Ski season not over yet
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months AGO
Nearby ski parks got a late-season boost Monday with a spate of new snow.
FILE PHOTO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | February 16, 2026 2:41 PM
MOSES LAKE — This hasn’t been our snowiest winter, but ski resorts in the region got a late-season boost this week with a sudden snowfall, just in time for the three-day Presidents Day weekend.
“We’ve received over four inches, probably closer to five inches of new snow since about 8 o’clock this morning,” Tony Hickok, marketing director at Mission Ridge near Wenatchee, said Monday. “It’s the first significant snow that we’ve seen in a bit. A very welcome return to winter.”
Mission Ridge has been open since the beginning of December, Hickok said, but with limited terrain. All four chairlifts were in use for a brief time during the season, he said, but for the last month it’s been only three. Not all of the resort’s runs have been in operation either, he said, but thanks to a snowmaking system, the ones that are open have been kept in good shape.
Mount Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park, northeast of Spokane, was also happy with the gift of snow.
“It’s been snowing all day today, and we have snow in the forecast every day of the week,” said Assistant General Manager Jodi Kayler. “People are out here having fun … It seems like winter’s finally here.”
49 Degrees North Mountain Resort, near Chewelah, has done pretty well despite the warm winter, said Ticket Office Lead Harley Holt.
“We’ve been having pretty good daily (turnout),” Holt said. “We still have our season pass holders, and we have our dailies who love our mountain enough to keep coming back regardless of snowfall.”
Washington has been going through a dry spell in January, according to the State Climate Office at the University of Washington. Snowpack has been well below normal at barely over half the historical median.
“It’s definitely been less snowfall from years prior,” Holt said. “Last year was one of our golden years. We had like 108 inches finishing the season.”
49 Degrees North has 17 inches of snow at the base and 30 inches at the summit Monday, according to its conditions report. Mt. Spokane had 16 inches at the base and 34 inches at the summit, and Mission Ridge showed 19 inches at the summit and less than 12 inches at the base.
“About every 10 years we see a significantly lower-snowfall year,” Hickok said. “The last year with really low snow was 2014-15. So, it does happen from time to time.”
Keeping an eye on a ski park’s website is important, as conditions can change quickly. With spring around the corner, skiers should be extra aware of the terrain they’re skiing on.
“There are some rocks pointing out at certain spots,” Holt said. “I recommend bringing your spring gear, skis that you wouldn’t mind of they had a scratch on them.”
The Presidents Day weekend is a popular one for folks to hit the slopes, Hickok said, along with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the week after Christmas.
“We’ve had a lot of folks getting out this weekend, enjoying the conditions,” he said. “And we expect to see an uptick in this coming week with the new snowfall.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”