by Alli Scheumann
I recently had the pleasure of skiing Loup Loup Ski Bowl with a great friend. The scenic, less than 2-hour drive from Wenatchee made to a relaxing start to our day, filled with time to chat and excitement about skiing a new area for us. Pulling into the parking lot, we knew it was going to be a good day. We saw families getting ready to ski, other groups setting up barbeques, lunch coolers for the day, and soloists ready to hike uphill to earn their turns. We sensed the community felt right from the get-go; most people seemed to know each other well, making a trip through the parking lot takes quite a while with all the “hello’s” to be exchanged.
Once we purchased our day tickets, we were able to walk right up to the lift, no lines to be found (even on a Saturday). There is one quad lift at Loup Loup, which is a relaxing ride to the top. Once we got off the lift, we were greeted by panoramic views of the Okanogan area on a bluebird day. Skiing down was the icing on the cake, the runs were nicely groomed, and we had plenty of room to pick our own line from top to bottom. In addition to the quad chair, there is a Poma Lift and a rope tow for beginner skiers. The rope tow is conveniently placed near the quad chair, so families with young children could have adults alternate between ski runs and helping the kids. The lodge is quaint and again plays to the community vibe, everyone seemed to know each other.
We ended the day with a 20-minute drive to Old Schoolhouse Brewing for a nice meal. We both came away feeling inspired by Loup Loup’s sense of community and family friendliness… we will definitely be back!
For more information see Ski The Loop webpage.
