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Pacific NW/AK/BC 2020/2021 PNW news, weather, conditions, stoke.

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Tom Co.

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ATTENTION STEVENS PASS SKIERS

I just sent this email to Stevens about the terrain park on Hogs. If you agree, please send them one also

[email protected]

The terrain park on Hogsback chairlift

Having a terrain park on Blue Trail is a bad idea.

Hogsback is the most crowded lift at Stevens. Having the train park there just adds to the lift line.

The rope lines on either side of the train park prohibit access to areas on either side of Blue Trail. Access to Parachutes one and two and the trees leading to the lift line means you have to duck the rope. The same is true for the trees and the run on the right side of blue trail.

Blue Trail is the best continuous fall line run on Hogs. Removing this trail from the general skiing public is a shame.

The rope line from the train park extends down along the left-hand side of lower Daisy and prohibits skiing down the left-hand fork. This prohibits skiers from taking the easier left loop, inhibits access to the cut across to Brooks and eliminates skiing access to parking Lot 3.

The terrain park worked on Brooks.


I signed my name with- a multi season pass holder-
 

Posaune

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I've had the exact same thoughts. I'll do the same.

The park is in a terrible place. I always felt that the Parachutes extended the 7th Heaven runs but I've steered clear of the area since the terrain park was moved. I've not had luck in the past with Stevens responding to me. When I brought a concern to the management at Baker they responded immediately and actions were taken. When I did it at Stevens I was ignored. Vail should study Baker's model.
 
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David Chaus

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Though I won’t be instructing this year, I actually liked moving the terrain park away from Brooks. The terrain at Brooks is a much easier step up from Daisy than Hogsback, and with the realigment of the new Brooks HSQ it is way easier for “new intermediates.” Also, with Brooks, Skyline and Hogsback all easy to get to from the lodges, last year I noticed the lift lines spread out more evenly amongst them.

Hopefully they get better about where they rope off access to the terrain park. Also last year I never saw many terrain park features at the new park, as they just didn’t have enough snow. I recall they roped off near Parachute 1 and 2 for a freeride competition, otherwise it should be easy enough to get to the Parachutes starting on the skiers left of the lift line.

It does make it tough to get to Tye Mill and the backside if the Hogsback lift line is backed up. We’ll have to see if that’s an issue this season. I won’t go on weekends in any event, since I’m not instructing. Thursdays, most likely, assuming I get a Powder Pack 6 or weekday Select pass, as I’m taking clinics on Fridays at Alpental. Might just spend some time at Baker, along with longer drive to Crystal (I have an Ikon).
 

Tom Co.

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I am very surprised to hear back from Stevens

Hello Tom,
Thanks for taking the time to send in your comments about the terrain park. At this time we still plan to have it in the same location as it was last year. Your feedback has been forwarded to the leadership team.
 

Posaune

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  • I just checked out Cypress from my living room window (binoculars help) and it looks like they have decent coverage, though individual rocks would be hard to see from B'ham.
  • Baker is talking about opening possibly on Friday. They're waiting until the rain event of tonight and tomorrow to see what happens. With 49" on the ground there now it looks good.
  • Stevens looks well covered on the web cams, at least for the groomers, but they won't open until December 4.
 
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David Chaus

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  • I just checked out Cypress from my living room window (binoculars help)
That’s almost unreal to contemplate, given Bellingham is 70 miles away (and in a different country). Line of sight is a beautiful thing. You must have a fabulous location and view.
 

Posaune

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Well, it's not 70 miles as the crow flies, but it's quite a way. I'm on the side of Sehome Hill just below the university and I can see the lights at all three Vancouver ski areas (Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour) from my front window. There are two river deltas (Nooksack and Fraser) I look over, so the terrain is flat all of the way. On a clear day the Coast Range stretches off into infinity. If I could look south I could see the Olympics over Bellingham Bay, but in order to do that I have to leave the house.
 
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David Chaus

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Crystal opens tomorrow. I can’t make it Wednesday but Thursday is a strong possibility.


WELCOME TO THE START OF THE
2020-2021 WINTER
SKI & SNOWBOARD SEASON!



