Climb a Mountain Without Breaking a Sweat
Take the new gondola at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort.
By Seattle Mag October 17, 2011
This article originally appeared in the November 2011 issue of Seattle magazine.
Ski bunnies and snowboarders, prepare to be totally stoked: This month marks the opening of Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, where the new Mt. Rainier gondola awaits.
Built at a cost of $8 million and open since January, it’s the first such high-wire act at any ski resort in Washington—and by all accounts, it provides unbelievably cool views of Mount Rainier. Stat junkies will be thrilled to know that the vertical rise is 2,456 feet (to a top elevation of 6,856 feet), and the trip takes 9 minutes, 39 seconds at a speed of 800 feet per minute.
But if careening down on skis seems a bit too exciting, you can also ride the gondola to the top, disembark at the Summit House restaurant (the highest restaurant in the state!), gape at spectacular scenery and indulge in Northwest cuisine, and ride back down—without ever once strapping anything slippery onto your feet.
Times and prices vary. Crystal Mountain, 33914 Crystal Mountain Blvd.; 888.754.6199; crystalmountainresort.com.
Follow Us
The Rise of the Experience Economy
REI brings back guided travel, betting that memories matter more than stuff.
In my household, with two young boys under the age of five, we often have to remind them to take things back. Did you really mean to tell dad that his dinner isn’t good? You might want to take that back. Did your brother deserve to be hit? Let’s rethink that one. Extreme analogies aside,…
Bellevue Is Treating Accessibility Like Infrastructure
A partnership with Wheel the World makes it easier to plan travel with verified details.
For a lot of people, the hardest part of travel planning isn’t arranging flights or booking a hotel. It’s figuring out whether a place will actually work for your needs once you get there. Bellevue has partnered with Wheel the World, a travel platform used worldwide, to verify accessibility details for hotels, attractions, restaurants, and…
Northwest Enters Winter After Warmest Fall on Record
Unseasonably high temperatures and rain instead of snow have pushed regional snowpack to record lows for this point in the season.
Across the Northwest, a record-warm fall and lack of snowpack going into the winter is putting more drought pressure on Oregon, Idaho, Washington and western Montana. Despite record rain in western Washington recently, and earlier this year in central and southern Oregon, the showers are filling up already overdrawn reservoirs in many areas, scientists said…
Renew Yourself in Bellingham, Washington
Images courtesy of Visit Bellingham Unwind and reset in 2026 with a trip to peaceful Bellingham, Washington. Located between the stunning Cascade Mountains and the tranquil Salish Sea, there’s no better place for a trip packed with quiet moments in nature combined with the amenities of a culturally rich college town. Bellingham is known for…