Crystal Mountain, USA - Washington

Jeffrey Knecht from UNITED STATES writes:

Crystal Mountain has the most potential for being a world class resort in Washington State. The things that stand out about Crystal are that the lifts are now up to date thanks to the new owners (Boyne Usa) and the terrain they have. The terrain is awesome because it has runs for all levels of skill and the backcountry is amazing when they get new snow and you find a perfect run to the base. The snow at Crystal is usually better than the other Washington resorts due to its base elevation of 4,500 ft and top elevation of 7,000 feet. The lodge is alright too but isn't even close to be as good as the Whistler lodges or the Mt.Baker lodge. The lifts are pretty up to date but I'd really like to see the Green Valley chair be updated because its still a little rickidy double chair that holds access to best runs on the mountain. I'd advise beginners to go straight to the Forest Queens lift that has the best beginner run 'Queens.' The other beginner lift is Discovery which is way to flat to really learn since you can hardly get going. The Forest Queen lift holds the best intermediate runs like Mr.Magoo and CMAC. The Rainer Express lift has a lot of good terrain and has a Summit House on top so you can eat and not have to go all the way down to the base. Rainer Express has a few intermediate runs and a few expert runs which are pretty good. The High Campbell lift is a lift only for experts and can be quite difficult in early and late season runs because there are a ton of rocks all over the place and since its mostly wind blown snow you can get in some pretty bad situations up there. Those are the only bad things about it though There are a lot of good things about it like steeps, good snow and theres always some virgin snow that no ones gone through. Those are my favorite lifts and you should really check them out.

2003-09-11