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Alpental A valley (lit. "Alpine Valley" (in German)) in King County, Washington, US, about a mile north of I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass, in the Washington Cascades, about 50 miles east of Seattle, which is popular for many outdoor activities. It offers skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, hiking, climbing and other alpine activities. Geologically, it is a three sided canyon where the valley is flanked by Denny Mountain on the west, Chair Peak to the north, and Mt. Snoqualmie to the east, with Source Lake occupying the upper valley area and feeding the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River.

History

In 1967, mining claims were transformed into the Alpental ski area. In order to gain access to the area an agreement had to be made with the Sahalie Ski Club to allow a road through their property. Alpental ski area agreed to maintain roads at their cost for the Sahalie group in exchange for this access. Though the road accesses public forest land, the road is not part of the forest service nor the county road system, but is maintained by Ski Lifts, Inc.

Recreation

This has traditionally been one of the most popular outdoor recreation areas in the Cascades, with a rich history of Northwest climbing starting from this valley floor. There is also a ski area on Denny Mt. called Alpental, operated by Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc., of which controlling shares are owned by Vail entreprenuer, and Montreal Canadians owner George N. Gillett Jr.

The ski concession is a small part of The Summit at Snoqualmie ski area, but offers excellent advanced backcountry skiing access to pristine wilderness and roadless areas. The inbound terrain in which the ski concession operates is considered the most difficult of the Summit at Snoqualmie ski area, with 75% rated advanced, 22% rated intermediate and 3% rated beginner. The ski area at Alpental has four chairlifts that provide access to 2,280 feet (695 m) of vertical and 302 acres (1.2 km²). The area has more than 500 acres (2 km²) in its backcountry area. The entire NE side of the ridgeline from Denny Mt., extending toward Chair Peak can be traversed, and a great deal of varying terrain can be accessed from the upper chair 2. Backcountry access from chairlifts is by permission through the Alpental ski patrol, or by the traditional method of hiking from one of the upper parking lots. The base of Alpental is 3,140 ft (957 m) with a top chairlift elevation of 5,420 ft (1652 m). Alpental's average snowfall is 444 inches (1127 cm).

Night skiing is also available on the lower mountain.

The upper parking lots, traditionally known as lots 3 and 4 at Alpental are public land, managed by the USFS Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest, and are free and open to the public under Article F in the , under which this particular ski concession operates. These lots are kept clear of snow and open to the public as part of the agreement with the USFS which issues the ski area's Special Use Permit. Aside from being the most choice real estate in the valley, the upper public lots not only are a convenient place to park and ski or snowboard down to the lifts, they have historically been an excellent point to access many winter climbing, skiing, and snowshoeing routes. Lot 4 is described as the start of several tours in Martin Volken's guidebook; Backcountry Skiing Snoqualmie Pass. Here is an excerpt:

"Approach: Take Interstate 90 to the Snoqualmie Pass west exit. Drive on Alpental Road to

the uppermost parking lot (3,220 feet). Leave your vehicle here. From the parking lot you'll

see a groomed path leading deeper into the Alpental valley. Follow this path to the end.

From here you continue up the valley, staying well above and south of the Snoqualmie River.

Be aware that the north slopes of the valley are steep and very avalanche prone."

Volken, Martin Backcountry Skiing Snoqualmie Pass A Falcon Guide 2002, The Globe Pequot

Press pp.71, 73, 74, 77, 81, 84,87, 89,91, 93, 95, 98

There are indeed many opportunities for climbing as well as touring from Lot 4. For example if one wanted to climb Chair Peak (or the Tooth, or Bryant Peak) in the winter as Jim Nelson and Peter Potterfield describe in their guide:

"The difficulty of this approach varies, depending on snow conditions. Drive I-90 to

Snoqualmie Pass and Exit 52; cross under the freeway by heading north, and follow signs to

Alpental. Drive Alpental Road north 2 miles to the upper parking lot. Hike upvalley, staying

left (south) of the creek, to the head of the valley above Source Lake. This area is prone

to avalanche. Use extreme caution."

Development

Booth Creek Ski Holdings Inc, the operator of Alpental, has petitioned the USFS for permission to develop Alpental's pristine backcountry. Organized opposition exists for this proposal.

References

1. Martin Volken (2001-12-01). Backcountry Skiing Snoqualmie Pass. Falcon. ISBN 0762710667.
2. Jim Nelson and Peter Potterfield (1993). Selected Climbs in the Cascades. The Mountaineers. p. 46. ISBN 0898867673.
3. "Draft environmental impact statement (DEIS)" (pdf). USFS. 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2006-09-28.

External links

• Alpental website History of area and virtual tours
• Free Alpental Access/stewardship
• BoothCreek Ski Holdings,Inc. SEC info.
• Backcountry

• Ski areas of Washington