Book Review: Crystal Mtn's South Backcountry

I remember buying, at Crystal, my first copy of "An Aerial Guide to the Crystal Mountain Backcountry".  I still look at the large color panorama photos and "see" new places not identified to investigate. For those unfamiliar with the color foldout document, it covers both the South and North Backcountry before the arrival of the Northway quad.  I'm certain there will be more traffic to the "famous" locations but there will be new spots and runs uncovered because of the new publication. 

As I have aged, I have enjoyed having others "break trail" and providing me easier access to some of my favorite lines.  I also have the advantage of being retired and having access to midweek terrain without the weekend crowds. 

I plan to purchase a color copy to help these young men further their higher educational goals.   

IMHO, but the experience of studying maps, recon in the Summer months and setting forth in the Winter or Spring is adventure. That to me is much more exhilarating than pulling out a book or downloading a guide and following the guided pictorial to the next destination.

Right-on, I couldn't agree more with that notion.  Since discovering backcountry touring, playing with maps and exploring that area on skis has been the consistently greatest joy in my life.  But then I always have to remind myself too of the ol' "different strokes for different folks" saying, and realize that the backcountry turns are THE objective for some, despite their non-skiing backcountry skills or "mountain mind" as I call it.  

And in the name of always trying to embrace my inner hypocrite, I too love the idea of quick hit intros to areas that are not my home ground.  It is really much the same as the concept of rock climbing areas and their subsequent guide books.  For the great mass of climbers, long gone are the days of exploration of new ground via your eyes only and picking of a line from the ground-up.  People want to climb in a new area, they buy the guide book which lists the approach details, the lines and their grades and in some cases very high quality pictures....some times to the chagrin of locals who may not have even developed any of the lines, just hold them close as "their" crag.

Overall, what a bitchin' school project!  Growing up in the rust belt, the biggest "life skills" opportunites of any sort my school had was to tour and apprentice one of the auto plant assembly lines...glad I didn't choose that option.

maps.live.com/ in 3D mode is pretty kewl for scoping out new routes -- at least if you have a powerful PC and a broadband connection.

I usually just lurk and don't feel the need to post much... but dude seriously???

Joe with all respect you're equating a pamphlet guide that some high school kids wrote (for school credit) to some sort of, and I paraphrase, loss of adventure.  You do realize that this is a guide to a part of a ski area?

Man, that ship has sailed.  The word is out.  Southback is awesome skiing.  It's steep, there are cool cliffs and chutes there but guess what... there are ski patrollers there and a taboggan on top of the King.   Hundreds of tracks are put in it every weekend.  Sure it's different than the terrain that's open all day every day but it's no where close to true back country conditions.  Not even remotely.

I think that what those guys came up with is totally cool.  I'm psyched that they were able to do that for a school project.  I hope they sell enough copies so that they can both buy huge, fat, reverse-cambered skis and shred all winter.

I don't mean to offend and I agree with a lot of what you said.  I just think you've miss-applied it to a really cool thing.

This is a touchy subject for me as well. I admit I have been doing photography of all of the landscapes around the Crystal Backcountry and have created my own book of sorts but as a local I would expect to be banished from the small community if I released it to the public. Also I would feel somewhat responsible if someone got hurt or killed trying to do a tour that I published.

there are ski patrollers there and a toboggan on top of the King. Hundreds of tracks are put in it every weekend. Sure it's different than the terrain that's open all day every day but it's no where close to true back country conditions. Not even remotely.

Alot of the terrain noted is true backcountry the bombing stops at 3 way peak and to get a toboggan to the top of Dog legged chute would be a nightmare. I have been caught in some bad slab fractures in the area and I feel this is giving people the impression that its bombed frequently giving people a excuse not to bring there gear (beacon,probe,shovel)

Joe with all respect you're equating a pamphlet guide that some high school kids wrote (for school credit) to some sort of, and I paraphrase, loss of adventure.  You do realize that this is a guide to a part of a ski area?

I don't mean to offend and I agree with a lot of what you said.  I just think you've miss-applied it to a really cool thing.

swaterfall,
I appreciate that you got out of lurking mode and into action by posting on this subject.
Thanks for not ripping me, I wrote this understanding I may get some flak.
In my writing I may have shifted gears between several subjects to quickly, hence the reason I am not a journalist.

I potentially gave the impression that the "Southback is the purest form of BC adventure." The secret on the Southback has been out since chair 6 was installed and Powder bowl was no longer backcountry. Your right, the idea that Southback is sacred adventure is ludicrous. I think that I defined that by writing, "But after thinking about this a little more, really the South is pretty straight forward, and I don't own it."

Let me define the subject thoughts I that tried to mesh together.
The overall theme of my editorial is that BC adventure has lost it's adventurous romance due to the ease of getting quick, easy, step by step information via book or internet.
Also, the self realization of ironic hypocrisy that I may sell out if I needed the info for a short term trip out of state. Then I tried to close it out with an anecdote of humor.
Voicing a resentment is the first stage to healing it, now that I have written this piece I can move on.

I had to laugh one day when I came back into the Silver Basin and saw how many tracks were at my namesake run.
Hmm....Looks like we could sneak a couple more fresh tracks into Joe's Bad Ass Shoulder?