Dec 15, 2009, Crystal

Lots of TAYers up at Crystal today looking for their powder fix. It was raining at the base but turned to snow at the base of Rex. Green Valley, Rex, and Chair 6 were skiing well in the untracked sections. Great base building snow. Lots of blasting in the morning but the snowpack felt surprisingly stable (I assumed the "birthday cake" snow would be shearing everywhere). I left at noon but heard Northway opened. How was it out there?

So was it heavy up higher? Damn rain. Been watching the warm temps all day and wondering about tomorrow....

It's a bit heavy but that's contributing to a rapidly disappearing crust. Inbounds the new snow seems to be holding well to the crust and packed snow from yesterday. Wouldn't expect that to be true elsewhere. Should be nice tomorrow if it keeps snowing (it was snowing all day) and doesn't warm up any more. Bottom of the hill was sticky saturated.

So was it heavy up higher?

I would call it thick and pitchy, working all sides inside the boots.
As long as you kept moving, with some speed and if it was untracked it was OK, although the chopped slop skied good if you kept the weight even on the skis, rounding big turns and turning as the skis got popped in the air off berms and bumps.
Probably better for the large lunchtray riders and the wide, floppy shovel skis, rather than my long, skinny ass skis. A great thigh workout, for when the real stuff hits.

As a "large lunchtray rider" I've gotta say that I thought today was pretty good at Crystal. The heavy powder like today is perfect for snowboarding. Cut up or fresh you just lean back and blast through whatever comes along.

We got there as the first chairs were heading up Chinook. Rain changed to snow about half-way up Chinook. We spent most of the morning off of REX and Green Valley until we heard that High Campbell opened at 11:00 or so. We spent the next two hours turning laps in Campbell Basin with plenty of good lines each time. Snow was heavy but overall pretty good (no crust) despite thin coverage in some spots.

The High Campbell lift started having problems around 1:00 and it shut down. By that time the temps really seemed to be rising on the mountain. It was still snowing but we were getting soaked. Despite hearing that Northway was open we headed down for beers. The last few hundred vertical feet at the bottom was as sticky as anything I've ever encountered.

From a stability standpoint things were pretty solid all day. Patrol was bombing all morning and we encountered a half-dozen spots where the charges went off but didn't seem to cause any major slides. Despite many spectacular falls throughout the day we didn't even manage to start any worthwhile sluffs.

"The High Campbell lift started having problems around 1:00 and it shut down"

Just to let you know. There were no mechanical problems with Ch 6. Wind gusts were peaking between 40-60 mph.

For the safety of all riders, and lift ops, the chair will be closed in a high wind situation.

Probably better for the large lunchtray riders and the wide, floppy shovel skis, rather than my long, skinny ass skis. A great thigh workout, for when the real stuff hits.

My floppy lunchtrays liked it. ;D
Your description dead on.
I was still skiing pretty untracked stuff at 3:00 .

Lots of TAYers up at Crystal today looking for their powder fix

Lets re-phrase that: TAYers ravaged Crystal is more apt. The onslaught was limitless, from 2&3 member posses to gangs of 10 or more, there was no escape . Even SnowBell, Kieth Henson and Kyle Miller showed up. Scotty would soften-up a hapless skier or 2 then the mongol hoards would descend enmass. Chair 6, West face, left angle, Northway TAYer's were everywhere ! Seeking solitude and meditation I skulked towards Left Angle trees late in the day and found myself surrounded. It was enlightening to meet so many new faces (to me) and to match said faces to names. Conditions ranged from moderately heavy, wind affected in spots to downright treacherous. Joe described it well, the only way to go was fast and subtle. My take is the brief warming will further consolidate the last three layers as temps cool. Patrol reported lots of sluff but few slabs in the usual areas.Need to rest up before pounding it on Thursday. What's for lunch ?

Thanks for the info re: High Campbell lift Bandit.

I was basing my assumption on the ~15 start-stops of the lift and the extended stop periods on our last ride up. We were on the 10th to last chair they uploaded.

Is that common when the wind picks up? I've never experienced it before in my half-dozen years at Crystal.

I've been to Crystal on deeper, colder, less crowded days, but today ranks up there on the "best ever" list for me because I got to share it with others who LOVE TO SKI!  My days at Crystal are mostly solo, so it was fun to (somewhat) unexpectedly run into a number of friends all excited about the new snow, even if it was a bit heavy.  A highlight for me was when I hooked up with Scotsman and joined a group of about six others who I'd never met before.  The entire group dropped into Left Angle, leapfrogging through the trees and hootin it up in the deep new blanket o' pow!  Topped it all off with friends, new and old, raising a glass in the Cellar.  All smiles.  No one really seemed to mind that it was raining outside.

