NEW IMPROVED ALPENTAL? Big changes are coming to Washington's perennial Little Area that Rocks

It snowed 14 inches last night (on top of 16 from the day before) and the race is on from both sides of the Cascades to get first tracks at Alpental. You roll into the newly paved Lot 4-no more slushy potholes!-and score the final parking spot. All around you skiers and snowboarders dress quickly and eye you with nervous energy as you remove your skis from the roof rack and sprint past them onto the snow.

Decisions, decisions. You survey the busy flow of humans heading toward the Armstrong Express (Chair 1). You're too late-the backup is at least 20 chairs deep. Undaunted, you skate downhill toward the base of the Pulse Gondola, only a few seconds away adjacent to the brand-new Visitor Service lodge. Your midweek pass is no good today, so you quickly purchase a ticket at the fancy kiosk and entertain ordering a cup of steaming black coffee for the ride up, and that's when you notice the sign board: Wind Hold. The gondola's on stand-by. Must be howling on top of Denny Mountain.

You eye Armstrong Express again and can't stomach the wait, so you pursue the only logical option left: hop on Sessel (Chair 3). The new bullwheel is spinning quietly and no one's in line yet. You scamper onto one of the cushy new quad seats and in six minutes you're darting down the short access run to the Internationale detachable quad. You're third in line. The liftie nods knowingly beneath his snow-covered hood. You beat the crowd and the weather. Since the Internationale quad unloads on the steep, snow-filled slope just below the summit ridge, the wind isn't an issue. Ding! You've got freshies.

To those who know Alpental well, the above scenario is pure fantasy. Or is it? Big changes are coming to Washington's perennial Little Area that Rocks, and it seems few people know about them. Even long-time locals may be surprised to discover just how different their revered and rugged mountain may look and operate in coming seasons.