Crystal - 03/02 Brutally Entertaining

Ski Report - Day started in an empty dark lodge...power problems?  Lifts mostly running on diesel again.  Nobody on the mountain made #1 happy and meant no lift lines.  I did my usual run up REX - one run down Upper Ferks to glance at MIFB, bailed down to GVex...survived, did notice MW making pretty nice turns in the Valley bumps - looked smooth but he is a way better skier than I.  Did a run-down LS - doable, but the backside cat track to it was not worth repeats....so headed over to ski with #1 on FQex.  Fairly decent grooming and the lower slopes continued to soften all morning. Vis was mostly good, but kinda flat light.  Could see REX totally empty.  Saw lift Opps and patrol prepping Chair 6 - gotta say that must have been a big ouch since most visible slopes (Hamburger and PB) were mine fields of frozen boulders - but Crystal will do most anything to say SouthBack is OPEN!  #1 had a great morning and I enjoyed the uncrowded mellow skiing with her.   

Other - Stopped in CB lodge to check the soup...Tomato Bisque...I had a piece of peperoni cardboard...it was eatable.  Empty lodge as everywhere else.   When we left there were two buses in the A lot, massive space for special parking, rest of A maybe 1/3 full of very random parking rows.... even the row I thought I was in was not a row when we left.   B lot was closed? Flooding? Sewer failure? Other problems?   Good thing not many folks showed up today.  C lot took most of the cars, might have been a few cars in D.   Drive up and down pretty much at happy speed, one Elk before Fed Forest and two wandering around the RV lot.  Nice to ski and see the results of the big rain event, Crystal snowpack actually managed to survive the hit and actually had a few inches of frozen covering the ice layer, but packed powder is gone for now - so sad again.