Crystal Mountain Becomes Alterra

[altasnob]

Crystal is crowded now but I wouldn't blame this all on Ikon. It's the best overall ski area in Washington, and the Puget Sound region is booming, so it would be crowded regardless of who owns it. I think the same can be said of Schweitzer with Spokane also growing fast, and Schweitzer being the best overall resort. With Bachelor/Red/Schweitzer all joining Ikon the pass is a great value. I grew up racing in the PNW with annual races at Bachelor and Schweitzer but hadn't been back in 20 years because I am not paying for lift tickets. But now PNW road trips are now an affordable option. Just be glad none of the Mt Hood resorts are on Ikon otherwise you would have both Seattle and Portland crowds invading (although I met a few Portland skiers this year at Crystal with Ikon passes).

[XavierD]

I only feel slightly sorry for the folks I know who fled Crystal/Seattle for Schweitzer/Sandpoint.

[phatty]

Difference for Schweitzer is they aren't unlimited skiing for Ikon. I think they'll see an uptick for sure, but they are enough out of the way that I don't think it will be huge (other than Seattle visitors). They aren't a big enough draw to bring lots of tourists and they are far enough of a drive that a real road trip is tough.

[ptavv]

Schweitzer is one of the only mountains in the entire PNW that has a large amount of on-slope condos and hotels. I think this is a super savvy business move from Schweitzer that is going to be a little bit crummy for locals, but ultimately not that bad.

Well heeled Puget Sounders who already ski at Crystal are going to rent condos for a week or so and use their Ikon passes and bring their families to ski up at Schweitzer for a vacation and change of scenery, but otherwise there won't be much effect I'd bet. It's too far for people to road trip there powder hunting and the storms that bring great snow to Schweitzer bring more/better snow to other Ikon locations.

Gonna be awesome when the Puget Sounders realize the "views" from Schweitzer are 95% inside of a marshmallow fog and 5% marketing photo days.

[Toadman]

Schweitzer hasn't sold out...yet....but, this just came in today.

https://www.schweitzer.com/plan/pickyourpass/

One thing we know is that a lot of our Schweitzer skiers & riders love the opportunity to get out of town and explore. Thanks to Schweitzer's new partnership with the Ikon Pass, we can now offer an opportunity to explore even more through our new “Voyager Pass,” a pass product that includes an unlimited Schweitzer season pass and an Ikon Base Pass, unlocking access to every Ikon Base Pass destination worldwide.

Not sure what this is going to ultimately mean to us but I suspect more crowded than it's ever been. Thank God I'm retiring this summer. Looks like mid-week skiing is the new program for me. Not happy...

I really felt badly for the Schweitzer crowd. Unable to get out of town to explore other mountains because their local hill wasn't part of the Epic or Ikon club. Well, Schweitzer boys and girls, welcome to the club!

FWIW my worst experience skiing ever was at Schweitzer. Maybe I will go and slay those demons with my Ikon pass winter '21/'22.

[GoldMember]

^^ What happened to make it a bad experience?

[Toadman]

^^ What happened to make it a bad experience?

Generally crappy conditions. Major wind storm shut down the mountain for several days. They tried selling lift tickets but then closed the lifts down after I think was one run. Offered vouchers to use later that season. Got one day of skiing in during the 4 days we were there. The winds were just insane that year in early January. Just never let up but for one day. Granted it was mostly mother natures fault. The town was nice enough if you could get past all the trains going through Sand Point.

Would like to go back when I have my Ikon Pass on full display. And actually ski more than what was probably only half the mountain open due to wind scoured runs and terrain closures.

[Huskier]

Difference for Schweitzer is they aren't unlimited skiing for Ikon. I think they'll see an uptick for sure, but they are enough out of the way that I don't think it will be huge (other than Seattle visitors). They aren't a big enough draw to bring lots of tourists and they are far enough of a drive that a real road trip is tough.

Schweitzer is the pit stop. Ikon drawing those road tripping tech bros, has the route all mapped out. Schweitzer Big sky Jackson Alta? Game over for anyone living in the Seattle area. Whistler who? Epic what?

[XavierD]

If you put Jackson-Big Sky-Alta-Schweitzer together, Whistler-Blackcomb is still a better mountain, and closer.

