December 20, 2002, Crystal South Backcountry

Arrived at Crystal with light snow showers and a fog layer on the upper mountain. High Campell chair will open on Saturday so I wanted to leave my marks in Avalanche Basin before my buddies arrived. Climbed into lower "A" Basin and The King and bowl were fogged in. Worked the lower trees in "Damn Fine Forest" and the ridge above. Excellent powder over 2 feet and nothing was sliding. These slopes will probably be thrashed when High Campbell opens. Took the upper traverse to the top of Chair 4 which was not running. There were plenty of tracks heading into Silver Basin so I took the less travelled route to Bear Gap. Skiing was excellent in the trees. Stopped at the Ski Patrol office and inquired about their plans to open access to Silver Basin from the High Campbell lift on Saturday. They still have not done "control work" in that area so I doubt you'll find downhill skiers accessing Silver Basin on Saturday. With the high pressure system building again, I assume Crystal will be opening access to Silver Basin shortly. So much for a wilderness experience. Thrash it before they get there. ;)