Crystal Mountain Resort offers excellent snowboarding and skiing terrain for both beginners and experts. It is mostly a steep mountain. Some sections are gentle enough for intermediates and beginners, but large sections of Crystal Mountain ski terrain offer single and double black diamond runs. There is also an intermediate switchback that can be used to make it easier.
The Crystal Mountain Ski Resort has 10 chairlifts. However, large areas of the 2,600 acres are not accessible by lifts. It makes sense to have the outer fringes of the mountain, which offer a great sidecountry experience. However, there are large sections below the Green Valley chair that could use another chair or a good fall line groomer. This is so you don’t have the need to go back and do the horrible Kelley’s Gap Road again if there hasn’t been any fresh snow. Crystal Mountain seems to have it all sorted, and plans are in place for more lifts.
Although 11% of the terrain in the Crystal Mountain ski area might seem small, there is plenty to explore for beginners. Discovery is a learning area for beginners that allows them to learn in peace. Next, there are the long, gentle runs of Chinook and Quicksilver. Then, there is Forest Queen.
The Crystal Mountain ski area has 54% of the intermediate terrain, which seems like a lot. However, there are more designated black and double-black trails than blue.
These steep groomers are great for zooming or cruising. There are many single black diamond runs. These include open runs, lightly treed slopes and runs cut between trees lower down. The runs can get bumped up quickly, as is to be expected given the skier traffic.
Crystal Mountain Resort has an average snowfall of 486 inches annually. To supplement Mother Nature’s blessings, there is a little snowmaking on the greens.
The Crystal Mountain skiing can suffer from poor snow quality due to its location in the Pacific Northwest. The snow can appear in many ways because of the large temperature fluctuations. The top elevation is at least comparable to other Washington ski resorts.
Gondolas run east-west, and most of the slopes face east. Some runs face northeast. You need to be able to adjust the aspect when the sun is out.
Additional Information
Location | Washington |
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Affordability | Expensive, VIP |
Hotel Availability | Yes |
Spending time | Fitness and Wellness, Restaurants, Shoping |
Sports | Dog Sledding, Golf, Ski, Snowboarding, Tubing at Woodward |