Crystal - 01/12

Gotta say that today was a BIG day and I don’t think anyone I saw would dispute it. Big deep snow (early runs were heli quality and above the knees deep, go anywhere), crowd was big (expected that for a Sunday in January and the first real powder dump of the year – seem to remember lots of first day of the season comments, plus all the powder hounds were everywhere). Big typical Crystal screwed up parking lots, lift lines, roads, shuttles early and packed lodges when I bailed out at 2pm. Parked in the second messed up row of the free part of the A lot at 7:20 – stepped out into about a foot of light snow around my truck. Quick early change and into the second row of CHex and watched the mass of humans build up for both CHex and the Gondy – lines wrapping up hill towards Lower E. CHex started loading before 9, heard comments about beating the Gondy – my comment was “cause we would be standing in the REX line waiting for the upper mountain to open”. REX did open early around 9:15, got to the top and for once we beat the Gondy by a big time. Frenzy on, dropped into part of the Valley and over to Sunnyside – deep, deep above the knees and face shots to the bottom. Huge line on REX and since GV chair was still on hold cause of the digging required, I went over to FQex for some nice easy deep soft snow lines. Checked back to REX, but line stayed big, heard the Valley was a huge line when it got going, but never made the effort that way. Heard big talk about Exterminator and Bull skiing big. Heard and enjoyed runs in the Doors/Lucky Trees/BearPits – all skiing very nicely, though you could still find some hard pack in places. Heard lots of happy folks in PB, but by then the vis was marginal, the conditions were getting damper (definitely not half glass damp, but I was pretty damp when I left). Joe asked me to post that the big European style mass of humans at the bottom of REX kept the pace slow with plenty of standing around conversation time (you worded a little differently?) – I did mostly the singles line which seemed to move mentally okay and fast.

Other – Sorry no CB lodge soup report, FQex line was to big when I tried to swing that way around noon. Base soup was Ched Broc. Heard the late arrivals had a lot of fun driving up, chains, cars in the ditches, even the Clif Bar van. Big winds blowing at the top, but never noticed it on REX or while skiing. Was getting damper (gloves got pretty wet) and it was pretty wet slush falling after I dropped below the C lot. Parking lots were all packed, even F lot was at least half full. No power from the lowlands, so some lifts running on diesel and others on CM power – Gondy was running on diesel and it was pretty loud. Telemetry makes it look like the temps are dropping back down and its still dumping, could be good enough for some big weekday crowds tomorrow. It was snowing all day and nuking this morning! Yee Haa!

Northway opened at 2 or so, we happened upon the gate as the powder greed was being released and who were we to go against the grain? Great first run down, lift line not too bad, made a second run which if anything was even better and then ran into the lift line that wrapped just barely around the corner almost out of sight of the lift when we got on it, couldn't see the end of it by the time we boarded the lift a half hour-ish later but we agreed it was worth it for both sating and stoking the lust for long smooth powder lines. We decided it was worth all the freakin' waiting around we did today, and were glad we hadn't been smart enough to get in some XC skiing at the pass before warmup instead (but wished we'd been smart enough to get ahead of the stop and go (mostly stop) traffic that was having so much trouble with the icy road in the morning. Yikes Just missed the last GV lift on our run back down the other side from the top of Northway so we skied back to the bumper. Lots of hard snow on the lower third as expected but it was getting to be nice soft faux spring at the very bottom. Which meant it was raining too.

Hit Exterminator my first run. Waist deep plus and first tracks to the base. As good as any run in my life.

Then we went in for quick early lunch and came back out just as C6 opened. First tracks down The Throne. Then got one last set of first tracks when we caught the parole dropping the rope line on the Queen.

Sounds like we blew the Northway opening. Darn. Oh well. Great day.

YUP YUP on a great day. Deep and cold smoke skiing, we ( son peter and CV) dropped in on GV while the lift was closed, deep snow skiing all the way down to the bottom of 3 just as they spun the bullwhell. second and third runs best ever type of turns. Skiing with the son a big plus. great to see Mrs Ferk with her Phat ski's and the D Blanchard man in the line. as we were waiting for rex to spin the crowd enjoyed the number two Patrol Boss man's turns as he came down the rolling knolls, skiing like the big mt guide he is, he made a few old fashion vadel turns that made the crowd cheer. He was all work as he poled his way to the front and back up to re load and head North. lines and lines and lines too much standing around for this old guy, I headed to the elk for a brew and the kids followed. Great day in the hills with two very good deep snow skiers. I'll wait for the next dump. Nice work you all with the Swiss Army Knife Jackets on,

This begs the definition of "cold smoke" powder, skiing, or snow to me, but in any case I definitely agree that the deep powder at Crystal yesterday was sweet! 

I'd just always envisioned cold, light snow when hearing that phrase - the sort of stuff I sometimes ski here when we also have snow down in the lowlands and it's quite cold up in the mountains (it was warm yesterday and the snow was deep and heavy), or the sort of light powder we've sometimes gotten on our hut trips to the Selkirks. Skiers tend to leave long airy powder plumes trailing behind them in the sort of snow I'm thinking of (not shovelfuls of heavy powder  ). If you swipe the snow with your hand, you barely feel anything more than you would swiping air. Not quite what we experienced yesterday!

Sorry - not meaning to be a niggler or a downer (who can be down about yesterday's snow??), but having worked on a dictionary at one time, it's hard for me to avoid noting this sort of thing 

For sure not cold smoke but pretty darn good cause of the amount and rate before settling.

Cold smoke is what you get in UT and CO, and it's good.