Any divers in here also skiers or boarders?

[cstreu1026]

I think there are a fair number of divers that are skier and I hope that there are a few on here that provide me with some informaton. My wife and I looking to take a ski trip and I have been looking at Crystal Mountain in Washington. From what I can tell its mostly a commuter destination for the people around Seattle and can get fairly crowded on weekends. I have been looking at it because I have found some favorable deals that would make it worth looking at, I am just hoping I can get some advice/opinions from people who have first hand experience.

Thanks in advance.

 

[drbill]

Not me! Can't risk breaking my leg or arm and not being able to dive. My buddy Andrea is, I'll see if I can get her to take a peek at this.

 

[gcbryan]

I think there are a fair number of divers that are skier and I hope that there are a few on here that provide me with some informaton. My wife and I looking to take a ski trip and I have been looking at Crystal Mountain in Washington. From what I can tell its mostly a commuter destination for the people around Seattle and can get fairly crowded on weekends. I have been looking at it because I have found some favorable deals that would make it worth looking at, I am just hoping I can get some advice/opinions from people who have first hand experience.

Thanks in adance.

Any ski area is going to be more crowded on weekends than on weekdays however Crystal Mountain is a good ski area. You can avoid the ski school traffic which is lower down on the mountain by staying higher and never coming all the way down until the end of the day. There are many chairlifts/trails to make avoiding crowds not much of a problem.

 

[HowardE]

I snowboard, but I live in Breckenridge, CO - never went riding in Washington.

 

[cstreu1026]

Ahh breckenridge...I love that town. I wish I could swing the cost of a trip there (without staying in Dillion or Frisco) but we are just starting to recover from our trip to Australia. I expect crowds on the weekends so that not really a concern. Besides would would be there Saturday to Saturday so it would likely only mean 1 weekend day of skiing. What else is there around Cryastal Mountain? I am just concerned that there won't be much in the way of dining options or other off-the-slopes distractions.

 

[mjh]

Crystal is a very good "local" hill. Good mix of beginer to back country hairy decents. Ton of snow and for us fairly good powder recently. They have a lot of high speed quads and even a sixpac so lines don't get too bad. But I would have to say if you are coming out this way I would choose Whistler over Crystal for a ski vacation.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Crystal's a great ski area for locals ... but not someplace I'd take a vacation to stay at. I agree with mjh that Whistler would be a better option.

I have found that the best "bang for the buck" in ski vacations is in Utah. Book a hotel room in Salt Lake City and get a multiday pass for the Cottonwood Canyons ski areas. You don't even need a rental car ... the bus shuttles pick up at most hotels, and you can ski a different area every day.

We did that last February ... including airfare from Seattle ... for cheaper than it would've cost us to drive to Whistler/Blackcomb and ski/stay for the same time period.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Cold_H2O]

Being local and a skier. I have to agree.
I love Crystal but not sure I would want to weekend up there.
I have never looked at it as an option.
I know some folks do stay and the hotel does look nice.
They do have good food at the resturants on site.
Burgers, pasta {I recommend the pasta} and other options.

I love Crystal. It does get crowded on the weekends but most of the lines move very quickly.

 

[mattwave]

Just a FYI Gerry Hall runs the rental shop at Crystal and is my NAUI Instructor candidate, I am sure he would love to help out another diver.

 

[rjack321]

There really is almost nothing around Crystal. A couple restaurants and that's about it. Down off the lift area, Greenwater has a restaurant and a bar or 2. Closer still to the city, Enumclaw has zero resort amenities.

Good skiing up there but its definately not a destination "resort".