New Bullion Basin lift, upgrade to High Campbell..

My only hope is they fix what they got first. Like Rex, C6, C4 aka Quicksilver, and C1 (miner's basin).

I wonder how the new Bullion lift - which will be on the lower slopes - will affect the access to the upper Bullion Basin for backcountry skiing?

It will depend on the ski area policy. Looking at the map posted by Randy, it seems that the footprint of the new lift and its runs is similar to the old footprint.

I remember skiing the old Bullion Basin lift in the 1980s when I was ski instructing. The snow was often poor because the area is low in elevation, catches afternoon sun, and they didn't groom it much in those days. I would take a ski class up there, and we'd usually decide not to go back. With regular grooming, things may be better.

I'm concerned about backcountry access because the runs look pretty narrow. Having backcountry skiers climbing those runs while the lifts are operating could be dangerous. I don't know what the ski area policy will be. From the map it looks like the north edge of run 15G will be the safest up-track.

I skied East Peak in the 1980s, sometimes by riding the old Bullion Basin lift and skinning up from there. Usually it was something I would do in the morning or afternoon during a day of lift skiing. I would have East Peak entirely to myself--there were virtually no other backcountry skiers. The new chairlift is going to bring a new set of issues because backcountry skiing has grown dramatically since the old chair went out of business.

Thanks Lowell for your comments.

Addressing this issue early with the Crystal Mountain management might be a good idea, I would hope there will be a solution to keep access and all of us bc skiers happy.

Is'nt there a road (unplowed) lower down the access road that accesses East Peak? Might not be as direct but it could be an option.

Is'nt there a road (unplowed) lower down the access road that accesses East Peak?  Might not be as direct but it could be an option.

Here's a diagram based on a Google Earth image. Comparing this image to the map Randy posted, it's apparent that the new footprint and the old footprint are VERY similar.



I've marked the road that climbs the lower part of the slope and heads out of the picture (left) to the Gold Hills lift. The road doesn't climb very high. When the new lift is running, I don't think backcountry skiers will want to use that road, because it will probably be used by lift skiers.

About half way up the chairlift, a summer hiking trail leaves the Gold Hills road and zig-zags up toward Bullion Basin. I've marked the upper part of this trail, where it is most visible in the picture. This trail would probably be usable by backcountry skiers only at and above the spot where I've marked it. Below this point, the trail crosses ski runs, so it should be avoided.

I've marked the most logical backcountry access route in orange. This route follows the climbers-left edge of the northern-most ski run, so it avoids crossing ski runs. The safest route is to leave this ski run and follow the hiking trail as soon as possible (the lower arrow). But with fresh snow, backcountry skiers will be tempted to stay on the groomed ski run and catch the hiking trail higher (at the second arrow) to avoid breaking trail. It's just human nature. The ski area will probably not like that, and justifiably so.

Anothr option would be to expand the current "one-ride-lift-ticket" policy they now have (or at least used to have) for the Quicksilver lift to include the BB lift as well. There's a couple of decent ways to get into Bullion Basin from the top of the BB lift area.

I second the one ride ticket idea. This should be required if they are going to string a lift up the only backcountry area in the Crystal Valley that you do not need to go through the ski area to access. The lift served skiing terrain from this new lift will be mostly awful, just like Gold Hills, but it will get you to the top of East Peak faster (but who wants to shell out $70 or buy a seasons pass to do that).