Crystal - Arm twist on 07-08 Season Passes

Steven's pass seems to be providing a similar deal to Mt. Hood meadows:
www.stevenspass.com/passes/season/

I will be a student this year, so I think I'll go for the unlimited student pass, but I also live in Tacoma, so that's a hella long drive . . . anybody interested in forming a 'permanent' carpool???

reading about these passes discourages me....anyone have a recommendation for the best deal on a pass for skiing this year for someone living in Portland?  I know the skiing in Washington is great (Baker, CM, Alpental...etc) but a little far to make buying a pass worthwhile, especially since I will only have weekends to get out mainly.  I have looked into Bachelor and the Mt Hood areas and I have to say the prices around here are crazy, being used to the Colorado 5 mountain season Pass at $450 for multiple mountains.  anyways, I didn't expect a deal like this, but didn't think I would have to pay close to a grand for a season pass.....any ideas for a deal would help!  Thanks!  Right now I am thinking about not getting a pass and hitting the backcountry most of the time.

2nd the Meadows pass deal. It's super easy to find 3 others in your position. Keep in mind that since Meadows started doing this they have become extremely crowded on weekends. So either get yours on weekdays or be sure to pack your BC stuff for some relief on the busy days.

Re: Team Wally's post- You're correct that management at Crystal doesn't intentionally save terrain for the weekends. The delayed openings are 100% about AC work. The Crystal patrol starts as early as reasonably possible (a couple at 4am, everyone else around 5:30) on the heavy avy days. For them to safely and responsibly run routes on the main terrain to even get the mountain open is the first priority. After that depending on resources and what else is going on that day, they start to fan out and get to the more distant terrain. Remember that to access anything in the South Back they have to hike just like everyone else, with heavy packs full of explosives. And trust me, you don't want them rushing that shit. During heavy storm cycles it's all a patrol can do to keep up. I worked as a patroller at an Intrawest resort, and we had so many pros there were guys that just got to hang out and do control work. At the relatively less busy resorts of WA, the number of full time daily patrollers is about half to 1/3 of where I worked, and they have more avalanche terrain to be responsible for. Not to mention regular mountain operations and first aid response. Crystal is (i believe) also the only mountain in the NW that does heli bombing from time to time to try and get caught up. That's a big commitment from management cost wise to try and get things open.

I would've liked to see CM management put the money towards more patrol staff instead of a new lift that it seems a lot of people don't want anyway. I don't even ski there on the regular (I live in the Sky Valley) but I know some of the patrollers and I know the job. I see the same complaints about Meadows when everyone can't understand "why isn't heather open". It's the same situation, it comes down to staffing and an  overworked patrol doing the best they can.  Team Wally- I don't think you were slagging the patrol so I hope I don't come off as defensive, I just want people to see things from the other side of the coin.

No harm, no foul. I have the utmost respect for the CM pros and volleys. Talk about unsung heroes. These guys and gals are first up and last off sweeping in the dark, heck sometimes they loan me a shovel to build a kicker and pack the take off !!