49° North Mountain Resort has long maintained a place in Northwest skiing lore. The use of Chewelah Peak as a winter playground began in 1935, when the Forest Service issued a permit for the development of a site approximately two miles west of the present site of today's lodge. The completion of Cy's Hut in 1936 and a rope tow in 1939 firmly established winter recreation on Chewelah Peak.
After the completion of the two story Chewelah Mountain Lodge in 1950 and installation of a double chairlift in 1951, the area experienced a dramatic increase in the volume of recreational users and tourists. By 1968, however, the area was forced to close due to the obsolescence of the chairlift and a lack of revenue created by the gradual decline of the condition of the facilities.
On May 6, 1970, the Chewelah Basin Ski Corporation was formed and submitted a bid to develop and operate a ski resort in a basin approximately two miles east of the old area. Development commenced in late 1970 and continued during the summers of 1971 and 1972. Construction of three lifts, runs, and a day lodge was completed and the area first opened for public use in late 1972. In 1976, the U.S. Forest Service approved a master plan allowing for continued upgrading and expansion within the existing Special Use Permit. A fourth lift was added in 1980 and new runs to support the lift continued to attract a number of visitors. In June of 1996, the Chewelah Basin Ski Corporation was sold and 100% of the stock was transferred to the Eminger Family.
49° North embarked on its largest expansion in 2006 with the development of the Sunrise Basin area. 500 acres of terrain and 20 new runs were created in the project area, with a quad chairlift added during the summer of 2006. The first concrete footings were poured in early August of that year, and the new chair passed its load test on December 1. The entire operation went online on December 8, 2006.
In July of 2009, 49° North began a major resort improvement project on Angel Peak, located northwest of the summit of Chewelah Mountain. 60 acres of the Angel Peak project area were transformed into seven new, wide-open runs, and 170 acres were selectively thinned to create more of the legendary gladed terrain that the resort is known for. The Angel Peak project was completed in August of 2009.
In Febuary 2012, 49° North began the building of the Angel Peak Chair Lift. The dual person lift was built during the summer and started at the base of the mountain and was built to run up to Angel Peak Summit. Angel Peak Chair Lift was completed in October 2012.
