OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area officially closed for a shortened season Sunday, but no one was there to enjoy the last day of the ski season because the road had been closed, ironically, by heavy snow.
The ski area hadn’t opened until mid-February, due to a lack of snow. The scheduled closure of the volunteer-operated lifts came as the area continues to be inundated with fresh powder, with an above-average snowpack padding the slopes.
“It’s a lack of people, not a lack of snow,” said Frank Crippen, vice president of the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club.
In April, he said, skiers start taking part in spring sports like soccer and baseball, and lift sales drop dramatically.
The Olympic National Park ranger-led snowshoe hikes also ended Sunday. The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center and snowshoe trails immediately around the center remain open when the road is open.
Crippen said the 2011-12 ski season was a disappointing one.
“It was a tough year,” he said.
On March 1, the snowpack was only at 95 percent of normal.
Once the snow began to fall, it came fast and heavy, often causing the Olympic National Park to close the road up to Hurricane Ridge due to a high avalanche risk, white-out conditions or because the park’s snowplows were unable to clear the roads.
“It was a double-whammy,” Crippen said.
In the past two weeks, one or both of the park’s rotary snowplows had broken down, causing the road to be closed on otherwise skiable days.
“It’s all about getting the roads open,” he said. “That’s what makes or breaks the ski area,” he said.
As of mid-March, snowpack in the Olympic Mountains was 135 percent of normal heading into spring, Scott Pattee, water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Mount Vernon said last week.
Hurricane Ridge has continued to get large snowfalls since then, and the National Weather Service forecast snow to continue at a rate of 1 to 3 inches of new snow per day for at least the rest of the week.
Last year, there was a similar weather pattern, starting late and ending late, with the Olympic Mountains receiving 162 percent of normal snowfall.
Crippen said he doesn’t expect the rough two years to extend into a third one, mentioning the La Nina weather pattern that is known to cause seasons like the one that just ended.
The ski club, he said, will begin planning for the 2012-13 ski season this week.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
