing to buy something like a Nordic season pass for skinning within the ski area boundaries, but, for myself at least, buying a full-ride alpine lift ticket seems a bit too much.

Never heard of this either. I would happily pay for something like a nordic pass if we could have an official uptrack and unambiguous permission to be there.

Never heard of this either. I would happily pay for something like a nordic pass if we could have an official uptrack and unambiguous permission to be there.

I would rather not be limited to an official uptrack, but instead adhere to the Skiers Responsibility Code, which requires that you remain visible from above and not obstruct a trail. That's what I try to do when I'm skinning.