The Snorting Elk area lies on the north side of Grubstake point, sandwiched between Green Valley and Northway. This region of the mountain contains numerous tree runs as well as a classic alpine bowl, with plenty of hidden stashes to explore.
Category: Guide Posts
Base Area
The base area of Crystal Mountain is a relatively unexciting area – most of the runs mentioned here are ones we would only ski if we happened to be in the area. However, there are some hidden gems, great groomers, and good areas to learn on.
Silver Queen
Chair 6 climbs the 7,002-foot peak of Silver Queen and provides expert skiers with a myriad of options for tricky terrain and wide-open bowls, as well as providing access to Crystal’s famous South Backcountry. Continue reading “Silver Queen”
Green Valley
Though it covers a fairly short vertical distance, the Green Valley detachable quad serves up lots of quirky, challenging lines near the summit as well as some steep terrain and speedy groomers.
Rainier Express
Washington’s first detachable chairlift, “REX” has been briskly bringing skiers to great glades, groomers, and steeps since 1988. It accesses a variety of advanced and expert terrain, as well as a few fast intermediate groomers.
Dealing With Low Coverage
Last year (2014-2015) in particular was a pathetic ski season due to the criminally low amount of snow. Navigating the slopes of Crystal was frequently a challenge, as one would constantly encounter bare patches or trees that should have been covered.
Due to our frequent skiing in such extremely subpar conditions, we’ve developed an effective working knowledge of where exactly to go when there’s not enough snow.
Chinook Express
Although Chinook Express could easily be dismissed as a low-elevation area with boring runs, it too has its fair share of fun slopes for beginner and advanced skiers.
The Basics: Lifts, Lodges, and Landmarks
This post marks the start of an ongoing series here at the Guide: “The Basics.” Here you’ll find all you need to know about the mountain. In this installment, we’ll talk about the basic areas and landmarks of the mountain.
Forest Queen
The Forest Queen Express gives skiers access to a diverse variety of runs, ranging from fast groomers to convoluted, treed chutes, and is a good area to know the ins and outs of during windy storms, when the rest of the upper mountain could be on wind hold. We’ll separate this section into on-map runs and off-map runs.
The Unofficial Guide to Crystal Mountain 