Chewelah, WA – 49º North Ski Resort in Chewelah this week announced that it’s installing a new chairlift to the top of Angel Peak and a new mid-mountain lodge in time for the 2012-13 winter season.

Resort workers began clearing ski runs on Angel Peak in 2009 as part of the ski area’s $15 million master plan approved by the U.S. Forest Service in 2006. Presently, however, guests have to descend the resort’s Lost Dutchman trail from the top of Chair 1 and hike Quartzite Ridge to access Angel Peak’s full 1,150-foot vertical drop. The new lift, a fixed-grip double chair purchased used from Copper Mountain in Colorado, will eliminate that hike, traveling from the base to the summit of Angel Peak in approximately 10 minutes.

“The upper half of Angel Peak has, for the most part, seen very little traffic over the last two seasons,” said Brad Northrup, the resort’s Director of Sales and Marketing.  “Obviously, adding a chairlift to the summit of Angel Peak will change that dynamic entirely.  The new chairlift will give skiers and riders a great opportunity become familiar with the new terrain, but it will also spread folk out a bit more across the entire mountain.”

Construction on the new lift and lodge, financed by Washington Trust Bank, is slated to begin in 2012.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to get this project going with private funding, and to partner with the United States Department of Agriculture,” said John Eminger, President & CEO of 49° North.

The new terrain borders the proposed Quartzite Wilderness Area, the southern-most unlogged drainage in the Colville National Forest within which 49º North operates. It’s home to sweeping vistas of old-growth Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, western hemlock, and western cedar. Angel Peak itself presently has seven cleared ski runs and approximately 200 acres of gladed terrain for skiing and snowboarding.

The base terminal of the new lift will sit adjacent to the resort’s existing Chair 4.  The new Mid-Mountain Lodge, on the other hand, will be located across the ski area at the top of the Blastface and Silver Ridge trail junction, overlooking the Pend Oreille valley and the East Basin. The facility will be two stories tall and include easy access from Silver Ridge, a heated deck, a meeting area in the day-light basement, indoor restrooms with handicap access, a dining area with in-floor heating, a first aid room, a full menu that will include beer and wine, and stunning views of the Sunrise Basin and the surrounding mountains of Northeast Washington.

“Having a satellite lodge in place up on the mountain will not only provide our guests with convenient food and beverage service in a beautiful setting, but should also take pressure off of the base area lodge during busy weekends and holidays,” said Eric Bakken, 49° North’s Mountain Manager.