Crystal is getting a gondola

Bamboo didn't work, I'll be there tomorrow, goin' all Jackie Chan on the haters, bamboo swinging or not.
Why the hate? Blinded by crap cheese burgers? Let's go skiing tomorrow PNWB.

By the way, I love spotted salamanders. Kind of like a water version of that cute Geicko Geko.

It will be interesting to see how the gondola effects them economically -- I believe that part of the thinking is that a gondola will allow them to operate a mountain top resturant year round -- in particularly having weddings on the mountain top during the summer. How much revenue this actually generates remains to be seen.

I think summertime hiking and MTB riding from the top of the gondola are part of the plan as well. But as a hiker why pay the $ for the gondola ride when you can drive to Sunrise -- which is as high and closer to Mt Rainer ?

Summit Central's attempt as summer time MTB facility was short lived -- beside concerns about erosion and stream pollution -- I don't think they sold enough tickets to cover the cost of operations.

Still -- it may work out -- the Wallowa Lake tram has stayed in business for many years with only summer tourism supporting it -- @ $24 / day.

Stevens has been working on a summer park for a few years, and they'll be opening up this year.

IMHO, for mtb Stevens or Crystal are much more ideal than what was being run at Snoqualmie. Also, snoqualmie was a bit ahead of everyone and their sister having $5k bikes and wanting a lift to the top of the mt in the summer...

The local mtb community has a lot of people that drive to Whistler on a regular basis in the summer now. That crowd is very excited about Stevens opening up, and I think Crystal would also be supported. How well this translates into revenue for the resort, who knows?

Can we get ashtrays in the gondolas... that would be nice!

LOL.

What about ditching the silly restaurant at the top in favour of a full-service bar stocked with good booze, decent cigars, and other fun things? I'd much rather have a good bar / smoking lounge at mountain top than a Four Seasons hotel at the base. I've never managed to pick up an out-of-town Cougar at the Four Seasons in Whistler, and believe me, it's not for lack of trying.

It seems unreal that Washington, which has the best mountains in the lower 48, and is the American version of British Columbia, has not a single destination resort. I must agree that the addition of a gondola will not change things in this regard. But Crystal could be a destination resort for cigar-smoking, booze-guzzling, cougar-loving backcountry skiers.

There's an interesting plan to create another "Whistler" in BC. This is the type of terrain necessary for a destination resort.

www.jumboglacierresort.com/

By the way, I love spotted salamanders. Kind of like a water version of that cute Geicko Geko.

Good. Maybe we can wake a few from their winter sleep to ride the chair with you.