Charlie Landefeld

Crystal Mountain Conditions Report | The King Delivers

The weather gods finally delivered snow to Crystal. Over the past four days the ski area picked up nearly 12” of snow. Not a lot over four days (for Washington), but this year that makes up nearly 7% of the total snowfall. Conditions and coverage up high have remained fairly good for the past few weeks, surviving the June-uary warmup that baked the snowpack. The new snow was all […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Crystal Mountain Conditions Report | Return of Winter?

Something strange happened this past week in Washington. It snowed. Sure, the accumulation only stacked up to 6 inches, but after weeks of high pressure any snow is welcome. Snow is snow, you can tell because of the way it is (and sticks in the trees). It didn’t rain, it snowed, and that’s all that matters. Luckily stayed low through the end of the week, so the new snow didn’t immediately […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Salomon Quest Max 130 Ski Boot Review

The Frenchies behind Salomon have been at the forefront of the ski industry for years. When the ski industry asked for a stiff freeride boot to take on side and backcountry terrain, the makers of the Pocket Rocket and the X-Scream answered the call. The Salomon Quest Max 130 lives up to its two names – it is ready for the backcountry and stiff enough to throw down when the going gets burly. The Quest Max 130 lives up to the Salomon name. The boot combines a performance-oriented last, true 130 flex, walk mode, and swappable tech inserts (ohhhhh yeah) to make an all-mountain beast. The best features of the Quest […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Crystal Mountain Conditions Report | Slush Crushing

The string of unseasonably warm weather continues in the Pacific North West. This week of warm dry weather was a welcome relief after the past few weeks that brought a mixed bag of rain and snow, and had riders in the Cascades holding their collective breath, hoping for the best. If January is the new June, February is looking like the new July. The forecast for clear skies with a high of 41. Even as the low tide year drags on, its damn hard to be upset when you get your a healthy dose of Vitamin D and Vitamin R (Rainier, the mountain With the dose of Vitamin D and Vitamin R today, the mood on the mountain was super positive. […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Crystal Mountain Conditions Report|Low Tide, New Snow

The past week was rough for Washington. Not because there was no precipitation, but because it came as a giant pineapple. Rain. Eventually freezing levels dropped low enough for the upper mountain at Crystal to accumulate some snow. With the rain from the last storm front, a good amount of snow was lost at lower elevations and near rock bands at higher elevations. Once the rain turned to snow 8” stacked up in Green Valley. Definitely is a welcome change from no snow. It would definitely take some imagination to call the new snow powder, but the wet snow filled in shallow spots, smoothing out the terrain and giving […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Crystal Mountain Conditions Report | Goodbye, June-uary.

Skiing in the blazing sun and 45 degree weather isn’t what January is usually about. But, this hasn’t been a typical snow year in the PNW. Forecasts called for a high of 39 and ‘broken clouds’ at Crystal Mountain yesterday, but the forecast was wrong. Saturday brought temperatures that stayed in the mid-40’s all day long and clear skies. With the inversion socking in Seattle the sun was a welcome change from the gray […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Crystal Mountain, WA Conditions Report: January Sunshine

After a week of super wet conditions in the Pacific North West a high pressure ridge moved in, bringing sun and warmer temps. While June-uary can bring sun and good skiing conditions, Sunday brought a dose of spring-shred to January. After a downright frustrating couple of weeks that rain and a bit of snow, the forecast for sun was a much needed break. The precipitation had taken its toll on thinner areas around rock outcrops and ridgelines, melting away take-offs on some of the best launches off of Chair 6. Down low things were patchy, but groomers still had consistent coverage top-to-bottom. Northway was shut […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Crystal Mountain Conditions Report 1/4/14 – Graybird Ripping

After the drop in temps and snowfall of last weekend, this week saw clear skies and cold temperatures at Crystal Mountain. The high pressure broke down yesterday with the arrival of a new storm front bringing 3-5” of new snow and the threat of rain. Since any skiing is better than no skiing, the call was to go see what the weather brought to Crystal. Pulling into the parking lot around 9am, the temps were hovering around 30*, much better than expected […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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The Rainier 9000: Summit to Paradise Ski Descent

With the return of spring weather to Washington (no rain?!) the conditions in the mountains went from sketchy to primed. After allowing a few days for recent snowfall to settle or slide it was time. Ditching the 90 degree heat in Seattle, two buddies and myself decided to have a go at Rainier on Thursday Morning. We pulled out of Seattle at 6am on Wendesday and headed South to Rainier. After securing climbing permits and sorting out all our gear we left the lot around 10am. The temperature was easily in the 50’s as we worked our way up to Camp Muir. For anyone who has done that tour […]
Chaz Diamond |
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Sleeper Pow Day | Crystal Mountain Conditions Report 3/28/14

What is hot pow? The best answer we could come up with was ‘something like cheese on yesterday’s pizza after it’s been micro-waved for too long.’ Doesn’t sound fun. With temperatures hovering just below freezing for the past few days, we heard Crystal was getting the goods, but who actually knew. Maybe it rained to 6000′, maybe it was pow? You don’t know unless you go, so we went. Arriving at the Crystal Parking lot to find snow in the trees was a awesome and set […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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Central Oregon’s Secret Peaks | Cat Skiing Mount Bailey

Central Oregon is the backwoods. In a good way. Smack in the middle of weathered mountains are a small chain of volcanic peaks rising 8000-9000 feet. Mount Bailey has several cirques facing various aspects carved out by glaciers. With around 3000 skiable vertical feet and 360 degree aspect options the mountain is a skier’s playground. Conditions in Central Oregon have been incredibly dry this year. While Bachelor is 100 miles away with a base of 133”, Bailey has a base of only 85”. Talking with one of our guides, Oz, he mentioned that in his 30+ years of working for the cat operation this is the driest winter he can recall. Similar stories were heard from the cat driver […]
Chaz Diamond |
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Washington Avalanche Trends – What’s The Deal?

Washington ski areas have been captivating national news with videos and pictures of huge slides, making things feel a bit strange in Washington. No doubt this season has been unusual for the West Coast of the U.S., but Washington avalanches taking out chairlifts? Are we in Las Lenas now?! But, we are looking forward to a brand new High Campbell lift at crystal, because it was planned to be replaced in the next 5 years anyways. Washington state currently holds the record for seasonal snowfall so it is no secret that there is plenty of snow. With a maritime snowpack […]
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Chaz Diamond |
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