Feb 16 Crystal Mountain

Just enough new to freshen yesterday's leftovers into another powder morning.  6 opened early and I was surprised that it didn't get tracked yesterday.  Knee deep runs on Campbell side then steep and deep on Powder Bowl with hardly any previous tracks.  Bear Pits great and still found lots on the Frontside.  Learning some new stashes off Exterminator accessible with the Gondy clearing.  Some of the steep and narrow choke points/chutes getting ground down but all in all, the mountain in great shape with packed pow wall to wall.  Had an early departure requirement and didn't have time to hike.  A ddk report on Avie Basin likely.  More:

Here is some video from today:



I thought the snow yesterday felt lighter (see video added to trip report from 2/15).    Rex and Green Valley seemed to be more wind affected, but protected areas like West Face,  Bear Pits etc, were still deep and nice first thing in the morning.

Southback opened at about 10:30am and there was a line at the gate, but then everybody disappeared.   Spent the rest of the day making tracks in A-basin and rarely saw another person.    Came across some large slides at the bottom of A-basin that came off the King.  I'm assume those were from A/C work.

It was just REALLY nice to have had two good powder days in a row. 

Nice report dave and I agree, also the slides off the King were some nice bomb action early, the one down Braindamage was entertaining. And as Kkz indicated my Southback update - after two attempts and a request for info from a very nice Patroller that called the bottom to verify the continued closure (two hours after Southback opened) of the lazy skier low gate entry to Avie basin below the Throne – some of us decided to suffer the hike, first time I’ve actually been to the top of the Throne (or maybe once in the deep dark past). Got to the top dropped into Avie through one of the slide chutes (definitely had never been that way before), hung left and traversed below all the cliff bands and alpine trees out into the open where we all wanted to be originally….hhhmmmm…still would like to get a guided tour by the head patrol folks pointing out all the risky situations that prevent them from opening the low gate and the rope line location down to the bottom of CH 6. Got a lot of nice deep untracked turns and then broke trail out to our groups fav line down to the lake…very nice and deep – its been a long time since I’ve been down that line. Great day, did not want to quit, was snowing very hard during my last E run to the base. Snow quality is great most everywhere with the few icy spots. ddk

The gate to A basin that is accessed from going accross Hamburger should be permanently closed. As soon as the patrol opens it someone always cuts a traverse all the way around A basin to get to the shot above the lake. You are crossing major slide paths under Little Alaska and the King. The patrol cannot blow everything up, some sluff will come down when it gets skied. The other hazard is when a skier exits a chute and finds a group in the middle of the run. It's just not cool to have a traverse cutting accross such great terrain.

Keep the gate, open when conditions are stable. Shoot the traversers.

Spray the traversers