Crystal - 02/14

We got to the mountain at 8am and parked in the sphincter of A-lot. The pay lot was the biggest I've seen it this year. The crowds were there as well with most of the RV spots in B-lot filled for the three day week-end. By 9am, the line for the gondola stretched around the patio and the line for the Crystal Express went to the bottom of the Discovery Chair. However, once we finally got on the mountain, we didn't wait in a line again. Where did everyone go?

As for conditions, we expected wind, snow, and generally stormy weather. What we got was little wind and off-and-on sun breaks with occasional snow flurries. The snow wasn't quite as good as Tuesday, but still great. And the coverage was awesome. I took up the new skis for the first time this year and didn't have one rock hit or edge ding at the end of the day. Everything from Powder Bowl to Northway was a lot of fun. A special shout-out to my spouse on Valentine's Day who kept up with the boys skiing diamond and double-diamond runs all day right through the CD minimum vert.

JD and BB, we missed you today. Let us know if you'll be heading up in the coming week.

The last 2 days of snow have really filled in the icy, bumpy, underlayment and replaced it with smooth, fast, go anywhere, take any line greatness. The crowd quickly tracked out the visible snow but left all our stashes untouched. From opening with first tracks down Bear Pits, mid-day tree first tracks on Northway, and ending with Powder Bowl-Outer Ferk's, best day of the year for me. I did kill some bamboo and rope on the last run but was laughing too hard to stop in the deep softness.

Is CD trying to get points for giving LD diamonds for Valentine's Day? It worked, she was grinning no matter where we took her. Awesome.

And it looks like lots more is on the way.

Ken
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We arrived at 9:20am and there were no lift lines. The low trails were heavier but untraveled for awhile. It was nice to ski some old lines. It was our first day at Crystal this season and the coverage was fun . With all the cars and motorhomes, the worst part of the trip was finding parking. We are heading for OR, Tahoe, UT, CO and NM for a snow check of the coverage.

Ken, Jill has a torn split tear of the bicep tendon.  She's skiing until later in the year.