By Hannah JossWe always suspected that Sasquatch lived in Washington. Now we know he’s made Wenatchee his home. The Mission Ridge Yeti is an 11-foot-tall sculpture at the top of the ski resort made by three Wenatchee artists. Constructed with steel tubing and covered with a thick layer of rusted chains, he can either be a brown-haired Sasquatch or a snow-covered Yeti – it just depends on the season.Artists Kasey Koski, Zeb Postelwait and Thad Brewer were brainstorming gift ideas for Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort’s 50th anniversary on a summer night in 2016 over a few beers. The idea for the Yeti was inspired by Zeb’s restaurant Lemolo Café and Deli in downtown Wenatchee. Lemolo is named after a double black diamond run up at Mission Ridge. Hanging from the restaurant’s ceiling is a giant yeti in sunglasses and a Hawaiian t-shirt. In honor of the restaurant’s furry beast, the team started creating a different kind of beast in their garage.
The team of three had a variety of experience with different art mediums so they began collecting materials and raising money for their venture. The project took three years, months of cutting chain and hours upon hours of welding. They received donations from local Wenatchee businesses and non-profits and major help from Wenatchee Valley Salvage and Recycle in East Wenatchee who donated a lot of secondhand chain.Kasey, Zeb and Thad finally got to place their yeti at the top of Mission Ridge in September of 2019. “It was very rewarding throughout, including the culmination of it and how it got placed, where we ended up getting to put it,” Brewer said. “The whole thing ended up working out beautifully,” (Wenatchee World). The 1500–2000-pound monster was hauled up next to chair 2 and attached to a base just in time for the first snow of the season.
“The couple of days installing him at the top of Mission Ridge were some of the best days at the office ever,” says Kasey (King 5). It’s in a great place on the mountain for skiers and snowboarders to stop, take photos and marvel at the art installation. Kasey says she also loves to sit back and watch people come up to the yeti and see the smiles that it brings to their faces.Kasey, Zeb and Thad hope the yeti stays up at the top of Mission Ridge for a long time. Being Wenatchee locals, they ski by their “baby” as much as they can in the winter to see all the different shapes he takes with the changing weather. You can visit the yeti at Mission Ridge too – tickets are still available for the 2021 season. Just head to https://www.missionridge.com/.Insert video: King 5 Sasquatch at Mission Ridge