North Bend, Washington — Rope drops can be an adrenaline rush in various ways. There’s the glory of getting untouched powder, but there’s also the fear of there being people behind you when it’s a crowded situation. Those viral videos from Mineral Basin come to mind.
In Washington, one of these wild situations occurs at Alpental. Skier Patrick Murphy shared his experience on a powder day, showing hordes of people waiting for the rope drop (presumably from the top of Edelweiss). Ski patrollers calmly explained when skiers could send it, and (most) guests behaved accordingly. Our condolences to the snowboarder who jumped the gun and fell right before the ski patrollers said that people could send it.
The Alpental experience is set to change in the years ahead. The Edweleiss chairlift, an old Riblet double chairlift, is in its final weeks of operation. This offseason, it is set to be replaced by a new fixed-grip triple chairlift. This follows the opening of the Internationale chair, which provided easier access to some of the trails that were previously tricky to get to.
Because of this new chairlift project, Alpental will be closing earlier than usual. Alpental’s projected closing date for the 2024-25 season is April 13th.
Image/Video Credits: Patrick Murphy, Alpental (The Summit at Snoqualmie)
