On one of the many snow-free days at the Summit at Snoqualmie, public relations director Jon Pretty saw two snowboarders blowing up a pineapple with fireworks.

Another time, he saw a skier backing over pineapples with a truck. And on yet another occasion he saw a man mutilating a pineapple with a butcher knife.

This Pineapple Express brought a warm, dry winter to the Northwest and gave the area ski industry its worst season on record. The resorts hope the recovery is under way, thanks to a week of heavy snow in the Cascades that allowed Crystal Mountain to open Friday - its earliest opening in 28 years.

The Washington Cascades' six resorts were open an average of 57.5 days last season, down 55.4 percent from their typical average of 128.8 days. And according to the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association, resort visits were down 69.1 percent from its 10-year average of nearly 1.6 million to 491,537 last season.

While most resorts declined to share how much money they lost, a spokesperson for White Pass Ski Area said it took a hit of more than $3 million.

Many seasonal employees were laid off at all the resorts. So many, in fact, that when Crystal reopened for a 15-day finale in April, general manager John Kircher spent weekends flipping burgers in the lodge.

Crystal postponed planned improvements and Kircher says last year is part of the reason he raised lift ticket prices to $50 this season. The resort also plans to start a major expansion project this summer.

Guy Lawrence, a spokesman for the Summit, says it will be a while before the full impact of last season is known because the Summit is honoring last year's season passes again this season.

Kristin Wellnetin, an 18-year-old snowboarder from Puyallup, made trips to Oregon's Mount Bachelor and British Columbia's Whistler Blackcomb with friends. "I definitely felt like I had to travel to get in some good days," Wellnetin said.

John Welcher. owner of Tacoma's Welcher's Gun Shop, took a weeklong trip to Salt Lake City where Brighton Ski Resort honored his season pass from Crystal, a fellow Boyne USA resort. He also hiked to Camp Muir at 10,188 feet on Mount Rainier to ski the Muir Snowfield.

"But it had to be an absolutely bluebird day for me to ski Camp Muir," Welcher said. "I've heard of people dying on that hill when the weather is bad. I don't need to take that risk.

The Pacific Northwest received only half its average precipitation December through February last season because of El Niño, a warming of the Pacific's equatorial waters, according to the National Weather Service. The service is predicting a normal winter this season.

David Houk, a forecaster for Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather, predicts precipitation will be 125 percent of normal and says resorts could get 400 inches of snow.

So far, this season is shaping up to be just what the resorts need. With Crystal opening Friday and Mount Baker set to open Tuesday, the season is starting three weeks ahead of the typical Thanksgiving weekend target.

"I look out my window and I can't even see across the plaza because it's snowing so much," Crystal marketing director Tiana Enger said last week. "I can't even tell you how excited people are right now."

Mission Ridge, White Pass and the Summit made considerable upgrades to their snowmaking equipment. All three say they would have been open more last year had they been able to make enough snow to cover their lower slopes.

With four new snow guns, White Pass general manager Kevin McCarthy says his resort might have been able to stay open three times as long as the 25 days it was open last season.

Mission Ridge general manager Mark Milliette says his 11 new snow guns and 18-million-gallon reservoir should allow his resort to open earlier each year.

Ski resorts are also being more diligent with their summer ski trail grooming so fewer rocks and bushes don't stick through thinner blankets of snow.

Sitzmark Ski Area, a one-lift operation with no year-round employees located near Tonasket in northcentral Washington, needs some serious white to get out of the red.

"We are right on the edge of being in business," said Susan Shaddox, secretary for the resort and the local ski club. "We are struggling to pay the bills."

The ski area was open three days last year and was left with a $10,000 insurance bill. Sitzmark approaches this season hoping for $1,000 in donations to pay off the remaining bills.

In Spokane, Loulou's Sports Shop, widely regarded as one of the state's best ski shops, was forced to close for good. Issaquah Ski and Cycle suffered the same fate.

"It was 80 degrees in March and that made for our worst year for ski gear sales," Zimmer said. "But it made for a record year for boat profits."

"Our September was double last year," he said. "It was our best September ever. I don't know if that's an anomaly or if people are excited to get out there."

"Most people who invested in new equipment feel like they got burned last year because they didn't get to use it," manager Steve Van Wieringen said. "They're not buying new gear because last year's gear is still new."

"I'm anticipating a bad year," Ampe said. "We aren't ordering any new inventory this year. We have plenty of racks left over from last year."

Small towns like Packwood, 20 miles west of White Pass, also are banking on a good winter to make up for last season. Last December, Hotel Packwood rented out one room. Skiers usually pack the hotel on winter weekends.

Tom Stebbins faced a huge challenge last year when Washington resorts launched Ski Washington, a program designed to promote the state's slopes. Stebbins handles marketing for Ski Washington and last year there wasn't much to market.

"These ski areas are owned by smart people," Stebbins said. "One bad year isn't going to ruin them. They're basically farmers at the mercy of Mother Nature, and you never know when she is going to deal you a bad hand. You have to be prepared."

"People tend to forget about skiing after a year like last season," Crystal's John Kircher said. "But all it takes to fix that is a little snow."

The six resorts in Washington's Cascades were open an average of 57.5 days last season, down 55.4 percent from their typical average of 128.8 days.

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