Chinook Express Lift

The Chinook Express Lift is one of the newer transport options at Crystal Mountain. Two six-passenger, high-speed chairlifts—the Chinook Express and the Forest Queen Express—were purchased in the late 1990s, to replace the older Midway Shuttle and Rendezvous lifts at the ski resort. When the resort first opened in 1962, there were just two double chairlifts, Miner’s Basin and Iceberg Ridge, but the number soon grew to include Green Valley, Quicksilver, Campbell Basin, and Bullion Basin, among others.

Several additional lifts were added to the resort's network to maintain the increase in the number of visitors enjoying Crystal Mountain skiing including the Discovery Triple lift, the Forest Queen Express six-passenger high-speed chairlift, Northway, and the newest addition in 2010, the Mt. Rainier Gondola, the only gondola lift in Washington State.

Crystal Mountain currently offers limited scenic chair rides on a specified day and when weather permits. The Chinook Express lift is part of the scenic tour that takes visitors from the base halfway up the mountain where they transfer to the Mt Rainier Express.

Located near the boundaries of Mt Rainier National Park, Crystal Mountain is one of the most popular ski areas in Western Washington. Like Stevens Pass, located near Leavenworth, it has possibilities both for lengthy trips or day trips from Seattle, making it easy to add some skiing to your Washington vacation without missing the state’s urban attractions.