Crystal Opening Day

[Buster Highmen]

I pressed my eyeballs up to the windshield hoping the slop of the wipers would clear the blear. The rain beat down at some obtusely ugly hour of the morning. It looked like it was mixed with snow.
As the light came up near Enumclaw, that's what it proved to be. By the time the turnoff for Mud Mountain Dam had passed, there was a solid inch of deadly slush on the road and more dumpiong by the minute.
A wretched hour later, I pulled into the lot, front row. It was puking, howling, bombs going off and 23 degrees. This was my happy place. Lumbergh was lost sometime ago.
Stood in line for almost an hour to get 3rd chair. Brandon the omnipresent boarder was there as well as the other irregulars. Nods, nervous stamping, waiting for the lift to fire up. Once it did, it was a mad tear.
I thought I'd take it easy, warm up down Lucky Shot. But when I passed the 3rd or 4th door and saw the clean untracked cream beckoning, I dove in. Shins, knees, hips, waist got covered, then it was the white room, blinding facepacking snow I couldn't stop. I must have done 3 or 4 Doors, 5 West Faces and 2 Upper Bulls/E when I sort of came to. It was amazing. It was 11:15 and I was just beginning to cross tracks. Ever run was more than face shots, it was a firehose of powder filling your goggles, choking, spitting, blinding. The wind howled, trees dumped loads of snow and the vis just sucked. I was in heaven.
I took a couple rollers through Green Valley and down Lucky Shot, waiting for Snorting Elk Bowl to open. But my legs were turning to shaking jello. As I was about to take a break in the upper lodge, another old cronie shouted out that he had a stash. Back on go the skis and down to Eagle's Nest (I guess every area has t have one). Sure enough, down there at 1:00 I was skiing waist deep untracked snow. By the time I got down to the cat road, I was wasted.
Best opening day I'd had in years. I hope that the year keeps up the tone.

[iskibc]

very nice report buster! Sounds like a good day.

[Schmear]

Great report, B. When Crystal's on, it's ON. Love that place.

[FreakofSnow]

J-to-the-ealous, nice work Buster, wayta bust that shit

[crstlextrm]

NICE, kinda wish i was coming home for Thanksgiving now. Oh well, guess i can wait till mid december.

[house]

oh hellll yea, im lookin forward to goin up over my thxgiving break. dont konw my schedule, probly gonna include a LOT of catching up(drinkin) with my high school buddies, but shit i miss crystal, hope to get up there. im havinem too now, ahhh budweiser i love you

[Buster Highmen]

Yeah, the ritual of Openng Day. I mean boatheads have their opening day, right, where they cruise around with all the little pennants and bunting and drinking while flaunting their wealth in their yachts.
But Opening Day for skiing is different. Sure, there's the preening gimboid yakking about his new stuff, but that's the exception. It's the ceremony, the consecration of the season.
Nothing like it at your home rathole, rediscovering the slots, mining the stashes. Go git sum.

Edit: Oh yeah, the conditions:
The good news: There's really good cover. Some stump and rocks on the frontside, but you can avoid the suspicious lumps. They had limited terrain open, but I suspect that that will change. Snorting Elk will be great when it opens. I've not seen coverage this good this early in a while.
The bad news: The rain we had weighted the snow and with ground hoarfrost provided the consolidation on weak layer that's the recipe for danger. Powder Bowl/Face of the Queen slide at the top down to the ground, 2+ foot fracture line. Eveything steep is major dangerous, so reign it in when b.c.

[Keoni]

Damn dood...schweeeeet. Ou`est "Eagles Nest"? Off of REX or Green Valley..

[bad_roo]

STOP THIS! I'm still clinging on to the belief that people aren't really getting face shots in November. Don't ruin it for me.

[Buster Highmen]

Originally posted by Keoni
Damn dood...schweeeeet. Ou`est "Eagles Nest"? Off of REX or Green Valley..

Heh...you'll have to come 'n see fer yerself. The Cascades are a wrinkled range with lots of jagged folds where the gapers don't know.

[Buster Highmen]

Originally posted by bad_roo
STOP THIS! I'm still clinging on to the belief that people aren't really getting face shots in November. Don't ruin it for me.

Sorry, but faceshots doesn't begin to describe yesterday. It was the godly carwash of powder. Wax me.

[The AD]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2001797158.jpg

Article from the paper today:

November opening day for ski areas creates a buzz

By J. Patrick Coolican
Seattle Times staff reporter
CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN — Epic. Huge. Killer.

That's how skiers and snowboarders described yesterday's opening day at Crystal Mountain, where more than two feet of fairly powdery snow — not the wet stuff — have landed since Tuesday.

Fir branches already looked weary under the weight of it, which was good news for more than 1,000 skiers and riders, most of whom were playing hooky without remorse, on this, the earliest opening day since 1994.

