I have ridden Crystal since I was 10. I rode the past five days, from south to north and all powdery spaces in between. While I agree with Lowell that the new N back may be a problem for patrollers, it is most certainly not a mistake. The gapers will ski the sidehilly unpleasant otto bahn, the boarders will love the little cliffies, and for the rest of us locals, we will do what we have always done, explore the beautiful terrain that is crystal mountain. The last three days have been the busiest days this season, yet I (and many other like minded explorers) have been skiing untracked glorious powder runs in relative isolation. I climbed the King three times today and the last run was just as good as the first. Crystal provides us south puget sound folks with some of the only easily accessible winter access to backcountry bliss. Trash it if you will, complain about them making money. Better yet, go somewhere else. I for one will drive from enumclaw to mecca for many years to come.
By the way, Friday was like being in your private Warren Miller movie all day long.
