Summit at Snoqualmie sold to Crystal Mountain owners

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CRAIG HILL
The News Tribune
Published: September 19th, 2007 02:41 PM

The Summit at Snoqualmie and Crystal Mountain will both be run by Boyne Resorts this season.
Booth Creek Resorts announced the sale of the Summit this afternoon. The sale is expected to close Sept. 30.

John Kircher of Boyne Resorts says he envisions a smooth relationship between the resorts.

The resorts are exploring the possibilities of a season pass that works at both ski areas.

“I think one of the best things to come out of this is that the Summit gets back to local management,” said Kircher, who lives near Bellevue.

Kircher says there won’t be major changes to the Summit, but he’d like to replace some older chairlifts and improve the quality of food in the lodge.

Crystal is expanding by 1,000 acres next season, moving past the Summit as the state’s largest ski area.

The Summit is the most visited ski area in the state, with an average of 430,347 visits per season since the 1996-97 season. Crystal is third most popular in the state with 268,516 visitors per season. Stevens Pass (400,155) gets the second most visits.

from: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/159893.html

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CRAIG HILL
The News Tribune
Published: September 20th, 2007 01:00 AM

The South Sound’s two closest ski areas will soon share the same owner and might also offer an interchangeable season pass good at Crystal Mountain and the Summit at Snoqualmie.
Boyne USA Resorts announced Wednesday that it will buy The Summit from Booth Creek Resorts on Sept. 30. Boyne USA has owned Crystal Mountain since 1997.

Michigan-based Boyne USA President John Kircher, who lives in Bellevue, said regulars at The Summit will benefit from what he said is essentially local ownership.

Kircher hopes to upgrade the lodge food and some of the older chairlifts at the resort. He’s also pondering ways to ease congestion at Alpental, the most storied of The Summit’s four ski areas.

And while Kircher is exploring the idea of an interchangeable season pass good at the state’s two biggest ski areas, he said the details still need to be worked out. For Summit regulars wary of drastic changes, Kircher said not to worry.

“I don’t see us making many changes,” Kircher said. “They’ve been doing a good job. We won’t make any management changes. Really, we’ll just smooth out the operation a little bit.”

Kircher even plans to contact the Moffett family to discuss the best ways to run the resort. Webb Moffett opened the first of the ski areas on Snoqualmie Pass in 1937 and consolidated the four areas in the 1980s and the early ’90s before selling to Booth Creek in 1998.

“I don’t know that The Summit will ever run as smoothly as it did under the Moffetts,” Kircher said, “But I’d like to know their thoughts and pass the torch.”

Some of Kircher’s ideas for The Summit are similar to the upgrades he’s made at Crystal. Under Kircher, Crystal has added dishes like gyros, pasta and stir-fry to the traditional lodge fare.

“I’d like to see better food” at The Summit, Kircher said. “I don’t think that’s been a priority.”

Alpental has the steepest terrain of The Summit’s areas, but its old and sluggish two-seat Edel Weiss chairlift traditionally has painfully long lines.

Booth Creek was looking at ways of relieving pressure at Alpental before the sale, and Kircher said he’ll continue those efforts.

The Summit at Snoqualmie is the state’s most popular ski area, drawing more than 430,000 visitors each season. Crystal Mountain is third most popular – behind Stevens Pass’ 400,155 visitors – with 298,628 visits per year.

While Crystal is widely regarded as the home of the state’s best terrain, The Summit is considered Washington’s most well-rounded ski area.

While Crystal focuses on providing natural terrain to skiers and snowboarders, The Summit has an extensive terrain park, a Nordic ski area and a tubing hill.

As part of the deal, Boyne USA also bought New Hampshire’s Loon Mountain from Booth Creek.

“The Loon Mountain and Summit resorts are a good fit with Boyne USA Resorts given their new focus on the East Coast and established presence in Washington,” said Booth Creek President Chris Ryman.

Crystal will charge $58 for a lift ticket this season. The Summit has not yet set prices.

washington’s boyne resorts


The Summit at Snoqualmie
Purchased: 2007
Lift serviced acres: 1,916
Annual skier visits: 430,347
Vertical feet: 2,310
Lifts: 26
Base elevation: 3,000 feet
Cost for ’07-’08 lift ticket: TBA


Crystal Mountain
Purchased: 1997
Lift serviced acres: 2,300
Annual skier visits: 298,628
Vertical feet: 3,100, including backcountry terrain
Lifts: 11
Base elevation: 4,400 feet
Cost for ’07-’08 lift ticket: $58

about boyne usa resorts

Boyne USA Resorts is based in Michigan, but its president, John Kircher, lives in Bellevue. The company is the largest family-owned resort company in North America. John Kircher’s dad, Everett Kircher, started the company in 1947 on what is now Boyne Mountain, in Michigan. He bought the ski hill for $1.

Boyne Resorts owns 16 resorts, including Crystal Mountain and British Columbia’s Cypress Mountain. Wednesday afternoon, the company announced the purchase of the Summit at Snoqualmie and New Hampshire’s Loon Mountain.

from: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/160223.html

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THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: October 25th, 2007 01:00 AM

Crystal Mountain and the Summit at Snoqualmie are giving skiers and snowboarders a way to take advantage of the ski areas’ recent marriage.
Both are offering season ticket packages that will allow customers to ski at both resorts.

Crystal Mountain’s season pass holders will be allowed to ski as many 10 days at the Summit this season. Midweek pass holders will get five days at the Summit. An adult Crystal pass is $1,095, or $895 for a midweek pass.

The Summit will charge more for a new level of season passes that allows customers five days of access to Crystal. The new pass – the Big S Unlimited Plus pass – is $459 for adults. The old Big S Unlimited pass, which does not include Crystal benefits, is $379 for adults.

Each pass also offers access to other Boyne resorts, including Big Sky in Montana and Brighton in Utah. Boyne, which has owned Crystal since 1997, purchased the Summit on Sept. 28.

John Kircher, who oversees Boyne’s Northwest properties, says he doesn’t want to offer a pass with unlimited access to both resorts because he fears it could lead to overcrowding on days when one of the resorts is closed.

For information on the season pass programs, visit skicrystal.com or summitatsnoqualmie.com.

from: http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/187350.html