After putting up a valiant fight against the warm weather and rain, the Summit at Snoqualmie officially closed its slopes on February 11.

The Summit isn’t completely closed, as tubing is still open while the resort anxiously awaits more snowfall. With a major draw for the Valley shutting its gates, what does this mean for locals?

For starters, North Bend Boardshop 5420 business owner Rick Tarpley is going through a career change. He said he’s going to start working in contracting again, but for now he’s tearing down his snowboard shop.

“I moved out here for the snow,” Tarpley said. “I opened a shop based on the location, based on the snow, and am now closing.”

Tarpley said the lack of snow this year was the “nail in the coffin” for his business, which boomed when he first opened in July 2013.

“I made my projections based on the first year that we had snow and the previous years and then, the second year (2014) there was no snow,” he explained. “If they would have had normal snow this year, everyone would have been talking about the lack of snow last year.

“I also work (at the Summit) on the park crew and didn’t have work because of the lack of snow… It sucks; it makes you aware of how dependent you are on snow in this industry. I’m like a farmer and I don’t have any dirt.”

According to the State Department of Transportation, the snowfall at Snoqualmie Pass as of Monday, Feb. 23, was 79 inches. The five-year average for this time is typically 253.2 inches, with a total of 400 inches throughout the ski season, late November to April.

The Summit at Snoqualmie marketing director, Guy Lawrence, cited the lack of snow as a “personal thing,” as most Summit employees (including himself) are avid, winter-sports lovers.

“It’s a no-win situation,” Lawrence stated. “We would love to be up and running because this is the business we’re in and we can’t provide anything right now.”

Lawrence referenced a survey taken roughly three years ago that showed North Bend residents purchased the highest amount of passes, making up more than 20 percent of the mountain’s membership – followed by Snoqualmie, Issaquah and Seattle.

“Generally speaking, we’re a safe bet,” he continued. “This does remind you that we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature and she’s sometimes not very nice to us… This is a weather-related business, which is what makes it fantastic most of the time and other times, really disappointing.”

For now, Lawrence said the skeleton Summit Crew is maintaining the slopes and “chomping at the bit to get open again.”

North Bend Pioneer Coffee Roasting Company barista and 2010 Mount Si High School graduate Rebecca Banning has worked seasonally at the Summit for the last five years, and said the slopes have been her “home mountain.”

Banning said the last time she saw the snow this low was during the 2004-05 season.

“In seventh grade,” Banning began, “the ski bus was canceled and they refunded all of our passes; this is worse. It’s really sad – I think I’m going to move to Alaska or something.”

Banning said she typically works weekends at the mountain, but now she spends her free time chasing the snow with friends.

“Being employees, our passes work at any of Boyne’s resorts,” she explained. “We were going to go Cypress Mountain because (it’s) free and now it’s closed. So, now we’re just like, ‘Where do we go?’ I think I’m just going to start surfing. Surf season might just start early.”

Banning’s Summit and Pioneer Coffee co-worker, Stephanie Pierce, moved to the Valley from Vermont in September to work at the resort.  She had never been to the area before, and this is the biggest move she’s ever made to work at a resort.

“People (said) ‘Snoqualmie is going to get 10 feet. Alpental is the sickest backcountry in the state!’ and I (said) ‘I want to live there,’” Pierce explained. “I hiked Alpental a few times and snowboarded down… so it hasn’t been a super disappointment. It’s all about what you make of it, I guess… I’ll probably stay for at least a year; I’m getting my residency to go to school.

“I backcountry snowboard, so the lack of snow sucks, but you can still hike and find it. It hasn’t been the worst season of my life. I’m still waiting for that 10-foot dump. It could happen.”

Business isn’t bad for everyone in the Valley. Snoqualmie native Joe Hoch got his start skiing at the Summit and has been a part of North Bend’s Pro Ski and Mountain Service family for 10 years.  Hoch fills in at the shop two or three times a month and weighed in on the Summit’s dismal snowfall.

“It seems like business is way better than expected in this particular shop,” Hoch explained.  “This shop is more geared towards backcountry skiing, and there’s actually plenty of that right now — it’s been phenomenal. It’s certainly been a bad year for ski resorts… but we have kind of a buffer because we sell all the gear for ski touring, and there’s plenty of that to do.”

This isn’t the first somber year at the Summit. Like Banning, most locals compare this season to the 2004-05 216-inch total snowfall and even last year’s late start that led to 293 inches total.

Last year’s precarious snow led the Summit to form its 100-day rule, which discounts the following season’s pass by 1 percent for each day it falls short of 100 days open. Right now, the slopes have been open for roughly 40 days.

The worst snowfall recorded was 191 inches during the 1976-77 season.

Monetary loss isn’t the only effect of low snowpack, which sparks threats of summer wildfires and  possible water shortages.

Nancy Davidson, Snoqualmie’s Public Works Department operations manager, said the city uses well water and doesn’t “envision that there will be an impact in the summer.”

Snoqualmie Fire Chief Mark Correira said he isn’t too worried about Snoqualmie’s water supply, though the dryness might increase the threat of fires.

“The edges of our community will certainly be of concern to us,” Correira said about the coming summer months.

Kraig Kramer, North Bend’s lead water system operator, explained that the city has two different water sources, the Mount Si Spring and a well that reaches into the aquifer, which he described as an “endless supply” of water.

“With the Mount Si Spring, there has to be a certain amount of water. If it runs low, we can’t use that source,” Kramer continued. “If the river’s levels are low, we have to mitigate and put water back into the river.”

Kramer also said Valley residents who don’t rely on the city for water might run into issues.

“I’m sure that the groundwater’s going to be down deeper,” he stated. “People definitely might have to watch their water usage in the late summer months.”

Seattle organization the Outdoors for All Foundation has felt the impacts of the slow season.  Outdoors for All provides adventurous lessons for people with physical, developmental and sensory disabilities. They’ve worked with the Summit since 1979.

This year, Outdoors for All has lost $42,000 in revenue and recently moved many programs to Stevens Pass, including their annual fundraiser “Spree,” which has been held at Snoqualmie Pass for the last 18 years.

Tiffany Green, owner of Snoqualmie Optimal Health Chiropractic, has volunteered with Ski for All, a branch of Outdoors for All, since 2009 and teaches children with neurodevelopment disorders how to ski.

Green said her students notice the lack of snow much less than the volunteers do, but she explained the Summit closure is much harder for her to shrug off.

“We really look forward to the ski season as a family event,” Green said. “And when life gets busy, stressful and hectic, it’s really easy to put fires first rather what is truly important: Kids and family.

“I find that outside of ski season,” she continued, “I’m not as good at carving out the time for that stuff because I don’t have the concrete commitment. I think, in a society that is so fast paced, we look forward to things that help us carve out that time. Skiing does that for me.”

The Summit will re-evaluate crediting pass holders in April once the season is over, but for now, neighboring Boyne Resorts mountains have opened their arms to the displaced skiers and snowboarders.

Crystal Mountain is offering a discounted ticket rate, while all other Boyne locations are letting pass holders ride for free — though some require guests to book lodging.

Rick Tarpley stands in front of his Boardshop 5420 logo. He named his shop for the Summit’s highest elevation, at Alpental.

Rebecca Banning makes hot chocolate at the Pioneer Coffee Roasting Company.