Thanks to everyone that contributed their awesome theme ideas. The winning theme is: If if isn’t Neon, It Shouldn’t Be On! So gather your bright garb and join us for the 11th annual DBB. This will be one to remember. Date: March 24th, 2012 Time: 8:30pm Attire: If it isn’t Neon, it Shouldn’t Be On!… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Skiing
Photo of the Week: Bluebird
Posted in ConditionsAfter several inches of snow yesterday, it looks like are headed into some high pressure. That means fewer wind holds, fast groomers and plenty of snow off-piste. Larry Schick is calling for a bluebird powder alert for today and tomorrow. Come and get it. Since we are headed into some photo-taking weather, feel free to… Continue Reading
Photo of the Week
Posted in Events and Activities, WeatherIt’s been a wild few days of weather and the hits just keep on coming. It’s dumping again today, and the winds are raging up high. No need to go to that spa treatment this week ladies. If you were on Green Valley ridge before the upper mountain went down today, you already got your… Continue Reading
Weather, Wind Hold, Road Closures and other Catastrophes
Posted in Closures, ConditionsWith an active weather pattern this week, we’ve been busy with avalanche control. On Wednesday we planned to open the upper mountain predicting that the winds would be kind to us. Not so. We ended up with a big crowd skiing only the lower half of the mountain, where the temperature rose and turned Tuesday’s… Continue Reading
Storming
Posted in Avalanche Hazard, ConditionsThe past few days we ski patrollers have been a little busy. With the “Storm of the Century” upon us and a flip-flopping weather forecast on the heels of a busy holiday weekend, we’ve been remiss in updating the blog. So here’s a quick recap: Over the weekend, we were involved in several rescues off… Continue Reading
Photo of the Week
Posted in ConditionsMichelle Longstreth took this photo from the top of the Gondola on an early avalanche control morning last week. Season’s Beatings are over. Now back to our regular programming.
The “New” Employee Housing Run
Posted in Conditions, Place NamesThis weekend Niagras (sic) and the new Employee Housing run opened for the first time this season. We’ve been open WALL TO WALL at Crystal the past few days, which is far ahead of last year. I spoke with a few skiers in the Elk on Monday about their first turns down the new run,… Continue Reading
Photo of the Week
Posted in Conditions, WeatherThanks Michelle Longstreth for this week’s photo. Last week a strange cloud formation covered Rainier just at sunset. Perhaps this was a sign that winter was on her way back home. Indeed she’s returned, and it might be some time before we see Rainier again. And I’m fine with that.
All I want for Christmas is…SNOW
Posted in Conditions, WeatherWhat It’s Been Skiers and riders in the PNW are all in the same boat. We have some of the best conditions in the lower 48, and still we know it’s not good enough. Maybe we’re spoiled here. Perhaps our skis are too fat. We want more than fast groomers and bluebird days. We expect… Continue Reading
Photo of the Week: When legends wear helmets
Posted in Conditions, Skier/Snowboarder StoriesI caught up with Crystal legends Gary Morrison and Ross Gregg this week trying out their shiny new helmets. Looking good guys!
Photo of the Week: Learning to Love Groomer Skiing
Posted in Conditions, WeatherIt’s been a groomer kind of week up here at Crystal Mountain. Powder Bowl is still chalky and smooth and the pistes are skiing well. And you can’t beat the sunny skies and uncrowded slopes.
