crystal

Crystal Mountain Conditions Report | Corn, Chalk and Chowda

Though the northwest is still hungry for more snow, the spring-like conditions at Crystal are surprisingly rad! Near the top of the resort, north-facing slopes still have some protected, chalky snow, allowing for smeary, fast turns. Once the sun heats up the steeper south-facing runs, the slush is easy to mash through and there are plenty of shrubs and rocks to jump over if that’s your thing. As always, the groomers are speedy and consistent with plenty of small rollers to pop off.
Rachel Delacour |
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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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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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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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Winter Weather Advisory Issued for Washington Cascades

It looks like spring in Washington has a few more surprises in store. The forecasted snow totals have steadily climbed throughout the day, making this weekend in the Cascades look powdery. Heres to hoping the trend continues, slowly edging the rain out of the forecast! Storm totals of around a foot are currently expected, but that is excellent considering this morning the NOAA forecast called for 4-6 inches.
Avatar photo SnowBrains |
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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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How To: Build a Chairlift | Video & Photos of Whistler’s 2 New Chairs

Whistler Blackcomb is currently in the process of building two new chairlifts that the snow world is highly anticipating: A new Crystal Chair & a new Harmony Chair. How do they get these chairlifts built? A lot of helicopter help, a lot of helicopters. And it’s fun to watch. Have a gander at this video and check out what these guys do. I don’t think I’d wanna be one of these guys on the ground guiding these huge pieces into place. Props to these technicians. Whistler Blackcomb’s Harmony high-speed, quad chairlift will be replaced […]
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Avatar photo SnowBrains |
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