Crystal - 04/20/14 Winter Season end

It’s a wrap for the 2014 Winter Ski season at Crystal – and it was a very very nice wrap up for the season.  Lots of early sun, some high overcast mid day, but by the end the skies were very blue, the sun was very warm and the parties all over Crystal were in full swing.  Firm early on the groomers due to really cold over night temps, but everything kept getting better on every ride up the Hamster treadmill – REX, running at speed, no lift lines, no gates at the bottom – Yee Haa!  The new over night smoothed out the world again and first tracks down many Doors and Breakover and SunnySide and Memorial were all very happy for the Coombas – dang I like those skis.  Lots of happy folks, well lots of happy folks for a weekday, for the last winter Sunday it was a very small crowd.  Since it was REX last day for the season I skied it till almost the very end, but blown out quads (and some late day chair sensor problems), got me off the mountain to socialize at the base for quitting time.  (Heard some complaints about up loading the Gondy was cut short – a baker guy was disappointed, but I think he still wanted to do some up hill sliding)  Lots of parties on the upper mountain in pretty perfect conditions – the big Tikki party was on top of Grubstake, very pleasant when I passed through mid afternoon.

Other – CB lodge was running out of food pretty rapidly today, some two for one deals, soup was that Harvest stuff.  Crystal was cutting everything right down to the wire – base was pretty quit, no food (other than from the Bullwheel), everything else closed.  Pay lot to big as usual, but will not be a problem tomorrow or for the rest of the spring season, lots of cars in the C lot (well cars around the shuttle stop), some cars in B (?).  Great day, great finish to the winter season, sad watching the patrol shutting down areas, picking up boo, making new rope lines….Puget Sound has the wimpiest skier population any place, so sad, but as others have said – time to move on to summer…or maybe Blackcomb.

Reports from Blackrock next week as they always shut down the best Spring Skiing area in the world early (Whistler)