Located in central Washington state, within the beautiful Wenatchee National Forest, family-friendly Mission Ridge is an affordable ski resort with runs for all abilities, and an abundance of sunshine and powder.

Facilities at the base of the mountain include a ski shop, rental and repair shop, a convention centre for meetings, and first-aid. There are also ski and snowboard classes, a kids’ ski school, and childcare for ages three months to six years. Full shopping and services are available in nearby Wenatchee.

There are no slope-side lodgings, but there is self-contained camper parking at the resort; while the bulk of the accommodation is in hotels 30kms away in Wenatchee. Non-ski activities include snowmobiling and swimming; while for sustenance, there is a base area restaurant and mid-mountain café and barbeque. Additionally, Wenatchee and Leavenworth have a good variety of restaurants and bars.

The majority of Mission Ridge’s 360 hectares of skiable terrain is given over to intermediate cruisers, while advanced sliders also get a fair chunk of the domain. Five lifts, including four chairs and a surface lift, have an hourly uplift capacity of 4,300 people and operate across the 660-metre vertical to supply all pistes, the longest of which is 3.2kms.

For a day away from the slopes, Seattle, often called the ‘Emerald City’, is known for its sparkling and exciting nightlife as well as the spectacular views from the top of the Space Needle. The ski season at Mission Ridge runs from mid-December to mid-April, and minors and seniors receive lift discounts. The most convenient means of transport is to fly to Seattle and hire a car or take a shuttle bus to Wenatchee.