December 27, 2007 Crystal Mtn

Thursday - lots of snow.

Well, I knew it would be a holiday crowd and I wasn't disappointed.  Not a bad as a weekend crowd.  However, it's kind of tough for me to deal with it all.  Parked in the lower lot and got some good rides on the shuttle.  Lift lines on the lower slopes and the Rex were inconveniently long.  I guess next Thursday is going to be Holiday - Crap!  I am sure Crystal is making money hand over fist.

Morning weather reports threatened snow storms all over Puget Sound.  But the road was clear enough all the way up and back through falling snow.  Falling snow was pretty in the evening lights and headlights. I have studded snow tires, so I might feel the road condition is ok, whereas someone with regular street tires may find it more challenging. It got pretty stormy blizzard like late afternoon. Bailed at 3:00pm. I noticed chair six closed in the afternoon... prob for winds.

Snow was slightly groomed, fresh over hardpack.   It snowed all day and it dumped in the afternoon.   Any grooming disappeared under fresh which became chopped and bumped.  Visability was good for distance, but challenging for features in the white on white of fresh snow in light fog. 

Even though there has been lots of snow, the steeper slopes are a combination of fresh powdery stuff on boiler plate... you know,  flying through the creamy stuff then hitting the ice.  Even on moderate slopes my edges were scraping icy stuff below the fresh.   So, even though it is snowing like crazy, Crystal needs it all.

Put on fresh hot wax before skiing a week ago.  I noticed that I still have scratchable wax on my skis after two trips.  That tells me that the snow is very soft.  It was pretty close to powdery today.

The tree cleared area of Snorting Elk below the upper lift terminal was quite the mogal field. Boy, is that really different.  I miss the elegant glade nature that has been lost there.

GV was real nice and easy.  Iceberg was very smooth.  Bull Run - as nice as it gets.  Lucky Shot - more crowded with some little boiler plate surprises between the pow patches.  Couldn't see Powder Bowl from below.

Great day Larry, ate up T To Bs for the first 3 runs, GV face to Berg and then the treat of groom skiers left at bottom of the Berg to Lower Bull. Toooo Sweet and way tooo fast. Crowds came quick tho and by the 3rd lap the Berg was scraped up.. Skated back to Northway and booted up Morning Glory for for some tasty freshies. Brand X was sweet at top, skied/ boarded/slashed at the bottom, same with all of the OttoBahn drop ins from Teddy Bear Chutes on east. Looks like lots of first timers got hung up in the rocks. Still can't fathom the Northway Chair and all the new bump runs. I doubt too many people want to pay $58 to ski that crap. At this juncture groomers in North might be the answer. On the other hand South was delightful yesterday and today. Silver Basin was knee deep. Didn't take time to go for 3 Way but it sure looked tempting. As of now (9:45 pm Thur) the snow has slowed down but still cold. If I had a job I'd call in sick or dead and ski tomorrow.

I skied Crystal on the 26th and there were no lift lines. Odd that they should be so much longer a day later. (The skiing was wonderful.)

I checked out the new Northway lift for the first time. The hill was chewed up by the time I went over there so I didn't linger. I chatted with an old friend about the lift and he made what I thought was a good observation. He called the lift "a ski patrollers nightmare." There's a tremendous amount of country out there that is suddenly visible and attractive from the lift. But a lot of it is steep and full of hazards. I suspect they'll have some gnarly rescues out there as time goes on.

That was my thought when they announced the lift. A little sign nailed to a tree that says "cliffs" might be ok for backcountry terrain but lift service definitely requires a rope line. I assumed they would be adding more patrollers to handle the additional responsibilities but my understanding is that the opposite is true in that volunteer patrol has been cut or eliminated. Oh well, what do I know about running a ski area?

Yah - We noticed that too yesterday. ALmost no ski patrollers. Especially in the Northway area.

And they didnt get REX loading until 9:30/40 because of Avy Control...not a happy crowd though the wait was worth it.

I was lift skiing there yesterday (28th) and rode the northway chair for first time. I had thought so before, but after having ridden it, can confirm my first impression. That chair is a mistake. The kind of mistake that is driven by greed without foresight. As Lowell says, you are looking at climbers right of extremely cliff speckled terrain the entire ride up, which will either tempt you or properly scare you. Even on what might have been the biggest powder day of the year, by 1PM the main Northway runs (Otto and Northway bowl) were scraped and pretty bumpy at the top, ice and even more bumpy in the lower 1000 feetwhere all the runs come together. Powder chair? Ha. No such thing in the PNW unless its a weekday, with chain enforcement. The chair takes away the north BC, once the most defining characteristic of Crystal, and replaces it with narrow bump runs. Bumps are NOT what most people buy tickets for, they are in fact vastly discouraging and offputting to most skiers, particularly older folks trying to not thrash their knees. Most boarders aren't fond of them either. And all in all it introduces a nightmare for patrolers to boot. Hooah. Reminds me of 9990 chair at Canyons UT, a similar mistake.