[phatty]

If you put Jackson-Big Sky-Alta-Schweitzer together, Whistler-Blackcomb is still a better mountain, and closer.

But that isn't an adventure for the van lifing tech Bro. Linking together 4-5 resorts over a 2-4 week period is the goal and now Schweitzer adds a reasonably positioned pit stop. Now, not many will be able to pull this type of trip off, but they can market the possibility.

[TAFKALVS]

I look forward to showing you all around Schweitzer. It's so foggy that a local guide is essential.

[Iowagriz]

Euro experience:
Train to Whitefish - overnighter for $100 - ski a few days
Whitefish to Sandpoint - leave at 9pm, arrive at midnight - ski a few days - $40
Sandpoint to Seattle - leave near midnight - overnight to Seattle

those prices are for xmas of 2021 - all bets are off when the train doesn't stay on schedule

[californiagrown]

I look forward to showing you all around Schweitzer. It's so foggy that a local guide is essential.

Schweitzer was my home mtn during college. I dont think i knew there was a lake view for the entire first year there. It would be cool to go back, and the slopeside lodging is clutch with a baby onboard next year.

[greenmachine]

If you put Jackson-Big Sky-Alta-Schweitzer together, Whistler-Blackcomb is still a better mountain, and closer.

No way.


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[GoldMember]

I look forward to showing you all around Schweitzer. It's so foggy that a local guide is essential.

Seriously, we have skiers lost requiring SAR in-bounds. It's so foggy, people have been lost for days.... [sarcasm meter may be required]

I rode a chair one day with a guy, talking to him about where he's from, blah, blah, blah. It was one of those foggy periods we get around mid-January where we can be socked in for days. He says he's on his third day and been having a fun time, telling me what he's been skiing and so on. I asked him if he'd had a chance to ski the back bowl or any of the Lakeside Chutes. He looked at me curiously; "What's the back bowl?. He seriously wasn't aware of the other bowl, only frontside. I realize you might not be able to see it all the time in the fog but look at a trail map.

[Skeeze]

Seriously, we have skiers lost requiring SAR in-bounds. It's so foggy, people have been lost for days.... [sarcasm meter may be required]

I rode a chair one day with a guy, talking to him about where he's from, blah, blah, blah. It was one of those foggy periods we get around mid-January where we can be socked in for days. He says he's on his third day and been having a fun time, telling me what he's been skiing and so on. I asked him if he'd had a chance to ski the back bowl or any of the Lakeside Chutes. He looked at me curiously; "What's the back bowl?. He seriously wasn't aware of the other bowl, only frontside. I realize you might not be able to see it all the time in the fog but look at a trail map.

On my first and only day at Schweitzer (skiing solo, pow day, no vis, no crowds after an accident closed the access road), I was skiing the Lakeview lift first thing and needed to follow the music being played by the base station of the lift to find my way back to it. Wild experience, but good snow and a pretty fun mountain.

[SirVicSmasher]

If you put Jackson-Big Sky-Alta-Schweitzer together, Whistler-Blackcomb is still a better mountain, and closer.

Can I have some of what your smoking?


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[altasnob]

WB is sick, no doubt. But I am pumped to have Schweitzer and Red join the Ikon party. That's a great road trip from Seattle and you are changing scenes from coastal to more of a Rocky Mountain snowpack and terrain. Great change of pace from Crystal and not too far a drive.

[Jax]

I hate that another resort is on the Ikon, especially a treasured one such as Schweitzer, knowing what it does firsthand to that local vibe and culture. That being said, I can't wait to visit.

Ironic, yes totally.

[CrystalMountainSkier]

Feature story in the Seattle Times today about Crystal's management under Alterra and Stevens under Vail. Crystal definitely had some challenges this year but nothing like the shit show at Stevens.

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/ou...vergent-paths/

[GoldMember]

Feature story in the Seattle Times today about Crystal's management under Alterra and Stevens under Vail. Crystal definitely had some challenges this year but nothing like the shit show at Stevens.

