Crystal Mountain Becomes Alterra

[californiagrown]

rez.

hmmm, maybe this is the answer. The tribes have one helluva lot more freedom with landuse than your standard developer... and resort/real estate seems like something theyd want to invest in.

[TAFKALVS]

You know where to go. It would be nice to have them here, huh?

Fantasy:
Hmm, high speed rail from Spokane to Wenatchee Friday afternoon. Sip beer in an open container along the way. Hop on connector train to Leavenworth. Grab an affordable bed in a small guesthaus hotel, eat a delicious meal served family style. Drink espresso in morning with a reasonable breakfast. Put on gear in warm hotel boot room. Walk 3 blocks to the Icicle Ridge Tram. Spend a few hours lapping the 7000' north facing basin. Ski down to Icicle Creek Valley for lunch, eat at the Mountaineers creek café. Looks like the crest is getting some serious snowfall. Hop on the train west up Icicle Creek, past the Chwiakum Cirque ski area... damn, the snow is really stacking up... but I'll save that for another day. Unload at the Cascade Tunnel. Jump on the Jim Hill Gondola. Grab a few laps in bowl. Snow is great, but it's getting dark. Jump on the high-speed bubble 6 pack and ski down to Mill Valley. Grab dinner in the village in Mill Valley. Sounds like there's a great maggot shindig happening in Seattle. Check ski gear at the ski lodge, jump on the bus down to the Cascade tunnel, grab the 6:05 pm Seattle express, be in downtown by 7:30, party time.

What a bunch of commie euro stuff. How dare they put lifts on mountains to ski and try and reduce carbon footprint through mass transit! John Galt is rolling over in his grave you baguette eating faggot! And the environmental cost! A lift TRAMMELS the mountains! People can access them! How dare they! Did you know a ski lift is only one step away from an open pit strip mine?

Reality:
Drive 4.5 hours to Leavenworth in freezing fog & wind. Stay in a 1970s hotel with kitschy "Bavarian" paint scheme. Spend $300 for a night. Eat dinner for $60, it's not even hot and came off a Sysco truck. Wake up and drink Folgers and a waffle slathered in corn based syrup & corn based "butter" at the breakfast "buffet". Leave Leavenworth by 6:30 am, as you won't get parking after 8am. Drive through a poorly plowed lot and get parked somewhere you know you'll get stuck later. Put on gear standing in the puddle they parked you in. Have your car door get slammed in to by the inconsiderate asshole parked next to you. Walk through an icy parking lot with cars trying to run you over. Stand in line to take a piss. Stand in line to get a ticket. Stand in line to load the lift. Hustle as fast as you can to ski your favorite run because it will be moguls in 30 minutes. Stand in line. Ski a run. Nearly get hit by a drunk Russian snowboarder. Stand in line again. Get on lift. Eat a smashed PB&J on the lift because there's no way you want to stand in line for an hour to eat a $22 cheeseburger that makes McDonalds seem gourmet and generous. It's 2pm and the crowds are starting to get light but due to skier traffic the entire mountain is small bumps & hardpack. Get a text about a maggot shindig. Think about attending but you know it will be at least a 3 hour drive the wrong direction - if some numbnuts in a Range Rover doesn't get in a head-on with a drunk tap-out Ford Raptor driver. Hang your head in sadness. Walk to the truck, and take your gear off in the snow, soaking wet. Spend the next 45 minutes scraping all the ice and snow off your truck. Go to back out and realize some dimwit in a WRX double parked and its going require you backing in to the soft spot. Soft spot even softer than expected. Barely make it out after shoveling for another 20 minutes. Wait 20 minutes at the road junction. Finally on the road - Just a 6 hour drive home in more freezing fog & wind.

Yeehaw, American skiing was a great success! Epic & Ikonic. MAGA! Praise the lord and pass the ammunition! So glad in the millions of acres of mountains in the Cascades we get 1200 acres to sin by riding a cable rather than sweating for our turns.

[glademaster]

Fantasy:
Hmm, high speed rail from Spokane to Wenatchee Friday afternoon. Sip beer in an open container along the way. Hop on connector train to Leavenworth. Grab an affordable bed in a small guesthaus hotel, eat a delicious meal served family style. Drink espresso in morning with a reasonable breakfast. Put on gear in warm hotel boot room. Walk 3 blocks to the Icicle Ridge Tram. Spend a few hours lapping the 7000' north facing basin. Ski down to Icicle Creek Valley for lunch, eat at the Mountaineers creek café. Looks like the crest is getting some serious snowfall. Hop on the train west up Icicle Creek, past the Chwiakum Cirque ski area... damn, the snow is really stacking up... but I'll save that for another day. Unload at the Cascade Tunnel. Jump on the Jim Hill Gondola. Grab a few laps in bowl. Snow is great, but it's getting dark. Jump on the high-speed bubble 6 pack and ski down to Mill Valley. Grab dinner in the village in Mill Valley. Sounds like there's a great maggot shindig happening in Seattle. Check ski gear at the ski lodge, jump on the bus down to the Cascade tunnel, grab the 6:05 pm Seattle express, be in downtown by 7:30, party time.

What a bunch of commie euro stuff. How dare they put lifts on mountains to ski and try and reduce carbon footprint through mass transit! John Galt is rolling over in his grave you baguette eating faggot! And the environmental cost! A lift TRAMMELS the mountains! People can access them! How dare they! Did you know a ski lift is only one step away from an open pit strip mine?

Reality:
Drive 4.5 hours to Leavenworth in freezing fog & wind. Stay in a 1970s hotel with kitschy "Bavarian" paint scheme. Spend $300 for a night. Eat dinner for $60, it's not even hot and came off a Sysco truck. Wake up and drink Folgers and a waffle slathered in corn based syrup & corn based "butter" at the breakfast "buffet". Leave Leavenworth by 6:30 am, as you won't get parking after 8am. Drive through a poorly plowed lot and get parked somewhere you know you'll get stuck later. Put on gear standing in the puddle they parked you in. Have your car door get slammed in to by the inconsiderate asshole parked next to you. Walk through an icy parking lot with cars trying to run you over. Stand in line to take a piss. Stand in line to get a ticket. Stand in line to load the lift. Hustle as fast as you can to ski your favorite run because it will be moguls in 30 minutes. Stand in line. Ski a run. Nearly get hit by a drunk Russian snowboarder. Stand in line again. