PORT ANGELES — Hurricane Ridge is a tourist draw no matter what time of year it is, and the winter season could bring in more money if access to the snow were expanded, members of the Port Angeles Business Association were told Tuesday morning.
Six members of the Hurricane Ridge Winter Access Coalition spoke to the business organization about their efforts to open Hurricane Ridge Road one additional day per week — Thursdays — to extend weekends to four or five days for showshoeing, backcountry skiing or snowboarding.
Olympic National Park officials plan to open the 17-mile Hurricane Ridge Road on Fridays through Sundays and Monday holidays.
The new schedule will begin this Friday. The extra day can be added later if funds are available, park officials have said.
The cost to open the ridge for one additional day — including a park ranger to monitor the area, snowplow driver, and additional maintenance and wear and tear on snowplows — is $48,860 according to a park estimate.
Currently, the group has $19,500, almost halfway to its goal for the 2014-15 ski season.
In 2013, Olympic National Park was Washington state’s No. 1 tourist destination and should be more accessible to visitors, the group said.
The group included three speakers with businesses directly impacted by winter visitors: Tyler Reid of Pacific Alpine Guides; Barrett Christy-Cummins, women’s team and women’s products brand manager of Mervin Manufacturing’s Lib Tech ski and surfboard manufacturer in Sequim; and Frank Crippen, owner of North by Northwest surf and ski shop in Port Angeles.
Other members of the coalition who spoke were Dr. Roger Oakes, Gary Holmquist, Greg Halberg and Edna Petersen.
Reid, who runs a backcountry guide service with 15 guides, also teaches avalanche safety classes.
He said last winter he taught about 100, and each of those participants spent about $1,000 in Port Angeles during their four-day stays — a total of $100,000 brought into the area by a single snow-related business, Reid said.
And that doesn’t include the back-country skiers and snowboarders who visit, he said.
“It’s inhibiting us, bringing people from out of the area for three days of snow access. It’s a deal breaker,” he said.
Christy-Cummins, a former professional snowboarder, said that access to both the ocean beaches for surfing and the mountains for snow is a major part of why Mervin located manufacturing facilities in Clallam County.
“We can test boards and innovative products on the mountain and be back to the offices in the same day,” she said.
She said the company employs 150 at the Carlsborg manufacturing plant, which can turn out 150,000 boards a year.
Earlier efforts aimed at keeping Hurricane Ridge Road open year-round failed to meet park requirements.
In 2012, the National Park Service ended a two-year experiment to provide weekday access to Hurricane Ridge because visitor counts were not high enough to warrant the expense, park officials decided.
A community fundraising campaign had raised a required $75,000-per-year match.
The Park Service required an increase of 45 percent in visitors when compared with the previous five-year average but recorded only a 19 percent increase.
To make a donation to open the 17-mile road south of Port Angeles for another day per week, visit www.accesstheridge.org and click on “4 Day Access.”
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
