If a hospital discharged you while you were still totally out of it from the sedatives they gave you then they definitely didn't meet standard of care for post sedation monitoring. Could pay for your...

Coverage back there is so-so. Crystal peak itself looks fairly bony (I haven't gone down to look at G-string or Shoestring in awhile so don't know).

Smoka/Packa/Bowla bowls and most of the chutes...

Southback was good today. That is all.

I agree with this. I think the fundamental error here is an assessment of what the limiting factors are. It's been clear all year that the limitation is parking… even on the busiest weekends the lift...

Gap fill radars have all (afaik) been decommissioned or remissioned due to the advent of modern radar

This place is clearly still being used and maintained so I don't think gap filler makes any...

Wow, Alterra still offering military discounts (and for nurses and college students) for Ikon passes but none for Crystal local passes.

Seems like it must be -- I just looked at the FAA sectional and it shows a clearly marked radome there. Seems weird to build a radome there since it's only ~35 miles from McChord field and ~70 miles...

Unrelated to anything, does anyone know what the weird white dome "radio" (old USFS maps) or "communication" (2016 USFS maps) tower is at 47.16967, -121.74379? (Seen clearly here in google maps...

when I was in high school I became the first person to flip one of their karts on the track

Not sure who all might benefit from this but I figured I'd share my experience with 40-50 days in mine.

I've skied them with the liners that they came with throughout the time. Initially when I...

I hope a Bullion Basin chair is just the first lift to get on before choosing whether to take the next chair up East Peak or Bullion Peak

That terrain North of Northway is heinously treed and...

Ski Shack in Hayden on your way to Sandpoint.

Unless ownership changed since I was in HS 20+ years ago they're great people.

There are a ton of NF trail heads and camps along Crystal Mountain Boulevard that get a lot of spring/summer/fall usage by recreators, it's not as if the sole purpose of the Boulevard is for the ski...

They could do a lot to improve the Boulevard snake with better training for the people directing cars to lots tbh.

There's no rhyme or reason to the frequency with which they have a person out in...

I'm not a pilot or loadmaster, but have ridden in a fair number of Army helicopters.

They'll probably bring in a loadmaster and the crew chief for a 47, rig up the 60 with the sling straps and...

The most valuable training is doing something for real. Seriously though, it's hard to imagine a better training scenario for a 47 or 53 crew than having to sling load fucked up 60s in the snow at...

I had a great experience with them. Germany to Washington state in like 2 days (faster than any other online retailer) and a screaming deal on some climbing equipment. No import duties. CC charged in...

Hmm. Imagine, if you will, a vehicle designed to travel through the air -- over and around obstacles that would be able to travel from greater San Diego to greater Salt Lake City with only one...

The sooner we'll get a chair up east peak then!

This is true, though only of the newest Sea Stallions (King Stallions) iirc. Also, they suck to ride in (even more than a 47!) and cost about the same as an F-35.

Frank said in some podcast (I think this one: https://www.stormskiing.com/p/podcast-58-crystal-mountain-washington) that he doesn't think the mountain needs more uphill capacity.

TBH, this year's...

Not true.

UH-60s weigh 13,650 lbs (less when some parts are missing!). CH-47s have a lift capacity of 26,000 lbs at sea level and at 5,000 feet it's 22,000 lbs.

The block 2 CH-47s sling load...

Pretty sure it'll just be a more developed version of the big area of Adirondack chairs and tables they have outside the big sprung beer hall thing by the Discovery line.

Alterra Mountain Company Announces Largest Single Year Investment of $344 Million for Capital Improvements


I'm curious where this new parking is going.

One of the main reasons that military training occurs near populated / occupied / recreational areas is so that if / when something goes wrong they are nearer rescue and medical assets than if they...

Hadn't thought about that. Very good point.

wanted some exercise. didn't want to drive 410 for a fourth day in a row.

but i didn't realize quite how bad the snow would be. in hindsight it would've been worth another run through the...

After lots of school in southwestern climes on the Army's dime I've ended up in Tacoma

Found a wife and some kids along the way

I remember some good times in Portland

Glad you're well

one of the NWAC reporters described skiing it as "at times character building"

I think it's hilarious that pass holders to other resorts get a bigger discount on day tickets than the Ikon pass holders do for their friends and family discount

The cloud that filled the crater never went away afaik, which was a bummer for my buddy who's never seen it tho.

Also, almost everyone (including my buddy) switched to boots and crampons but I...

Managed to thread the needle of high clouds and wicked northernly winds to nail corn o'clock perfectly.

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The bottom two miles never melted...

Crystal is going to be pissed that they don't get a cut of the revenue this generates (to fund their bus program of course!)

The God of Debris Piles sends atmospheric rivers because of your impure thoughts.

I like how I made a general point about *the vast majority of public land access in the US* being first come first serve and everyone is all excited to start listing exceptions.

Of course there...

I think the whole thing that rankles about the Crystal parking reservation system is that it's basically "un American".

The whole ethos of America is that you can work hard, do stuff other people...

https://images-cdn.9gag.com/photo/aG1KqwG_700b.jpg

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Descent at 1230ish down Ted's Buttress was pretty sporty with high winds that scoured everything off of the very fun and not at all...

We'll be able to ski debris fields well into June!

I too blame Alterra for the currently sketchy backcountry conditions ;)

I mean, I think it's the lowest hanging fruit and *an* option, but I don't think Alterra has any appetite for a) creating further pass tiers or b) limiting days at their Alterra owned properties on...

I mean, I think it's true that the root problem is there are too many Ikon passes sold in the Puget Sound.

With a multi-resort season pass I don't know what the mechanism is to limit sales....

Turns out we met yesterday, nice to meet you! I was the guy with White Eagle topsheet Goats. Rode with you on Rex.

Good luck finding your ski

The pandemic and all its craziness highlighted what an impressive job Crystal patrol has done getting the mountain open safely and quickly through last winter's amazing snow and they've kept it up...

Yeah, Hamburger is the big bowl off to your left while you're riding up C6 below the Throne (on the side that still empties into Campbell Basin). There're two cliff-y areas right in the. middle of it...

Crystal Mountain boots are a Home Depot bucket filled with concrete attached to a chain that goes through your wheel. Unless they've upgraded since last season (quite possible)

Carry bolt cutters.

As you say it's a very difficult area to work with, but those are because of imposed limits, not because geographically or physically it's hard.

There are tons of closed campground and trailheads...

It took me 4.5 hours to make it from my house in Tacoma to Crystal today. From 8 until ~10:30 I think all the progress I made through Federation State Forest where I hit the traffic jam was people...

Admittedly, for a forum post I didn't look very hard for one of the charts I know to be floating about showing a normative x-axis for generations in order to compare home ownership rates, but here...