Nov. 10-11, 2006 – Green Valley, Crystal Mt. WA

My original plan of heading south to Hood was tabled after hearing the lastest mountain weather forecast. Keeping it close, I decided to check out what Crystal had to offer.

By 9:30pm on Friday night I was in the parking lot letting the toyo get loose in the foot of fresh that had fallen. Rest assure I wasn’t the only one having fun in the parking lot.

Sleep was not going to come easy tonight. So restless was I that by 11pm I started skinning underneath the faintly falling snow.

After a half hour or so the snow stopped, clouds parted and the moon, along with my headlamp, provided all the light I would need. Progress was slow as I broke trail through moist snow ranging from 6” to 20”. After an hour of skinning I made it to the cat track. Looking at the bottom of my skins I noticed all the sticking snow. Resembled and acted as a snow shackle of sort.

The ride down…lets just say it felt good to be turning gingerly in fresh snow again. Back at the car I tried to sleep but just tossed and turned every 15 minutes. Then just when I was about ready to finally fall asleep Keith and Martin skin by. Oh snap! It’s already quarter till 6! I got my gear together and mustered some strength from a redbull.

Here’s a view from our safety meeting spot…

By the time I reached the cat track I bumped into cm patrollers Bill, his son Peter, dog lucy (retired) and another dog that was in training. While skinning we chatted about the early season snowpack and what lines might be the best today. Before long Keith and Martin came down and our suspicions were confirmed.

Here’s Bill skinning up…

So far the weather traded off between gray/bluebird and the temps felt comfy enough to skin without gloves. Once I gained Iceberg Ridge the wind picked up a little and then the excitement kicked in.

Keith and Martin

Almost there

At the summit house I waited for a break in the weather and proceeded to take the plunge into the white wintery bliss.

Here’s a pic from the summit house of Powder Bowl…

The top 50ft had some hidden mines so turns were minimal. Below that it didn’t matter. The kine winds made sure that there was enough snow. Throughout the day the temps started to drop and the snow stuck to the skins less. Curious to see how changing temps affect snowpack, I skinned up some steeper slopes next to Rex. These short slopes next to the lift were getting wind loaded above the cat track. All my thrashing and switchbacks produced only minor sluffing. After enjoying a couple of laps to myself, Preston and Alex crested the ridge. Soon to follow would be Rick, Patri, Chris, Rene, cityhick and company.

Feels so good to be riding powder again! I’m looking at my calendar for this week and can’t help but feeling happier than a puppy with two peters.

M – work
T – Crystal
W – work
Th – Baker
F – Baker
S – hmmm
S – hmmm

I now leave you with a pic of a hot splitter with snot…