And who could blame them or their compatriots at Mount Baker, which also opened yesterday?

"This is our backyard. We're the luckiest people in the world," said Cassidy Hudson, 18, of Enumclaw, who was dressed in a cotton and fleece full-body Tigger costume of "Winnie the Pooh" fame. The reason: She's joyous and "Tiggerific," she explained.

Although the soft blanket of bridal-white snow made for fun runs at Crystal, the weather created a little treachery for drivers heading to the mountain. A station wagon rested in a ditch on the way up the hill, as a tow truck lined up to rescue it. Its three occupants were unhurt and undeterred, however.

"We're gonna pull it out and go ride," said Bruce McLaughlin, 28, of Puyallup.

The parking lot slowly filled as fresh flurries fell during the morning, skiers and riders pulling out new gear, strapping on new boots, adjusting bindings.

"Virgin snow, virgin board," said Ziggy Robideaux of Seattle.

One group had worked the graveyard shift at jobs in Tacoma, hopped in their car and a truck and drove to the mountain. The truck only unloaded after some obligatory recreational spinning doughnuts in an empty area of the parking lot.

And don't ask them if they're tired.

"I can get all the sleep I want when I'm dead," said Paul Peterson.

His friend Brandon Thomas had done some motocross racing Wednesday night, then went to his night job, and here he was ready to snowboard. Tonight, he'd return to work.

"I'm excited," he said, though his eyes looked unconvincing.

At the bottom of the mountain, Maurice Cooper, 60, was getting ready for another opening day, a regular event for him since he moved to Seattle from London in 1968 to work for NASA, he said.

"You've just got to do it," the globetrotter/rocket scientist said of opening day. Cooper still keeps a house in London and hires a helicopter to take him into the Canadian backcountry when he wants to get really serious about skiing, he said.

Oh, and he's survived three avalanches.

Later, on the lift chair, he admitted his legs were a bit rubbery following the long offseason. A bit of glade skiing — skiing through heavily wooded areas thigh deep in powder — was a somewhat rude awakening, he said.

After a long-ago injury, he can move his knee around like a stick shift on an old Volkswagen, he said.

Cooper wasn't the only one testing out an uncertain body.

Don Perrie of Spanaway had surgery on his knee about six months ago, an injury suffered while racing motocross.

Nevertheless, he said, "I don't care how much it hurts, I'm still gonna have fun."

And more fun is on the way. The forecast calls for light snow continuing through today.

[Keoni]

Originally posted by Buster Highmen
Heh...you'll have to come 'n see fer yerself. The Cascades are a wrinkled range with lots of jagged folds where the gapers don't know.

I gape, therefore I am.

Most likely headin' up that way in a couple weeks.

[Woodsy]

originally posted by the mad Zappar:
more than face shots, it was a firehose of powder filling your goggles, choking, spitting, blinding. The wind howled, trees dumped loads of snow and the vis just sucked. I was in heaven.

.

FK'n A right, good man!
sounds like exactly what you needed.

how are the legs this AM?


That post made me happier than seeing it start to snow up here again!

[Chronic]

Very nice - great to hear that coverage is so good up there. But I had a good day sitting in my office yesterday... really...

[optics]

Thanks Buster. That read gave me goosebumps.

[Ireallyliketoski2]

Looked good on the weather channel too!

[KQ]

Sounds great Buster - bummer I missed it but I did make the epic day last season so I don't feel too cheated. You've got to take what you can when you can.

Whoo hoo!! Here's to another season in the snow!!!

[TomK]

I;ve heard it said that for the best PNW snow, you gotta be there in the middle of the storm. Nice report Buster.
I'll be up there Saturday with the rest of Puget sound to sample the leftovers.

[Buster Highmen]

I'm all sticky today and I want a cigarette...

[Keoni]

Originally posted by Buster Highmen
I'm all sticky today and I want a cigarette...

Thanx for rubbing it in! Not only did you get face shots...you got laid too?

[Xover]

.... the only 2 days I ever had at Crystal were just like that.

Mmmmmm ... Crystal - the Alta of the PNW!!

[Buster Highmen]

And here I thought Alta was the Crystal of Utah. Silly me.

[joshbu]

Originally posted by Xover
.... the only 2 days I ever had at Crystal were just like that.

Mmmmmm ... Crystal - the Alta of the PNW!!

Heh. Buster is only talking about the 'b' stashes. They haven't even opened the goods yet...

[tibaher]

mmmm doors.... I'll never forget the first time I opened the doors.
bustalicious TR mang! We were all telling ourselves at Baker, "there's no way it's THIS good at Crystal"
Glad to know I was wrong. Really stoked for you and the season ahead. There is nothing like it.

Maggotts rule!!!!!!! Lumbergh drools