Dear David,

Crystal Mountain is excited to announce that we will kick-off the winter season this Wednesday, November 18! Lifts start turning at 9AM, and thanks to outstanding early snowfall Crystal will open with the best conditions in more than a decade. Wednesday’s lift offering will include the Mount Rainier Gondola, Rainier Express, Chinook Express, Forest Queen Express, Quicksilver, and Discovery. Chair 6, Northway, and Gold Hill won’t be too far behind as Patrol is already working to get these ready for you to enjoy. Also, in accordance with the State’s November 15th crowding restrictions, lodges will not be accessible for indoor food service, but we will have plenty of to-go options available for you to take to your favorite spot on the mountain, in the base, or in your car.



In order to fully comply with the Governor’s most current reopening requirements as of November 15th, 2020, which require reduced chair-loading capacities and use of a reservation system in order to limit crowd size, Crystal Mountain will be utilizing a passholder reservation system to regulate crowd size for the foreseeable future. We have committed to priority access for our pass holders.



To make a reservation, log into ‘My Account’ on the Ikon Pass app and follow these easy steps.



Step 1: Select ‘Make a Reservation’

Step 2: Select Crystal Mountain as your Destination

Step 3: Select your Date

Step 4: Confirm Reservation



If you don’t have the Ikon Pass app you can follow the link here: https://www.ikonpass.com/en/reservations



Ikon Pass holders can hold up to 10 reservations at a time. Please be aware that unused reservations or attempts to visit without a reservation for the day could result in loss of access to the mountain.



And finally, we’re asking everyone to practice adaptation and patience this winter. We know that ever-changing restrictions, reduced lift capacity, and varying lodge access will require us to pivot and adapt throughout the season. Our team has planned for this and we’re ready to do whatever it takes to help stay safe and stay opened; but we can’t do so without everyone’s cooperation. Please don’t visit if you’re feeling ill; please be prepared to wear your mask anytime you’re not actively sliding downhill; and please be kind and patient with our fellow skiers and riders as we all do what it takes to get out and enjoy the wide-open spaces and tons of great snow we’ve come to love here at Crystal!



Covid-19

Information about all Covid-19 mitigation efforts and changes to operations are detailed in a Guidebook which all guests are strongly encouraged to read prior to visiting. https://www.crystalmountainresort.com/covid-19-resources



For more details about opening and ongoing updates visit our website.
 

Tom Co.

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Crystal Mountain opens tomorrow, Wednesday. See David's message above, he just posted that as I was writing this. I just made a reservation for Thursday for my brother and I.

Yee Haw !!! I will report back Thursday p.m.
 
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David Chaus

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Crystal Mountain opens tomorrow, Wednesday. See David's message above, he just posted that as I was writing this. I just made a reservation for Thursday for my brother and I.

Yee Haw !!! I will report back Thursday p.m.
I made a reservation as well for Thursday.
 

gilligan

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Crystal Mountain opens tomorrow, Wednesday. See David's message above, he just posted that as I was writing this. I just made a reservation for Thursday for my brother and I.

Yee Haw !!! I will report back Thursday p.m.

Looking forward to your report. I made a reservation for Friday and a couple of days next week.
.
 

RJS

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Crystal was fun today! Tons of terrain open. This is my first season in the PNW, so I don’t know what openings are normally like here, but I was seriously impressed. This is the latest that I’ve started my season in a few years, but that’s purely thanks to Killington’s ability to crank out snowmaking on a couple of high elevation trails. This was a different beast entirely (pun intended).

There was a little bit of new snow over a layer of rain crust. The skiing was pretty variable, to the point where one turn might be deep, and the next was scraping the crust. It was snowing on and off all day with high winds and often low visibility. The gondola got put on wind hold multiple times. The snow was decent up top, but was pretty heavy and sticky closer to the bottom. People were OK but not amazing about social distancing and mask usage, but the staff did a really good job enforcing the rules. I noticed that people seemed better about these as the day went on. Assuming the season doesn’t get shut down, hopefully this is a sign that people need some adjusting to the new norms around COVID and skiing, but that people will learn.

I mostly lapped Green Valley, which is a super fun and playful terrain pod. It reminded me a lot of my favorite terrain at Brighton. This mountain...wow. This place gives off Snowbird, Revvy, Brighton vibes to me. Some of the steeps (which weren’t open) off of Silver Queen and King looked downright frightening, which is exciting. I don’t know if I could ski those now, but hopefully with more days and practice, I can work my way up to skiing them!

My favorite runs were Grubstake and West Face. Exterminator was fantastic except for the snow quality, can’t wait to ski it on either a powder day, or a warm spring day.

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