Crystal Mountain Uphill Travel

Currently, you can hike up Powder Pass to top of Chair 6 and across to Southback. The key is that you have to enter through our gates and read our signs. It's a liability thing. Thanks for understanding.

So to confirm current policy -- one may skin up along the edges of "Arwines" (lower and upper) , along "Lucky Shot" to "Powder Pass" and then right along the eastern edge of "Kempers permanently closed area" to the summit of "Silver Queen" and then follow the normal lift assisted skier's route over to Southback? If so -- can one start skinning before the lifts start spinning or does one need to wait until the area is open and control work on powder bowl is completed ?

What about skinning up "Queens Run" to base of "Chair 6" and then working up "Hamburger Bowl" to access "Southback Gate #1" (Names from the FATMAP application)

Thanks in advance.

So to confirm current policy -- one may skin up along the edges of "Arwines" (lower and upper) , along "Lucky Shot" to "Powder Pass" and then right along the eastern edge of "Kempers permanently closed area" to the summit of "Silver Queen" and then follow the normal lift assisted skier's route over to Southback?    If so -- can one start skinning before the lifts start spinning or does one need to wait until the area is open and control work on powder bowl is completed ?

What about skinning up "Queens Run" to base of "Chair 6" and then working up "Hamburger Bowl" to access "Southback Gate #1"  (Names from the FATMAP application)

Thanks in advance.

The route up Little Shot to Powder Pass is not always open. This is why you must check in with patrol to see the approved route of the day. On weekends and busy days, we usually don't let people travel uphill due to crowding. Right now Lucky Shot is the only way off the upper mountain, and so it's closed to uphill travel. Hiking up to Campbell Basin is not a route we ever approve. It's simply too crowded on those runs. We also want people to hike up from Powder Pass right now so that they read the signs. This is how we manage all of our avalanche prone terrain. You have to go through a gate and read the signs. This configuration should only last a little while longer. To access Southback without being a customer of Crystal, you'd need to head over to Morse Creek, then to Crystal Lakes and drop into Southback from the top. On certain non-busy days in the spring, when the avalanche threat below Powder Bowl is non-existent, we will allow uphill travel up Little Shot. But it isn't the norm.

The route up Little Shot to Powder Pass is not always open. This is why you must check in with patrol to see the approved route of the day. On weekends and busy days, we usually don't let people travel uphill due to crowding. Right now Lucky Shot is the only way off the upper mountain, and so it's closed to uphill travel. Hiking up to Campbell Basin is not a route we ever approve. It's simply too crowded on those runs. We also want people to hike up from Powder Pass right now so that they read the signs. This is how we manage all of our avalanche prone terrain. You have to go through a gate and read the signs. This configuration should only last a little while longer. To access Southback without being a customer of Crystal, you'd need to head over to Morse Creek, then to Crystal Lakes and drop into Southback from the top. On certain non-busy days in the spring, when the avalanche threat below Powder Bowl is non-existent, we will allow uphill travel up Little Shot. But it isn't the norm.

Reading this, it sounds like the option to tour up through the resort to powder pass for practical purposes doesn't exist on weekend days during the winter.

Thank you Crystal Patrol for striving hard to strike a good balance between skier safety and access. One of the reasons I switched to Crystal from another resort is because the Crystal Patrol is obviously focused on providing a great customer experience. Keep up the good work.

indeed, more folks should follow this example and make the southern resort their go to destination as well. good on you Doug for making this positive decision to switch to crystal and their great customer service model, they have no time for mediocracy.

Thanks Doug. Appreciate it.