Crystal - 4/6

While new snow is usually a good thing, the 8" of snow earlier in the week really messed up the spring conditions. Everything off-piste was a mess...a combination of mank, ice, and snow like I've never really skied. Groomers were fast, soft, and fun until the stickiness started to hit at 10:00. By 11:00, things were getting very difficult on the flats, so by 11:30 we were sitting in the sun at the Campbell Basin lodge having a cold one as our day was over. We had a nice surprise when we skied out via Cisco off Downhill. It was nicely consolidated, and no sticky snow until we came out the bottom into the sun and onto the flats. Instantly stopped and had to hike to get across the bottom of REX. Oh, there was that run we did at 10:30 out Kelly's Gap. Yikes! Only Lower E worth skiing.

Nothing messes up the snow starting to corn up through freeze/thaw cycles like new snow, then a rapid increase in temps. Definitely will skip the heat tomorrow and try again on Friday.

Never seen it get sticky so fast. Marketing aside, the new snow of yesterday was not what was needed. Fast groomers for 45 minutes. A T2B no one wanted to take credit for suggesting, delivered the best 20-30 turns of the day on Lower E after a couple hundred turns of doom above. I scoffed at CD’s dive into Cisco, but, it was very nice in the shade. Other than the sticky Downhill to get there and the walk/push sticky below. I took views over sticky and rode the Gondy down. Crystal’s shut down services and the only options for snacks in the sun were a 14$ burger or a 2$ bag of chips - No soup for you! Sat in the sun and laughed at the hapless few that hiked The Throne and zig-zagged down the slop.

Ken
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Never heard of Cisco, but I remember a run called Frisco that dropped into the old Chair 5 lift line from Downhill. The name's not on the CM website trail map anymore. Not well remembered, perhaps.

Never heard of Cisco, but I remember a run called Frisco

That's the one, somewhere many, many years ago, we started calling it Cisco (Cisco Kid was a friend....) and then Crystal took the name off the signs and maps. So, we stuck with our name as it made as much sense as Frisco. Note: K2 Face disappeared also but still a top-of-the-mountain-is-closed old school line even if you now have to duck a rope to ski it and look up at Cisco as you go by.

Ken