Page 192 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Pacific Northwest

190  P A CIFIC NOR THWEST REGION B Y REGION

Downhill skiing on the sparkling snow-covered slopes of Washington’s Crystal Mountain
r Crystal Mountain six-passenger chairs, transport t Leavenworth
more than 19,000 skiers per
Road map 1 B2. Tel (360) 663-2265. Road map 1 B2. * 2,000.
Open hours vary depending on hour. There is also an extensive n 940 Highway 2, (509) 548-5807.
facility & season; call for details. 0 - network of trails for downhill _ ∑ leavenworth.org
= ∑ crystalmountainresort.com skiers. Lessons and equipment
hire cater to all ages. Crossing over the Cascade
Located near the northeast During summer, mountain Mountains from the western
corner of Mount Rainier National biking, hiking, and scenic part of the state, first-time
Park and rising above the town gondola rides are Crystal visitors to Leavenworth never
of the same name, Crystal Mountain’s main attractions. fail to be surprised to encounter
Mountain is Washington’s largest On weekends, high- an enchanting
and only destination ski area. speed lifts whisk Bavarian-style
Attracted by reports of local passengers to village
gold finds in the late 1800s, the the 6,872-ft seemingly
first visitors to the area were (2,095-m) straight out of a
miners intent on making their summit and fairy tale. But this
fortunes. However, by the end its panoramic small town was
of World War I, these claims views of Shop sign in the Bavarian-themed village not always so
had not yielded the riches the Olympic of Leavenworth charming. In
envisioned, and investment and Cascade the early 1960s
in this area, then known as Mountains, with Mount it was a dying logging town,
the Summit Mining District, Rainier dominating the western with plenty of drive-through
severely declined. horizon. Herds of elk and black- traffic but no real business
Its recreational attributes tailed deer grazing the grassy to sustain it. Inspired by
were discovered in 1949, when slopes are often spotted from Leavenworth’s spectacular
attempts to put a chairlift on the lifts. mountain backdrop, a tourism
Mount Rainier failed, and a committee decided to develop
group of avid Puget Sound a Bavarian village theme to
skiers began looking for another revitalize the town. Buildings
spot to develop as a ski area. were remodeled to echo
Crystal Mountain opened for Bavarian architecture and,
business in 1962, receiving today, every commercial
national attention three building in town, Starbucks®
years later when it hosted the and McDonald’s included, looks
National Alpine Championships, as though it belongs in the Alps.
an event that attracted skiing Leavenworth now bustles
legends such as Jimmie Heuga, with festivals, art shows, and
Billy Kidd, and Jean-Claude Killy. summer theater productions,
The ski area, with over 50 attracting more than a million
named runs, encompasses visitors each year. Among
3.5 lift-serviced sq miles its most popular festivals are
(9 sq km) plus a large area of Maifest, with its 16th-century
backcountry terrain. Eleven Snowboarding in the stunning backcountry costumes, maypole dances,
lifts, including two high-speed, at Crystal Mountain Tyrolean Haflinger horses,
For hotels and restaurants see pp288–90 and pp300–2

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