Dec. 15th Crystal...I'm Pissed

"I'd rather the money be spent on a couple chairs to open up other terrain and spread out the crowds. "

I couldn't agree with you more , Eric.

The chair in the NorthBack should prove to be interesting. As long as Crystal signs it like Ch 6, as "Expert Only", I don't think you'll get that much traffic over in that cliffed out area.

I think what it will do , is open up more areas for exploration.

I'm looking forward to it.

Last year we were snoeshoeing with the man AKA Kircher and he was talking about going to some old resort and buying a old 2 person chair and putting it up into Bulllions basin and putting a terrain park out there to make all the park rats happy and to keep it somewhat away from the main resort...
I would rather have that then the Northway chair
Oh but one more thing Kircher Was REALLY DRUNK when he said this......

"The top of REX will be at the spot where you get on the top of Ice berg ridge or traverse over to Lucky Shot so you would not have access to the Snorting Elk Bowl"

If this is true I'm disappointed. Looks like deja vu ala Telluride of the 1970s. So to get to Snorting Elk or beyond you'll have to get off REX, ski down Green Valley, (yawn), up that lift to access the cat track. The Green Valley lap is a tedious waste of time and exceptionally poor planning on Crystals part. I'd be temped to just boot up to the ridge to bypass GV, like we did at Telluride. Obviously you can wait in line with the teaming (steaming) masses at the bottom to take the tram to get to the top. Maybe they'll put in a rope tow for access - similar to the old 7th Heaven rope at Stevens. Now thats retro

I wonder where the Northway lift will start, bottom of Northway at the bus turn around? If so that will be a long cold ride, remember Chair 5, that was 8 minutes I think. Also on those typical PNW 32 degree days it will be a warm, wet, steamy, drippy start with a freezing, snowing, windy finish.

Speaking of retro, I am interested in why Crystal thinks a slow 2 seater will be adequate for Northway. Will it really not be crowded? If they are using Chair 6 as a bench mark to extrapolate/predict demand I think this is flawed. C6 serves a very limited cliental and area; the front & back of the Queen, those not intimidated by the "NO EASY WAY OFF" sign and those who will boot a significant amount for more terrain. On the contrary, the North Back accessed from the top of Northway is huge and will be a magnet for a wide range of skier. Cutting a few groomers as mentioned will attract the blue square skiers as well as everyone who is too lazy to hike there now. I think a slow two seater will be overwelmed on the weekends and frequently challenged on the nice weekdays. Like Telluride I think Crystal will lament this decision. I hope that it is convertable to a highspeed quad, like the Midway Shuttle, (though that was already a 4 seater from the start). Time will tell.

I also don't agree with Crystals remark that a slow 2 seater will serve to perserve the freshies. Its already tracked out in a matter of a few hours with the current hike in access. So whats the point?

...I wonder where the Northway lift will start, bottom of Northway at the bus turn around?  If so that will be a long cold ride, remember Chair 5, that was 8 minutes I think....

Here is a pdf file with a map of the new Crystal Area.  Zoom it up to about 300% and you can see exactly where the Northway lift will be placed: www.skicrystal.com/_DOWNLOADS/MDP_ski_area_2050w1350h.pdf


Also notice the proposed Kellys Gap Express, Bullion Basin Express and the Parking N' Ride Lift, not to mention the famous Tram.

To avoid any misconceptions or rumors, the Bullion Basin lift (was) in the master development plan, however it was omitted and will not be part of any future development.