Five Things To Remember Before You Go To The Mountain

"Top of High Campbell," courtesy of Seattlest Flickr pool member John Patz.

We spent last weekend at Crystal Mountain Resort, and we picked up a few tips from the staff to help you manage the crazy crowds during MLK weekend.

1.) Set the alarm: If you plan to take advantage of the upcoming three-day weekend, know it will be busy. Prepare yourself for optimal fun by getting to the mountain either 30 minutes before it opens or one hour after. The 5 to 10 minutes as it opens is when the parking attendants see the largest number of vehicles entering the mountain. If possible, try to park on top as you can ski straight to the lifts and avoid the uncomfortable hike on gravel to the lift ticket lines. A shuttle does run on the lower level lots.

2.) Be aggressive: We are not in any way condoning unsafe driving, but weekends bring in large tour buses that go painfully (safety, safety…) slow up the mountain. If you are at the mountain before 9 a.m., you usually have no worries. If you are traveling around 10 a.m., you may want to watch out and take advantage of the passing lanes.

3.) Cell phones are still taboo: We remember our first encounter with the grumpy Seattle bus rider who was really upset we were on our cell phone while busing it home. It wasn’t a pretty spectacle and to be honest, we don’t really use our phone on buses anymore. It was a good thing Mr. Grumpy was not with us last weekend, otherwise the teenager sitting next to us on the lift may have gotten toppled or at least lost a glove. Most people go to the mountain to escape the busy, technology driven city life and do not enjoy sitting next to a youngster yapping on the phone about how Johnny no longer likes Jeremy. Seriously, don’t talk on your cell phones while riding the lift. This tip doesn’t necessarily help you beat the crowds, but it will help you make it up the lift without losing equipment.

4.) Be sneaky: Last Saturday, Crystal staff admitted it was the busiest they had seen it this year. They expect it to be busier this weekend. The lines can be long so grab the handy pocket map in the lodge so you can scope out the smaller lifts that the beginners won’t find or use. Many of the lifts feed lines from two angles. On a few lifts, you can hike 100 feet to access the other line as save yourself at least 10 minutes of waiting in line.

5.) WWW: Buy your tickets online. The price is the same, $58 adult, but you will save SO MUCH TIME picking up your lift ticket.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Tera in Miscellaneous on January 18, 2008 10:30 AM

Comments [rss]

dawdler

@bigyaz - i have a job. a 9-5 M-F job. so i'm not sure what your point is.

if you really can't ever get a weekday off then i am truly sorry. i didn't mean to offend you.

but there are ways to do it if you have imagination and really love to ski.

also - i didn't say don't ski on weekends, i just said don't go to Crystal on a busy weekend. ther are other, less crowded spots to go on busy weekends.

smart-ass. :)

polyrhythmic

Tera:

Northway is ALL black to double black runs, and may require a little hiking. That being said, I went last Sunday (which was extremely busy as noted in the article) and the Northway lift had almost no line. Now that the secret's out this may change, but the powder is beautiful out there and the runs are long and huge --- that lift services 1800 ft. of vertical!

Some advice to those going out (See Crystal Mtn Trail Map for reference):

Note where the cliffs are down Penny Dawg's, if you get stuck near them head far skiers left or right, there's a way down. Also, cut over skier's right before you hit Lower Northway or you'll end up on the road, far from a lift. Make sure to keep your speed up towards the lift, it's raised 10ft. which is no fun if you're on a snowboard. It's worth the hike from Northway Peak to the top of Glory Days if you want the best runs, IMO.

Have fun, be safe! It is more dangerous out there so use the buddy system, please.

Charles

Courtney

Yep. There's some serious cliffbands you need to negotiate (around, not over thank you), steep chutes and a higher risk of ending up in a tree well full of deep snow. It's the quintessential "always ski/board with a friend" terrain, even though it is now technically inbounds.

Until they put the new lift in, it was hike-only backcountry. Now, riding over there feels like cheating. In the sense that at least for a while, while the thrill is new, cheating feels really, really good.

Tera

Courtney: Northway is mostly black to double black diamond runs, right?

Courtney

Two more things:

1. If you have a PLUS S-Pass from Snoqualmie, you're blacked out on your free 5 Crystal tickets this weekend.

2. Should you have the skill level, just make your way over to the new Northway lift and never leave the area. I had one of my best days on skis there the Sunday that the Hawks played Washington (no crowds! untracked powder everywhere!) and even though the next day was craaaay busy, there was still practically no lines at the bottom of Northway. But, you must know what you're doing over there...

Tera

Yes, Crystal does have some of the worst lines EVER but it's so tough to get to the mountain on weekdays. The great powder and smooth runs(especially Mr. Magoo) are what keep me going back.

bigyaz

What a great solution, pffft! Wonder why the people with jobs never thought of that.

jdavin

3 day weekend? People actually get MLK day off? Wow. Anyway, good to know, I hate lines (and Crystal seems to have some of the worst).

dawdler

OR - don't go to Crystal on a busy weekend. I went last Sunday - great weather, craaaaaaaappy lines.

Go on a non-holiday weekday. Spare yourself the hours sitting in line.