Skykomish, Washington — After a social media post generated frustration among the Stevens Pass community, the ski resort has done a better job over the past several days explaining the situation.
Both updates this week came from Ellen Galbraith, the General Manager of the Washington ski resort. On season passes, they reiterated the statement in the prior update that they are still actively assessing the situation and will provide more details as they become available about the road.
The second update came on Friday, with an official opening day announcement. Stevens Pass plans to open on Monday, December 29th, which is helped by the substantial recent snowfall. All the front-side lifts are scheduled to be open. As mentioned above, guests will only be able to reach the ski resort from Highway 2 East, as the west side remains closed for extensive repairs. This will make the journey logistically challenging (if at all possible) for day trippers who live in the Seattle area.
In terms of the refunds, it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. Here’s the section from the post that caused the uproar.
“We also know there have been questions from our community and pass holders on refunds. Our lift tickets are fully refundable. Our Passes are not refundable because they are valid all season long, and we plan to open for skiing and riding as soon as snow conditions permit. Our Epic Coverage refund policy does not extend to road or traffic challenges. Of course, we will continue to assess the entire situation as it evolves.”
In retrospect, the first part seems definitive, but then it’s slightly taken back with an ambiguous last sentence. It’s not the best worded statement, but we’ll see if Vail does the right thing and makes adjustments.
Image Credits: Madison Olling, Stevens Pass
