Crystal Mountain Washington : Skiing, Snowboarding, Backcountry Skiing, Snowshoeing, Lessons, Rentals

Crystal mountain is a breeding ground for great skiers.  International pros like Ingrid Backstrom and Scott McCartney have grown up skiing here and gone on to make big waves as Ski movie stars and World Cup racers.  Tyler Ceccanti (a member of Crystals freeride team) could be our next big export...he's been skiing really well this season and we're all excited for him.  Here are a couple pictures of Tyler recently taken by Crystal's own Rory Robison.  Be on the look out for these two, we'll probably be seeing more images like these on the Glossy pages of Powder soon...

Tyler brings in the new year...

Tyler taking advantage of our new Northway lift

Untracked and wide open...?   Just another day at Crystal mountain for Tyler Ceccanti...

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Yesterday was unreal, it was gorgeous out and a great way to bring in the new years.  We've received an awesome amount of snow over the last week and that was our blue-bird harvest. I don't think I saw a cloud in the sky all day; there were snow clouds flying around me and in my face however...

I farmed turns all day and continued to get face shots up until the last run.  I can't ever remember getting so many untracked runs ( especially late in the day) like this before...trying to explain this cycle to my friends has been hard...  All I can say is that the last week has felt like an in-bounds heli skiing trip.  I hope you enjoyed this snow as much as me!!

photo: Rory Robison
skier: Mike Zaffee

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The madness continued all day yesterday. There is so much snow I heard people saying that there was "too much snow"... It made me wonder, what is too much snow...? Then I remembered Ron, Tony, and me screaming like mad men while skiing through waist deep snow and forgot about what ever I was just talking about. Chair six was down most of the day and Northway never opened due to avalanche danger, thankfully that doesn't matter on a powder day at Crystal Mountain. I could have sworn I was heli skiing during my first couple runs down Exterminator...

I got fresh face shots all day, the highlight being the late afternoon freshies we skied screaming like animals. I don't think I've ever actually "hooted" while skiing, today it was more like a battle cry from a scene in Bravehart, but the snow was so good and the euphoria just hit: I herd Ron yell, started screaming myself, and then heard Tony belt out behind me... The birds-eye-view must have been great as we all flew downhill, trails of snow and all, screaming like crazed men... Why does skiing do this to us...? Eh, I'll head back today and try to find out... It's clearing and beautiful, today is the Harvest, what a way to bring in the New Year...hope you got up here!!!

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12/28:
Friday night ended late at the Snorting Elk talking about 410 runs, avy hazards, alleged forts that may, or may not be on the mountain, and what would come of Saturday after all the Bourbon, Beers, and fun... All signs pointed to go as we drove home into what was shaping up as Snow-pocalypse 2007-2008, we've received almost 4 feet of snow in that last week and this current storm is supposed to intensify over the weekend. I've heard that it snowed in Seattle and it may have in your neighborhood too, things are exciting...especially in the parking lot where there were three rear wheel drive R/V's stuck in the snow trying to get to their parking spots for the night as we drove home.

12/29:
Waking up Saturday brought with it a hangover cure that Tylenol could never patent. 6 Inches of new had fallen overnight and my tired legs felt reluctantly ready to go...it cleared, then started storming again, we skied all day...I'm too tired to write anything notable...just get here to join in this feast!!!

12/30
Sunday morning is starting slowly in my head, but my adrenalin is about to kick in, it's a full on blizzard up here right now. We can barely see the cars from our cabin window and we received at least another foot last night, the film crews and international ski athletes that have come for the feast are definitely here at the right time... I need to run out and take advantage, I hope you get up here soon because it's Superbad and only getting better, this is one of the biggest storms I've seen in my ten years of skiing Crystal and it's supposed to continue through the next couple days.

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The closing report yesterday said 6 new but it was way deeper than that by the time I left the mountain... Bear Pits and the runs off REX were filling in each lap and I heard south back country was throwing snow overhead late in the day. 

When I reached the lifts today things were looking really good.  Reports of 18 new were dead on and the holiday crowds were definitely pleased with the conditions.  I spent all day skiing North Back with friends and got face shots each run...even after 3:00...   Things are looking great right now, as I head out to the Snorting Elk tonight it's snowing hard and it should be on again tomorrow.

We're absolutely McLovin' it, if your not here this weekend you'll be missing out!
Crystal is going off right now!!!

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The past few days have been epic out on the slopes. We recieved over 20 inches in 48 hours and the coverage is awesome! The powder days of winter have begun. I am looking forward to getting out of the office and out on the slopes soon.

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I was fortunate enough to go snowboarding this weekend before the Pineapple Express warmed up the weather and turned the beautiful, fluffy white snow in the mountains into heavy rain.  Saturday was opening day at Crystal, and I was there.  The conditions were much better than I expected.  In fact, the snow was fantastic, despite a few bare spots.  I was well aware there would be early season conditions, which is why I opted to ride my nearly 10 year old snowboard, my rock board, instead of my new board. 

The mountain was in partial operation over the weekend, so the Rainier Express lift was closed, but I didn't really care.  I found patches of powder along the sides of the runs, and it just felt good to be on the slopes for the first time since last spring.  I think it's good to take it easy on the first day on the slopes, anyway, because I need to get  back in shape for snowboarding after not snowboarding for several months. 

I heard Sunday was even better than Saturday, when 17 inches of new snow fell over night. 

All of the ski resorts in Western Washington, including Crystal, are closed today due to rain in the mountains.  But, the good news is most are scheduled to re-open this week after the rain storm passes through.  For more information about the weather, visit Northwest Weather & Avalanche Center for a detailed forecast.

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