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Wind shuts down ski lifts at Snoqualmie Summit; more snow on the way

The Summit at Snoqualmie is bracing for several more inches of new snow expected to fall overnight, but the big story for much of Saturday was the wind.

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In fact, Central Summit shut down altogether at about 3:30 p.m. Some lifts are operating at Summit West, but there, too, some lifts are suspended for the rest of the night because of the wind.

The wind could easily be seen whipping the trees at Snoqualmie Summit. By mid-afternoon, some skiers and snowboarders were calling it quits. Some people never even made it to the slopes, they got the word that Summit Central was closed when they arrived.

"It said online it was open," said Elisa Levinson, a skier. "But when we got here, everything was closed. Visibility is really bad. And the wind chill is really cold. Yeah, so we'd rather hit up the casino."

"Yes, our $55 is going to go somewhere else today," said her friend, snowboarder Leah Zamir.  "Somewhere warmer, that's for sure."

In the early afternoon, there was what could be described as the lull before the next big storm. Everyone was using the time to clean up what snow is already on the ground.

Several hours earlier, there was a massive collision east of Snoqualmie Summit at milepost 88 near Cle Elum. Nineteen vehicles, including three tractor-trailers, spun out. Nobody was seriously hurt, but it stopped traffic in its tracks.

"So we shut traffic off at exit 109 down there," said Kevin Nicholson, WSDOT maintenance supervisor, "Just to eliminate the back up building up."

Nicholson blamed the wreck on drivers ignoring the signs requiring chains for most vehicles. But not everyone was guilty of that.

"You know the sign said 'All vehicles required to have chains unless you have all wheel drive' which I do not have," said Kyle Hammond, a snowboarder from Edmonds. "So (I) had to pull over, take an extra fifteen minutes, to put them on."

In fact, ignoring that chains are required could mean a $500 ticket. And if a driver is involved in a wreck after that, he or she could be slapped with a negligent driving ticket, too. And that's at least an additional $500 fine.

Meanwhile, some lifts at Snoqualmie Summit West and Alpenthal are open until 10 p.m. Saturday.