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/ou...vergent-paths/

Good article for me to read. With that, I think the Schweitzer alignment with Ikon is miles ahead of what an Epic pass alignment would be. The Epic model more resembles a move that Mt. Spokane made in the 80's where their marketing slogan was "Cheap Tickets are Us". With that, the then owner proclaimed that he felt skiing should be like bowling and financially within reach of the masses. The resulting chaos is partly why I left Mt. Spokane (where I'd grown up skiing and was a local ski bum) and went to Schweitzer. That value proposition, for an area like Schweitzer, would be a death knell in my mind. It sounds like the Ikon/Alterra model is more akin to a higher quality experience for the skiers which is good. At this time, with Schweitzer being an independent, hopefully we'll still get the higher quality experience with just a bit more crowd, not an overrunning of the mountain by 500,000 Ikon pass holders, much like what I've read about other areas like JH (and Crystal). Lesser of two evils, I suppose.

[Bandit Man]

Feature story in the Seattle Times today about Crystal's management under Alterra and Stevens under Vail. Crystal definitely had some challenges this year but nothing like the shit show at Stevens.

https://www.seattletimes.com/life/ou...vergent-paths/

So, as a 15-year season pass holder at Stevens I can say there is a lot of bias in that article. Aside from the loss of use of day lodges and a few late starts that almost always lined up with Hwy 2 WSDOT avy closures/delayed openings, this season at Stevens was very good.

I’m by no means a Vail apologist and I do think Crystal is a more “complete” mountain. I do look forward to the annual bitch-fest about Alterra to start next winter when reservations are no longer required and you have to leave Seattle at 4:30 am to secure a parking spot to enjoy your unlimited “premier experience”. Yeah, no reservations at Stevens in 2022 will probably also suck. Welcome to skiing anywhere near Seattle.

[altasnob]

That article is a bunch of corporate fluff, as is everything written by Gregory Scruggs in the Seattle Times. Crystal/Alterra does not focus on a "premier experience" just as Stevens is not trying to cheap out. Both resorts are owned by massive corporations doing what corporations do; maximize profit for their shareholders. The article concedes the only thing Crystal has done to create that "premier experience" is add 200 parking spots.

Crystal has become more crowded in recent years for multiple reasons, but first and foremost is population growth in the area. And specifically population growth in the South Sound (think Maple Valley, Bonney Lake, Puyallup, Gig Harbor). King County is running out of buildable land and most new housing developments are on the way to Crystal. Before Alterra and Vail entered the picture, pass sales were likely split between Stevens, Alpental, and Crystal. When Ikon made Crystal passes way cheap with the added perks of other Ikon partners, more people gravitated towards Crystal. Stevens/Epic has has had to respond by reducing pass prices while Crystal has now increased prices (because they know they will sell almost as many passes here as with the cheaper prices). While Ikon has added a bit more visiting skiers than previously, the PNW is still, and never will be, a popular place for ski tourists to travel to.

And what the fuck is a ski area culture? Crystal boss DeBerry says, “we find it super important to let Crystal continue to be Crystal and to respect the culture that’s developed here.” He picked up that line from Marketing 101 at his MBA school.

I did like this line from the article, where the author states he gathered info from "a season long monitoring of online groups where Pacific Northwest powderhounds congregate." You're being watched! Actually, Scruggs posts all the time on TAY facebook, so I think that is what he is referring to there.

[tmokes]

Crystal culture always sucked worst in PNW. Baker, Stevens, and snoqualmie pass had million times better vibe than Crystal. Sounds like a new owner is no different from the previous owner. Skier premier experience? Let’s build a gondola to the top and charge more to ride the gondola. Oh let’s discontinue the shuttle bus to the bottom now that we built a chair in the back that goes halfway down the mountain..... let’s put up a ski rack by the lift so everyone can hang and leave their avy packs on a ski rack. Crystal vibe.


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[Bandit Man]

Crystal culture always sucked worst in PNW. Baker, Stevens, and snoqualmie pass had million times better vibe than Crystal. Sounds like a new owner is no different from the previous owner. Skier premier experience? Let’s build a gondola to the top and charge more to ride the gondola. Oh let’s discontinue the shuttle bus to the bottom now that we built a chair in the back that goes halfway down the mountain..... let’s put up a ski rack by the lift so everyone can hang and leave their avy packs on a ski rack. Crystal vibe.


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Thanks for that! I found it an enjoyable read...and quite accurate!