If you can ski here, you can ski anywhere in the world!! Conditions are oftentimes heavy. The best night skiing I have ever found--well lit, many runs, and no crowds. Experts should check out Alpental. It has very steep terrain and plenty of ungroomed runs. Ski patrols will take experts on patrol with them to the Backcountry. For the price of one pass you can ski 4 unique areas, all connected by a shuttle and a trail system.

Snoqualmie has been operating for over 70 years which just says it's worth going to. It's the only area in Washington to be less than an hour from the Seattle Airport and can be reached by interstate 90 all the way. The area is located at about 3000' elevation which gives it heavy snow but makes a good base and rocks are rarely found during the season on trails.
Summit West boasts of easy beginner terrain which is why many of the ski schools are located there and is the best place to learn in the state because of its accessablity and the price is so low.
Summit Central has about everything a skier/rider could want, including, a top to bottom terrain park with a 450' long superpipe and over 60 jibs! For those who enjoy the quietness of the sport, there is Silver Fir. Looked down on by many because it is served by a slow triple instead of a newer faster lift. This makes the area less crowded and the snow is good all day.
Summit East is the hidden gem of Snoqualmie with many wide well groomed trails and the most consistent fall line face run. This area is empty because no one likes the two double chairs that serve it.
One ticket pays for all Summit areas and Alpental.
The bad part is: I have only met three friendly employees and people smoke on the lifts and lift lines. The lift lines can get up to 30 minutes for a two minute run down. I would recomend going to Summit East on a Weekend or going mid week.

Wow, what a great resort. First of all since its only 30 min from seattle you and everyone else in the Puget Sound area can ride almost 24/7. Since they have one of the lowest elevations around they always get the biggest dumps, sometimes up to 2 feet of wonderful Cascade Concrete! I happened to go on a Saturday and it was awesome. I made so many friends in the lift lines (Who doesn't like comming to the mountain and socializing)! I was happy to see that the runs were so short and I was able get plenty of rest again in the lift line. Since I arrived I had gotten so much time resting on the lifts (I love the ones that don't detach, their way better since they slam into you when loading and then creep their way up the hill) I decided to stay and night ski...IT WAS AWESOME! the conditions got crazy fast as the beautiful corn snow began to freeze...Best of all I never paid for an Ice skating ticket...IT WAS COMPLIMETNARY! Be careful of the steep chutes at Summit West, its by far the best place to ride. They don't really have any tree skiing at Summit West but usually their are enough people littering the slopes to ski in and around. The worst part of the day was when my Jeans started to soak through. If your going to ride here I recommend Scotch Guard on your jeans. Stay away from other Washington resorts like Crystal, Stevens and Baker. Those places suck!

I can't believe that anyone gave the Summit areas a 5 for terrain rating, even with Alpental thrown in for good measure. The hills are short and anything other than a midweek visit means spending most of one's time standing in lift lines or riding the lifts at Snowcrummie Summit (Summit West) or Ski Acres (Summit Central). It's pretty much possible for an intermediate skier to tuck top to bottom on Thunderbird, Summit West's supposedly most challenging run.

If the owners of these four areas had any sense at all, they would be spending their money on enlarging Aplental or going higher above Hyak (Summit East to anyone under the age of twenty).

The Summit could be a great area if they would just focus more on the core product: lifts and snow. Booth Creek has invested tons of money in the lodges, plazas, etc. (with the accompanying outrageously overpriced and sub-standard food offerings) but has neglected everything else. Lifts are getting old and show it. For an area as low as this I am continually mystified by the lack of snow making (the coldest nights are usually the ones w/ no clouds . . .), and the grooming has suffered in recent years as well. It used to be a great place to go at night (shorter lines, uncrowded runs), but they are beginning to price it such that the value proposition is questionable (even if you do buy the "cheapest pass in the NW"). I should also mention that the lift ops (and other staff as well) are the most inattentive, lazy bunch of ski area workers I've ever seen.

As for each area: Alpental - sickest terrain, but SLOOOOOOW lift to access it; West - good for families and learning (but CROWDED); Central - all the best runs serviced by SLOOOOOW chairs, and the nicest face off the HS lift (Bonanza) was sacrificed to the terrain park so it is un-skiable any more. East (Hyak) has some sweet runs but due to the SLOOOOOW chairs and low elevation can be questionable on all but a total powder day.

All in all, unless you are a total terrain park person (they really have done a nice job w/ that) any other area in WA is a better value - especially if you're paying full price.