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 […] Conditions Report Chaz Diamond | February 28, 2015 0 Comments
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 […] Conditions Report Chaz Diamond | February 22, 2015 0 Comments
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 […] Gear Review Chaz Diamond | February 16, 2015 1 Comment
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. […] Conditions Report Chaz Diamond | February 15, 2015 1 Comment
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 […] Conditions Report Chaz Diamond | February 8, 2015 0 Comments
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 […] Conditions Report Chaz Diamond | February 1, 2015 0 Comments
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 […] Conditions Report Chaz Diamond | January 26, 2015 0 Comments
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 […] Conditions Report Chaz Diamond | January 4, 2015 0 Comments
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