Crystal Mountain trip from 4/11 to 4/13

[Tonyr]

Resort or Ski Area

Crystal Mountain

Date

Apr 11, 2025

Snow Conditions

1. Packed Powder
2. Slush or Spring Snow
3. Sticky

One of the last main areas of the US that we haven't skied is the Cascades. My wife is preparing for a race and my son is on spring break this week so he and I decided to make a year end Pacific Northwest ski trip.

Our first stop is at Crystal Mountain which is the destination that we were most excited to visit. I had alot going on today so we didn't get out until 1.30 pacific time and only skied for a little over 2 hours or so.

First impression is that this place has legit big mountain terrain. The only draw back is the heavy wet snow here known as Cascade concrete. The visibility was low today and the snow was very sticky. On the flip side the sticky snow does give you better grip on steep terrain.

We skied primarily off the Mt Rainier Gondola and the Northway lift today. It did snow a few inches while we were out but it was mixed with sleet and the visibility was very low as I mentioned earlier. We could barely see in front of us on the last run down. Hopefully we get a bluebird day this weekend, here are some photos of the day, lots of steep gladed terrain here...

 

[Tonyr]

We got out at 9 am today and skied a little over 4 hours. This gave us a real good feel for the mountain, the expert terrain here is outstanding. While yesterday was sticky, today we got out on 3 inches of snow from overnight that laid on crust. The surface had a very east coast type of experience while yesterday's conditions were more like Tahoe's.

Today we headed straight over to the Bear Pits zone and did 5 runs in that section. What a special area. It's 45 degree pitches in alot of that roped off terrain pod. The trees I circled on each side of the zone are outstanding. The tree line on the right in particular is one of my favorite runs at any resort...

From the Bear Pits we did a few runs off the Forest Queen Express which actually had a line and then a couple of runs off the Northway lift before we called it a day. That section of the mountain has outstanding expert terrain as well. Here are some of my better photos from the day...

 

[Tonyr]

We got a bluebird day today which made for an all-time ski day. Definitely the best spring day I've ever had. We got out at 8.30 am and skied until 11.30 then headed back to Seattle to do some sightseeing. I thought Telluride was the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen until today. The first two days here we couldn't see a thing. Today there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the views were jaw-dropping...



Our game plan was to spend the morning lapping the Bear Pits on both sides. After the first run in that zone we moved to the other side and noticed Chair 6 was going to open. Chair 6 has the best terrain on the mountain and that chair wasn't open the first 2 days we were here so we spent the rest of our time lapping that chair.

There are so many areas of this mountain that you can get in alot of trouble at. Crystal is definitely at the level of challenge as Snowbird, Jackson, Crested Butte, or Palasides. It's just not much of a destination resort to visit as it is a ski area. Plus, other than Palasides, the snow quality here is no where near the level of the resorts in CO, UT, or WY.

You wouldn't fly all the way across the country to go on Christmas or President's week break here with the family as there is literally nothing to do other than ski. I'd say Crystal, outside of Seattle locals, is more of a bucket list, guys type trip and you need to hope that you get lucky with weather during your visit. Thankfully we hit the conditions this visit about as perfectly as you could get for April. Here are some of my better photos from today. I hope you enjoyed the report...

 

[Edd]

I lived in WA for a couple of years and skied several places but not Crystal. Thanks for the report, looks amazing.

 

[Tonyr]

Well if you ever visit the area again I'd highly suggest a trip to Crystal especially if you get a good snow or a spring skiing day. In the summer you could go to Mt Rainier instead.

 

[Tonyr]

Got that photo of Mt. Rainier from the plane ride down to Oregon...