41” in 36 hours.
For the 2nd time in the last 4 years I started my ski season at Crystal Mountain, this being my fourth trip there. Reflecting on that it says a lot about the place. It really has everything you could ever want in ski terrain (as easy or as difficult as one could hope for), combined with an abundance of spectacular backcountry objectives right from the parking lot, with first class lifts and facilities, some sparse base “development” that can have its charms.....and all of it (generally) less than 2 hours from Seattle. Oh, and did I mention that when Ullr deems it so it can get incredible amounts of snow, and (notwithstanding some snow level variations) it can even be blower? Point being, if you’ve never been, plan a trip. Sure, planning a trip to Crystal (or anywhere in the PNW for that matter) can have its challenges, but I’ve skied the Seattle environs 6 different times, and have never been disappointed.
Even with the problems Crystal experienced this past weekend, we just skied three days of incredible conditions, much of it deep, untracked, light powder, and we never waited in a lift line longer than 10 minutes (save for getting to the front of the gondola line early Monday). I’m sure people had their issues this past weekend, but they didn’t affect me. To an extent I think Crystal (and Seattle skiers in general) are a tad spoiled.
So, as usual, the start of my ski season waited for the right conditions. I’m definitely a quality over quantity kind of guy. Inspiration finally stuck so 10 days ago I fired up Open Snow and the Delta app to see if conditions, tickets and an open weekend would align, and boy did they. It was clear the PNW was in for a big cycle, so it was on.
This would be a different trip for me, as I’ve been wanting to take someone with me on one of my chases for a while now. With my son home from college and my daughter graduated I got to bring them both. Crystal is a great mountain with which to introduce someone to western skiing (more so than remote Baker, which was my other consideration), and with suitable lodging available at the base of the mountain the choice (although debated in my mind a while) was easy. Being with the kids there would be no backcountry for me this trip, but I didn’t need it to get my fill of deep, untracked powder turns. Being with the kids, introducing them to my addiction, was priceless.
With more than 41 inches of snow from Sat to Mon it wasn’t a great trip for pictures, but I’ll drop what I have soon. I also have a little video to work with, although it’s time for a new GoPro as mine has proven unreliable. So don’t worry, more than just words are coming!
For the 2nd time in the last 4 years I started my ski season at Crystal Mountain, this being my fourth trip there. Reflecting on that it says a lot about the place. It really has everything you could ever want in ski terrain (as easy or as difficult as one could hope for), combined with an abundance of spectacular backcountry objectives right from the parking lot, with first class lifts and facilities, some sparse base “development” that can have its charms.....and all of it (generally) less than 2 hours from Seattle. Oh, and did I mention that when Ullr deems it so it can get incredible amounts of snow, and (notwithstanding some snow level variations) it can even be blower? Point being, if you’ve never been, plan a trip. Sure, planning a trip to Crystal (or anywhere in the PNW for that matter) can have its challenges, but I’ve skied the Seattle environs 6 different times, and have never been disappointed.
Even with the problems Crystal experienced this past weekend, we just skied three days of incredible conditions, much of it deep, untracked, light powder, and we never waited in a lift line longer than 10 minutes (save for getting to the front of the gondola line early Monday). I’m sure people had their issues this past weekend, but they didn’t affect me. To an extent I think Crystal (and Seattle skiers in general) are a tad spoiled.
So, as usual, the start of my ski season waited for the right conditions. I’m definitely a quality over quantity kind of guy. Inspiration finally stuck so 10 days ago I fired up Open Snow and the Delta app to see if conditions, tickets and an open weekend would align, and boy did they. It was clear the PNW was in for a big cycle, so it was on.
This would be a different trip for me, as I’ve been wanting to take someone with me on one of my chases for a while now. With my son home from college and my daughter graduated I got to bring them both. Crystal is a great mountain with which to introduce someone to western skiing (more so than remote Baker, which was my other consideration), and with suitable lodging available at the base of the mountain the choice (although debated in my mind a while) was easy. Being with the kids there would be no backcountry for me this trip, but I didn’t need it to get my fill of deep, untracked powder turns. Being with the kids, introducing them to my addiction, was priceless.
With more than 41 inches of snow from Sat to Mon it wasn’t a great trip for pictures, but I’ll drop what I have soon. I also have a little video to work with, although it’s time for a new GoPro as mine has proven unreliable. So don’t worry, more than just words are coming!
