Driving up to the mountain today, I was struck by how green it is almost all the way up to the lodge!  Spring is here in force, but there’s still enough snow gracing the runs to squeeze in some last minute winter activities.

Last Saturday, I decided to try something new and borrowed a pair of snowshoes from one of my co-workers.  Standing at Lodge 1 looking up, I proclaimed it “not that far” of a hike up to the Vista House.  I threw on some snowboard boots, strapped on my snowshoes, and set out on my trek.  It was a gorgeous day out, but I will be the first to tell you I gained a new appreciation for the view from the top of Mt. Spokane!

After plotting the best approach, I finally decided to head straight up No Alibi.  While I have ridden up Chair 1 countless times, I savored that first glimpse of the Vista House like never before after snowshoeing over an hour to the top.  Upon my arrival at the peak, I was of course obliged to get out my camera and document my feat.  After my long journey up, it was a quick jaunt down (while I attempted the ’slide-on-your-rear’ technique, I found it predominantly unsuccessful and just walked down…it took less than 20 minutes!).

There’s no better time than the Spring and Summer months to get out and explore Mt. Spokane!  Everything looks new again when you’re hiking or biking rather than skiing.  There’s old CCC cabins all over the mountain, a fire lookout on top of Quartz Peak, and the remains of the grand, historic original lodge that burnt down in 1952.  Once we hit June/July, there’s even a road all the way up to the Vista House, so if you get a chance, venture up here, it’s well worth it!

The Vista House

My hard earned view from the top!

Ever since the chairs stopped turning at the end of last season, the boys have been hard at work getting the lifts ready for another great season.  It’s a little-known fact that summer maintenance of the lifts takes many thousands of man-hours and over a million dollars each season to ensure optimum safety and prime operation during the coming season.

We got to have some fun yesterday splicing the Chair 3 haul rope!  “Haul rope” is the name of the main cable structure that the chairs are attached to.  It’s a 1 1/4″ thick steel cable wrapped around a nylon core.  The haul rope was installed brand new three summers ago, and now, after two full seasons of use, has stretched out and is hanging low.  This is all perfectly normal and part of the process.  To remove some of the slack, the rope is spliced and a section is removed to shorten the rope.

A typical haul rope. Image courtesy skilifts.org

Splicing cable is really a fascinating process.  Instead of cutting the rope off clean, as in the image above, single strands at a time are cut and unraveled at different distances from the center of the splice.  This eventually unravels the rope itself and it comes apart at the center.  It is then weaved back together, at a closer distance than before.  A total of 18″ feet of rope was removed from Chair 3, all before lunchtime!

Easier said than done, right?  Well, I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Big Steve making the first cut

And another cut. You can see one strand has already been unraveled

Unraveling

More unraveling

Coming apart at the center. You can see the nylon cord in the middle

A jumble of cords. RJ, in the middle, knows exactly where each one goes.

You can see how the ends will be spliced back together

Butt ends spliced together, and RJ is marking the center.

Raveling the strands back in.

Pounding the strands back in for a secure, snug fit

Jason straightening out the pigtails to slide back inside the core.

The pigtails are wrapped in string for a better fit inside the core.

Opening up the cable to slide the pigtail inside

Once he got the pigtail inside the core, RJ rotated these spikes down the length of the rope to hide it inside.

As you probably know, Mt. Spokane State Park road is under construction at the State Park entrance.  The road is closed to the public Mondays through Thursdays until mid-October.

The Park is still open for non-motorized public access.  Free parking is available in a designated area for park visitors at Bear Creek Lodge.

Mt. Spokane State Park is still open on Fridays and weekends, all the way up to the summit.  The bike trails are hot and the huckleberries are ripe, so avoid that scorching heat this weekend and come on up to the mountain.  If you haven’t been before, you MUST see the Vista House in summer.  And with a road all the way to the top, you have no excuse!

Summer is finally here, as the first of June brings hot weather and beautiful sunny skies to Mt. Spokane.  Although there are still a few patches of snow up high on the mountain (and I’m sure dedicated hardcores can still get a turn or two in), summer is here in force!

There was a moose about halfway up Two-Face this morning, no doubt enjoying the fresh greenery popping up all over the mountain.  It’s really beautiful up here in the spring and early summer, as the bright green new growth contrasts with the dark green alpine firs and rocky ground.

There are so many hiking trails available up here, and fun day hikes for all ability levels, which you will see more posts about as we get further into the summer.  Not only can you hike the mountain trails and ski area terrain, there are tons of trails within Mt. Spokane State Park accessible from several easy locations.  There’s old CCC cabins all over the mountain, a fire lookout on top of Quartz Peak, and the remains of the grand, historic original lodge that burnt down in 1952.  And of course, don’t forget the historic Vista House at the top of the mountain - did you know that you can drive to the top of the mountain in the summer?  Although the road doesn’t usually open until the end of June or July - parts of it are still covered in snow.

Local mountain bikers know that Mt. Spokane is somewhat of a mecca for biking trails.  Don’t forget the views!  I’m not much of a biker myself so I can’t report on that scene much, but I see bikers up here all the time, blowin past me on the numerous single track trails all over the mountain.

Stay tuned throughout the summer for more posts about day hikes, trail routes, wildlife, and the summer happenings at Mt. Spokane.  There will be road construction just inside the State Park entrance, starting later in June, so access will be somewhat limited for a period of the summer, but recreational trails will still be accessible from the Park entrance.  Also, if you do come up to the mountain during the week and the gate to Lodge 2 is open, be aware that it can close any time, and usually is done so by 4pm.