December 29, 2005 Crystal Mt.

Now I know why I only ski week days on non-holiday weeks. Got a late start. Left Tacoma at 8 am. Got to within 2 miles of the upper parking lot, when the traffic came to a stand still, 2 mph crawl. I thought there was an accident. When I saw that the parking lots were packed full, I mean all the way down the hill, I promptly turned around and came home. It was a nice drive. Clear roads and a nice view of Rainier. <br><br>I don't like crowds. Maybe I'll start doing more backcountry routes during busy holiday skiing days.

lol thanks for the trip report was thinking about heading up there tomorrow, but scratch that. Crowds suck!..

I usually leave really early, just to beat the traffic in Tacoma. Around 5 am. If one were to leave early , maybe ski until noon or so, and then drive home while the weekend warriors are still driving up, it may be worth while. <br><br>But , a Friday before New Years Eve? I'm going to wait until next week.<br><br>Happy New Year everyone!!

For comparison, I was at Crystal on Tuesday (Dec 27). I was concerned there woud be crowds but found lots of new snow and no lift lines. Go figure.

Bandit, the lines on the mountain weren't all that bad, even for me (and I REALLY hate lift lines, I'm one of those people that always tries to yo-yo 50-60K of vertical if I'm paying for a lift ticket). I got there at 8:45, parked in the closest part of the lower lot (the RV lot), managed to buy a lift ticket within 10 minutes, and was on the lift just after 9AM.<br><br>Great conditions, partly sunny, 5" of powder atop 12+" of heavy consolidated powder atop last weekend's solidly frozen rain crust. Skied mostly Rex and Green Valley, lift lines were not too bad except a bit crowded from 10AM-1PM, but then were under 1 minute after 2PM on the upper mountain.<br><br>The big exception was the one time I tried to head up to Powder Bowl around noon, the Forest Queen lift was broken (or whatever) and I waited in line for 10 minutes before bailing out and skiing down. Don't know how long it took them to restart that lift, but the line had built to epic proportions by the time I bailed. A brief glance back at the Forest Queen around 2:30 showed it was still very crowded over there.<br><br>

I have to agree with Amar.  Today at Crystal was really quite good.  No lines on the Campbell basin lift.  They opened the Southback around 10:30 after being closed the past several days.  Almost no tracks and fantastic conditions in Silver basin, with about 12" of powder and very consistent top to bottom.  Forest Queen lines got backed up some, but I love lift skiing and don't really mind being around other people who love to ski    I think of it as a social opportunity.<br><br>Even on the last runs of the day, we found some nice hidden stashes off of the top of the Queen, and the groomers were really good down to the main lodge.  Visability was good for most of the day with views of Rainier.  Clouds moved in with some winds in the later afternoon.  Really a great day on the mountain.<br><br>Amar, sorry I missed seeing you. I think we did about 20K which was fine with alot of time spent hiking/traversing the Sback.