Leaving Your Skis in Line Before the Lifts Open
Posted in Events and Activities, Skier/Snowboarder StoriesOkay. I’m just going to throw this question out there, because sometimes when I see a bee’s nest, I just have to poke a stick into it to see what happens. I’m like that. Is it okay to let your skis save your place in line before the lifts open? A few weeks ago I… Continue Reading
A Little More about Closed Areas and the New Skier Safety Law
Posted in Closures, Safety Patrol/Speed ControlIn response to a recent flurry of questions regarding the new Skier Safety Law currently in effect, I thought I’d go over a few basics. At Crystal, like many ski areas, we use ropelines to delineate areas we don’t want you to ski. We currently have a ropeline across the lower part of Mel’s Madness… Continue Reading
Photo of the Week
Posted in Conditions, Skier/Snowboarder Stories, WeatherUp here at Crystal, it’s been a best-of-times/worst-of-times scenario, in which one day it’s bluebird powder and the next is, well, rain. With the launch of the Photo of the Week post, I’m focusing on the best of times from this past week. While retail stores enjoyed Black Friday, we pegged the awesome-o-meter with a… Continue Reading
Patrollers aren’t just pretty faces
Posted in Personal, Skier/Snowboarder StoriesIf you’ve skied at Crystal you know we have sick terrain; if you’ve skied at Crystal with kids you know we have dog cards. You give us a safety rule and we give you a color photo of your favorite Canine in their red and white attire ready to save the day. The dog cards… Continue Reading
Evolution of a Ski Area Opening
Posted in Conditions, Events and Activities, News, WeatherIn just a few days, the slopes at Crystal Mountain went from little snow to epic powder. We opened the ski area on Friday, based on the forecast. And how lucky we were! Saturday it snowed very hard. At closing time, as my husband likes to say, it was “snowing ten-year-olds.” We picked up nine… Continue Reading
Crystal Mountain Opening Tomorrow
Posted in Avalanche Hazard, Closures, Conditions, Events and Activities, NewsIt’s finally here. The 2011-2012 Crystal Mountain Ski Season will commence tomorrow, Friday November 18th. We are starting with a limited opening, then hopefully adding more terrain over the weekend. Tomorrow the Gondola and Green Valley will be running for skiing in Green Valley only. Be sure to bring your rock skis and get ready… Continue Reading
Fingers Crossed for an Opening Friday
Posted in Closures, Conditions, Events and Activities, News, WeatherThe National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch starting tomorrow morning. Right now, the NWS is predicting a few FEET of snow to fall at Crystal Mountain by Thursday night. If that forecast materializes, Crystal will open Friday November 18th. And what a great opening day it will be. We currently have a… Continue Reading
Gearing up for the ski season
Posted in Conditions, Events and Activities, WeatherLast week, the Crystal Mountain Ski Patrol conducted our yearly pre-season training. For a job that requires plenty of outside activity, the rigors of training include sitting inside when the first snowfall of the season has blanketed the base area and the surrounding peaks are finally pasted in snow. It wasn’t always easy to… Continue Reading
A Look at the Weather Forecast
Posted in Conditions, WeatherI’m not a weather forecaster, but I do spend an enormous amount of time studying weather models and making predictions–especially this time of year. I’m an optimist, so whenever I see moisture in the models I automatically assume it will fall as snow at Crystal. I used to be able to get away with this…. Continue Reading
It’s Snowing at Crystal
Posted in Conditions, Events and Activities, WeatherThe last few days have seen the first serious accumulation of snow at Crystal. Last night a dusting hit the base with about 2 inches at mid-mountain and 6 inches at the top of Rainier Express. Snow levels will fluctuate over the weekend, then more snow is on the way for early next week. After… Continue Reading
What’s New at Crystal This Season
Posted in Avalanche Hazard, Conditions, Events and Activities, News, Place Names, WeatherWith the prediction of another La Nina season, we’re hoping for a repeat of last year, with an early start and record snow. Or at least plenty of powder days and few major accidents. One can dream. A few changes at Crystal could have a big effect on the skiing. Here’s my top 3: Snowmaking… Continue Reading
Opening Day Prediction Contest
Posted in Conditions, Events and Activities, News, WeatherNew Design Welcome to the newly redesigned Blog Crystal. Hopefully our new platform will allow us to continue to bring you the best of Crystal, including patroller insights, photos, education and other fun stuff. We love comments (it’s nice to know we aren’t alone here in cyperspace) and we love subscribers. Thanks for all those… Continue Reading
Skiing to Continue at Crystal
Posted in Conditions, Events and Activities, NewsJoin us at Crystal this Saturday for the last day of the ski season.
2012 Dirtbag Ball
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