Very unscientific poll re: Crystal Mountain

I wonder if Ski Hypo would even be open? Or if the road to get there and back would close without notice due to avalanche danger.

Hmmm. It sure is nice having a mountain you know you can get to especially when there's several feet of fresh snow blanketing the slopes.

Don't get me wrong....I feel very sorry for all the skiers/riders/employees who have been affected by the pass closures and weren't able to take advantage of the new snow. For those who came to Crystal instead we hope you enjoyed your expereince.

I hope our friends up North are all haning in there and will recover from the avi mess. I know patrol at Alpental and Stevens sure have their hands full.

Lets not forget about the slide that happened saturday early in the afternoon on Crystal Mtn Blvd

www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112224

On that note I would like to thank James Taylor for doing a kick ass job moving the snow around in the lots and the Avi debris

I could tell it wasn't too bad for Crystal's business though.....

Indeed, nice to know we can get there. On the other hand it was, shall we say, a zoo? Big time.

I would ski at the place that got more snow on a pow day.

I really think that skiers there should get off the "better than you" attitude towards snowboarders. Or at least limit it towards posers.

2. Ski patrol's mission should be to open the entire mountain, all the time. (Kudos today, but frequently we have to stand in line as bleary-eyed patrollers stagger out of bed at 9:30 am with cups of coffee to start "work"). Patrol typically seems more interested in keeping areas closed unnecessarily and policing them, rather than just opening the mountain. (This aspect does seem to have improved this season). Remove all of the arbitrary and unnecessary ropes and closure signs littering the mountain. Use signs urging caution instead of roping off whole sections (the new signs under Chair 6 are a welcome improvement). Check out a well-run mountain like Alta UT, where terrain closures are infrequent, credible, well publicized and of short duration, despite much greater avalanche hazard. Mid-week skiers should expect the same commitment in these areas as the weekend crowd. This has not been the case in the past. Personally I would accept a lower level of effort Mon-Thurs for say a $35 ticket.

I would guess it is the patrol's mission to open the mtn on time every day. Looking back on the amount of snow that fell in the last two weeks I would think they were up to their asses in work just to stay ahead. At 9:30 in the morning they probably already have more than 4-5 hours of work done while you stand around worrying about them having a cup of coffee.

Well Valentine's day was very nice at Crystal (see Larry Trotter's report). No complaints at all!
I am encoraged that patrol does seem to be doing a great job of opening terrain this season. I'm convinced that there is a disconnect between management and patrol at times, with the former keeping terrain closed for reasons that have nothing to do with snow safety. In fact I had this very conversation with a pro patroller at the top of chair 6 a couple of weeks back. South Back was closed and the patroller agreed that snow safety was not the issue.
Anyway, I think that this discussion has been valuable, and I hope Crystal is sincere in responding to the comments. It certainly is a great mountain in good conditions and we are fortunate to have it.