Five Inland Northwest ski resorts are coming off much-improved seasons following the disastrous 2014-15 snow-drought season.

Brad McQuarrie, general manager at Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, says the park 30 miles north of Spokane had many outstanding days as far as skier visits.

“We’re still compiling the numbers,” he says. “I think it will be close to 100,000 visitors. We were operating at capacity a lot of days.”

He claims January brought a record number of visitors for the month.

The visitor total for the season will be short of a record, however.

“It started to taper off in March,” he says. “We had a few weeks lost to the weather.”

When spring-skiing conditions improved in late March, skiers didn’t return, he says.

The early bird sale for next season’s passes, however, is outstanding so far, McQuarrie claims. Those sales will count toward this season’s revenue.

McQuarrie says it was especially important to have a strong 2015-16 ski season, because the 2014-15 ski season was the second-worst year of his tenure there.

“We had 43,000 skier visits,” he says. “That makes it tough for it all to work.”

For the most recent season, the resort opened the second week in December, which is a bit later than normal, and there were some early season challenges.

“The day before Christmas Eve, we received a lot of snow, but the trees were collapsing over powerlines,” McQuarrie says. That forced the Washington state Department of Transportation to close the roads.

Through a joint effort, the resort and Inland Power & Light Co. contracted a few days of helicopter time to blow snow off of trees along the powerlines so the ski area could re-open.

“The weekend after Christmas was phenomenal,” he says. “We had excellent skier visits through the holidays and through January.”

Mt. Spokane’s planned 279-acre terrain expansion is on hold pending the latest environmental appeal, which McQuarrie says might be resolved this summer.

Meantime, Mt. Spokane is planning $2 million in capital projects and maintenance this summer.

“We’ll get started on a new guest services building at the parking lot level,” McQuarrie says. “It will give guests a better sense of arrival, and they will be able to buy tickets at the parking lot rather than having to go to the lodge.”

49 Degrees North

John Eminger, president and owner of 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, says the resort near Chewelah, about 60 miles north of Spokane, opened early and had excellent snow conditions and good skier counts for most of the season.

“This year was a very good ski season,” he says.

While skier numbers didn’t set any records, Eminger says he expects next year’s numbers to improve.

“If we have a normal season this coming winter identical to last winter, we will have more skier visits because of momentum,” he asserts.

Eminger says 49 Degrees North is working on final plats for the first phase of its planned 320-acre Sunrise Basin development.

“We’re going to construct some buildings this year,” he says. “We’re taking reservations from people across the Pacific Northwest and as far away as Texas.”

He says many people looking for ski homes want options to pricier resorts in Utah, Nevada, and Colorado.

“They are shopping Montana, Idaho, and Washington,” Eminger says.

Vandervert Construction Inc., of Spokane, will construct a $2 million-plus, eight-plex multifamily building there this summer.

The construction season for the first building and initial-phase infrastructure will start on Memorial Day weekend and conclude by Nov. 1, he says.

Lookout Pass

Jason Bergman, director of marketing at Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation area, says lift-ticket sales for the recently ended season were up 26 percent compared to the snow-drought year.

“We’re on track to set a gross-revenue record if early bird season pass sales continue,” he says. The early bird sale runs through April 30.

The resort, which is about 90 miles east of Spokane off Interstate 90, opened on Thanksgiving Day and closed on April 10, making the season a good three weeks longer than the previous year, Bergman says.

Lookout Pass has started preparations for the summer season, with the 13-mile Route of the Hiawatha rail-to-trail course tentatively scheduled to open May 28.

“We’re already receiving reservations for the Route of the Hiawatha,” he says.

Last summer, the trail tallied a record 40,000 visitors.

“We hope to surpass that,” Bergman says.

Silver Mountain Resort

Silver Mountain Resort, about 70 miles east of Spokane, received 286 inches of snow, which is slightly under average, but plenty for a solid ski season, says Neal Scholey, Silver Mountain’s director of marketing and sales.

“We had a great season overall with a strong start and consistent skier visits,” Scholey says.

The resort also capitalized on seven-day-a-week operations after several years of five-day weekly operations.

“We’re way above last year, and we’re still skiing,” Scholey says of skier numbers.

After April 10, Silver Mountain scaled back to Saturday operations called Silver Saturdays. Scholey says he expects Saturday, April 23, to be the last Silver Saturday of the season. Saturday also is the date for the annual Leadman Triathlon, a single or team event that combines skiing, mountain biking, and cross-country running into one event.

Scholey says daily summer operations will begin June 24 and run through Labor Day.

“A lot of mountain bike races are on the schedule this year,” he says. “Summers are getting busier and busier.”

Much of the summer business is driven by the Silver Rapids water park. “Kids can see the water tubes as their parents drive by on Interstate 90,” Scholey says.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort

Schweitzer Mountain Resort received 275 inches of snow, and ended the season April 10 with 110 inches of snow at the summit, despite earlier forecasts for a dry El Nino winter, says Dig Chrismer, Schweitzer marketing manager.

The resort was open 131 days, during which it tallied a 60 percent increase in skier visits compared with the 2014-15 season, Chrismer says.

“After a difficult snow year last year, it was wonderful to have the fantastic days we had this winter,” she says. “From the Christmas holidays, right on through to the end of the season, Mother Nature treated us well.”

Lodging was up 31 percent compared with the year earlier, and bookings for ski and snowboard lessons, equipment rentals and day care were up 12 percent, she claims.

“It was great to have such a solid season,” Chrismer says.