The Summit at Snoqualmie is already making snow for winter, even though temperatures in Washington’s Cascade Mountains are nowhere close to traditional snowmaking weather.
The ski area recently installed two new Latitude90 L60 snowmaking units, which are being used to build a base at its Tubing Park. The machines were fired up last week with the outside temperature around 65°F and immediately began producing snow. The goal is to give Snoqualmie far more control over when the Tubing Park can open. The Summit at Snoqualmie says it is targeting an opening before Thanksgiving, which would be its earliest Tubing Park opening yet.
Making Snow Without Freezing Weather
Unlike conventional snowguns, which depend on a combination of sufficiently cold air and low humidity, the Latitude90 machines use refrigeration to create snow inside an enclosed system before blowing it outside.
Latitude90 says its all-weather systems can produce snow in temperatures as warm as 77°F and can operate around the clock for extended periods. The company specifically markets the technology to tubing operations because it allows operators to start building a base weeks before conventional snowmaking conditions arrive.
The L60 is no small machine. Latitude90 lists production at roughly 156 cubic yards of snow every 24 hours under its standard rated conditions, with two outlets capable of blowing the finished snow as far as 328 feet. Snoqualmie installed two of the units.
The technology is becoming more familiar around the ski industry. Massachusetts’ Ski Ward is using the same L60 system to make snow well before freezing temperatures arrive, including during its latest early-season snowmaking push. Ski Ward recently began making snow in September using the technology.
Snoqualmie Wants To Avoid Another Late Tubing Start
Last winter, the Tubing Park did not open until Jan. 1, 2026, when the resort finally accumulated enough manufactured and natural snow to build four lanes. More lanes were added as conditions improved.
For the 2026-27 season, Snoqualmie’s current Tubing Park schedule lists Nov. 21 as the planned opening date, although operations will still be subject to conditions. The park features more than 15 lanes when fully built, a roughly 500-foot-long hill and a covered conveyor lift carrying guests back uphill.
That makes the new machines less about covering an entire ski mountain and more about concentrating reliable snow production on a relatively small, high-use area. Snoqualmie says the Tubing Park is currently closed to the public while snowmaking is underway and is asking visitors to stay clear of the equipment.
If the new system works as planned, however, Washington skiers driving over Snoqualmie Pass could soon be looking at a sizable pile of snow while the surrounding slopes are still waiting for winter.
