![]() Image: courtesy andrew longstreth / crystal mountain resort But many of the ski patrollers won’t see a dime. As part of Alterra Mountain Company since 2018, Washington’s largest ski area doesn’t have to release just how much its for-profit operation makes, though Alterra will invest $100 million in Crystal improvements alone in the next five years. If Loup Loup clings to skiing’s scruffy roots, Crystal Mountain has catapulted into skiing’s posh elite. In high-poverty Okanogan County, the local hill operates on a comparative shoestring, and everyone knows “if we don’t have ski patrols we don’t have skiing.” ![]() ![]() Nourse notes that many are already in public service as teachers or paramedics, and see it as an extension of their calling-plus, he notes, “honestly you do get the first tracks” on dry eastern Cascade snow. It’s not easy work, even on Loup Loup’s less extreme terrain members are up at dawn to string rope along boundary lines, then spend the day addressing injuries or just telling skiers to slow down. “This hill’s run by the community, and patrolled by the community,” says Brent Nourse, executive director of that foundation.
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