WATERVILLE — A tow rope whirred to life up on the Badger Mountain Ski Area Saturday as skiers and snowboarders awaited their turn to get up to the top of the hill.
A couple miles from Waterville and a bit of a walk through the snow sits the nonprofit and volunteer-run ski organization.
The ski area officially opened 11 a.m. Saturday, but half an hour before, folks were already streaming in to make the most of the good conditions and perfect weather — clear, blue sky and relatively warm temperature.
One group of about seven snowboarders arrived among the early crowd in a truck, with some in the flat bed.
Jeremiah Paulston, the driver, brought several of his kids to the ski hill. He lives a few miles from the ski hill up on Badger Mountain. Paulston said he’s been coming to the ski hill area for about six years.
“It’s just a lot more laid back,” he said. “It’s just a nice, family mountain. Everybody’s helping everybody and everybody knows everybody pretty much by name. Mission Ridge is fun and has its place, but here you can sit in the lodge and look out on the hill and see your kids, you know what I mean.”
Paulston said he began volunteering recently, as there’s always room to help.
Steve Hickman, Badger Mountain Ski Area manager, said the ski area would not exist without the generosity of the volunteers and the community that has continued to support it.
“(Small ski areas) die every year and they never come back,” he said. “Somebody’s got to step up and take care of business. There’s guys, (the volunteers), they’re wheat ranchers, doctors, wastewater people, retailers, they come up, they donate their time for free. And just so that everybody can enjoy this.”
Three rope tows and one T-bar were available at the Badger Mountain Ski Area, but at any moment, it seemed like skiers and snowboarders zipped by from all sides of the hill, constantly in motion, and needed only about a half-second to get adjusted on the rope tow or T-bar to get back up the hill.
One Leavenworth resident, “Danger” Dan Osborne, skied down in a black, Hawaiian shirt.
Hickman and several volunteers also said Badger Mountain is a great place to learn how to ski or snowboard when compared to a larger resort, like Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort, with people sharing equipment and experiencing less pressure with the smaller crowd.
Cody Lowe, a Waterville resident, already began to teach his 3-year-old son how to ski on the bunny hill, along with several parents and children doing the same thing.
Chad and Jacque Clements, also Waterville residents, were once such kids learning to ski on the same slope some 40 years ago. Jacque Clements said they keep coming back, as it’s near their home, a reasonable price and has that feeling of “small-town America.”
The couple saw the slope change over time, as all the rope tows were at one point gas-powered and made a lot more noise as a result.
“And the Lions Club burgers are probably the best burgers around,” Chad Clements said.
Lunch is available for $7 — a burger, chips and a soda — cooked and served by members of the Waterville Lions Club, a local nonprofit, in the ski area’s lodge.
The club pays for the ski area’s liability insurance, and without them, the ski area could not exist, according to Hickman.
Ed Daling, a Lions Club member helping behind the kitchen counter, said the ski area is an important community activity to the club.
“We appreciate doing it for our community,” he said. “It just warms our heart to see the kids. You really can learn here and it’s inexpensive.”
Andy Gail, a Snohomish resident, said he passed by Stevens Pass Ski Resort and counted 200-plus people compared to the 20 or so at Badger Mountain. Gail said he’s been coming to these slopes for about six years, tired of the “corporate” feel in places like Stevens Pass.
“Badger Mountain is the essence of skiing,” he said. “It’s awesome. You can’t beat it.”
The many hills, tow ropes, and T-bar area all available 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $10. For more information about the Badger Mountain Ski Area, including days open and how to volunteer, visit wwrld.us/badger.
