Powder Photo Archives
Yes, I am finally the local at the ski area that is getting dumped on. “Heavies” from all around are coming to my mountain to shred. After many seasons of finding the area with the lowest base totals—and the fewest powder days—I want to stick out my tongue, put my thumbs in my ears and wiggle my fingers. Crystal Mountain,Washington is the place to be this winter.
I grew up in Tacoma, skiing mostly at Crystal. I really got into skiing when I was 17—that season and the one after that were all about the brown room. “I’m getting out of here,” I said to myself, and moved to Colorado in ‘98 with visions of powder that ski bums in Summit Country actually witnessed in the early 90’s. Like Murphy says, my freshman year at Colorado College fell on a dry, sunny winter. And of course Washington was drowning in powder (Baker set the world record for snowfall). I was homesick.
Three years later I finished school early so I could ski everyday during the ‘02-‘03 season I moved into the Rustler Lodge at Alta only to endure another dry, low-snow winter. The next season brought the same. Where was all this Utah champagne? By deciding to move to Whistler in 2004, I subjected myself to one of the wettest, warmest, Pacific Northwest winters ever. In December and January, black garbage bags were my clothing article of choice, and we skied in the rain for five weeks straight until finally packing our bags and hitting the road for the freeskiing contest circuit. I had come to grips with my destiny – I was not meant to be a powder hound.
As every good hero, I have now risen from the depths of despair to find glory and euphoria in the endless powder at Crystal Mountain. I have been able to share my good karma with many visitors. The Utah crew, the Jackson crew, and the Tahoe crew have all come to experience Crystal Mountain at its best, and there is still more for them to explore. I giggle every time I see their eyes widen at the vast terrain and infinite options of rowdiness. Rachel Burks, standing at the top of Northway Peak, squeaked out “This is your home mountain?” before flashing one of my favorite lines with grace and style. It may be redundant to say the Northwest is going off this year, but I just have to toot my horn, as anyone does who hits the right place at the right time.
I would like to tell all the snow-hungry shredders out there who are mowing their lawns under high-pressure systems, that I have been there before. I feel your pain. So you are all invited to come up to Crystal, the little area that rocks. -Laura Ogden
What an amazing day at Crystal Mountain! We were supposed to get 6-8” overnight but woke up to 16” of fresh and no sign of the fluffy white stuff slowing down. Kevin Whitey, Court and myself headed to the mountain where we met up with local ripper’s Burt and Wayne and then our Tahoe buddies Kip and Ingrid who were on the road following the white room as well.
Crystal did not miss a beat and the upper mountain was game on at the start of the bell. We started with laps under the lift of the most glorious untracked powder ever. Lap after lap it felt as though we had a private resort to ourselves with a helicopter taking us to the goods. The day got better as the famous “North Country” opened at around 2:30pm. We proceeded to ski the 24’ of new fresh powder, the kind that literally chokes you on ever run. We were the rat pack chasing each other down the gully of trees, cliff bands and open bowls.
These are the kind of days that you thank the weather forecaster for underestimating the storm total. This is the kind of day where every single person in our crew had the biggest grin from ear to ear. This is the kind of day that when asked about “what is one of your best memories on the hill” you reminisce about. This is the kind of day in which you ski bell to bell, then proceed to go to the snorting elk (local bar) to drink a few beers and talk about how sick it was. This is the kind of day that happens when the stars align and you are just in the right place at the right time! And you just have to feel lucky. - Jessica Sobolowski
After a week and a half of high pressure and boney conditions that had locals thinking Easter rather than Christmas, Old Man Winter returned to one of his favorite haunts last week.
The first storm rolled in on Sunday, December 10, dropping rain in the Salt Lake Valley, and 10 inches in 24 hours in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Big Cottonwood was slightly behind, with Solitude reporting 7 inches. I started the week with Tram laps at Snowbird, finding good snow right away in Great Scott and Mid-Cirque. The sun crust in Mineral Basin was still evident through the light snow, but afternoon money turns could be found in Wilbere Bowl. The chokes were still rocky, but the aprons were pure pow.
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when logic said conditions should have been beat, a persistent westerly wind kept things buff at Alta. Wind-loading had Thirds and Eagles Nest skiing like fresh powder.
Round 2 rolled in on Friday night, December 15, dropping 10 inches of five-percent in LCC, and continued through Sunday. Sunday morning Alta reported three inches in last 12 hours. Meanwhile, Snowbird and the avalanche hotlline were both reporting 13. Predictably, Atla was the sandbagger, with waist-deep powder all morning. –Derek Taylor