I was also in attendance today and agree with condition assesments. I honestly thought that the new stuf would be a bit lighter given the 1000 ft snow levels. Oh well, definately got some great exercise and there were some extremely fun lines to be had that were conducive to charging with wide turns and speed. West Face held the best snow on the hill IMHO, seems to do that more days that not eh? Definately enjoyed the ice and wind blast while waiting for Campbell to finally get me up there. Usually Xtal days generate some sort of bad feelings towards managment, but today I felt that they did a great job getting everything open etc.

Thanks for the info re: High Campbell lift Bandit.

I was basing my assumption on the ~15 start-stops of the lift and the extended stop periods on our last ride up.  We were on the 10th to last chair they uploaded.

Is that common when the wind picks up?  I've never experienced it before in my half-dozen years at Crystal.

There is a safety feature installed on Ch 6 when winds hit 30 mph. When the winds gust over 50 mph the chair will shut down.

The problem wasn't the lift, but rather the mis-communication between the lift ops. Sorry for the delay. I was one of the lift ops.


We try our best to load the riders in the most efficient and safe manner as possible. We may have errorred on the side of caution. I'm just glad everyone loaded and unloaded safely.


Thanks to everyone for their patience.

Probably better for the large lunchtray riders

just a historical note for the kids who haven't been riding since the 80's. "Lunchtray" was a term for a style of snowboard in the very early part of the "jibbing" era (late 80's) -- superwide stance (often modified to be even wider w/ T-bolts) and very little nose and tail kick, hence "lunchtray." Powder weapons they were not ...

Never have I heard so much enthusiasm over skiing a foot of PNWPB (Pacific Northwest Peanut Butter)
I think we have all lost our minds! ;D

Desperate times, Joe. Never have I been so jealous at work over a foot of CPB.

Monday was a much different story. 8 inches of super light powder and cold. A lot of dust over crust but still some very nice snow in places. No crowds or lift lines. REX started running before 9. Sure was a stark contrast to yesterday.

Never have I heard so much enthusiasm over skiing a foot of PNWPB (Pacific Northwest Peanut Butter)
I think we have all lost our minds!  ;D

To us who have "evolved " to rockered fatties it wasn't PNWPB, it was perfect surfing pow! ;D

Is that common when the wind picks up?  I've never experienced it before in my half-dozen years at Crystal.

Yes, very common. ( Edit: See Bandit's explantion ) If you've ever been on a chair when the descending empty chairs hit the towers you'd probably understand.

today ranks up there on the "best ever" list for me because I got to share it with others who LOVE TO SKI!........a group of about six others who I'd never met before.  The entire group dropped into Left Angle, leapfrogging through the trees and hootin it up in the deep new blanket o' pow!  Topped it all off with friends, new and old, raising a glass in the Cellar.  All smiles.  No one really seemed to mind that it was raining outside.

Great meeting, riding and sharing beers with you. Very Strong tele work in that low down goop.

To us who have "evolved " to rockered fatties it wasn't PNWPB, it was perfect surfing pow! ;D

Amen brother!

I've been to Crystal on deeper, colder, less crowded days, but today ranks up there on the "best ever" list for me because I got to share it with others who LOVE TO SKI!  My days at Crystal are mostly solo, so it was fun to (somewhat) unexpectedly run into a number of friends all excited about the new snow, even if it was a bit heavy.  A highlight for me was when I hooked up with Scotsman and joined a group of about six others who I'd never met before.  The entire group dropped into Left Angle, leapfrogging through the trees and hootin it up in the deep new blanket o' pow!  Topped it all off with friends, new and old, raising a glass in the Cellar.  All smiles.  No one really seemed to mind that it was raining outside.

Yep as Brit says, very impressive tele work down LA Tress in that heavy( but perfect for rockered fatties ) POW. Very strong work there.

I've been to Crystal on deeper, colder, less crowded days, but today ranks up there on the "best ever" list for me because I got to share it with others who LOVE TO SKI! 

Ahem, um, do we not know each other? ;D

Come tomorrow, come tomorrow Mr. Turner for a repeat of the same...

Yes Joe, I was thinking the same thing.  We had temporarily lost our minds.  I was aware at the  time that I shouldn't be having so much fun in this PNWPB.  After a moment of reflection I came to the conclusion that it was the 3 week absence of PNWPB or anything resembling it that created the euphoria.  Oh well, I'll take it how ever I can get it.

Scotty,
So, I'm kinda like a fish with legs.  I'm only sporting tip rocker.

Chica,
-You read it right.  It made the list of "best ever"; There's a list.  You're on it.
-If you can control the weather, sprinkle some "deeper, colder, less crowded" into your potion.  I'd be more than happy to bump yesterdays foray down a notch on the list .
-And please, just call me Kneel.

For anyone concerned about going because of the temps, get your best water repellant gear and the fattest, most rockered skies you have and head on up. It was only raining for a few hundred feet from the bottom Tuesday. Paradise Bowl has not been mentioned yet and it was excellent.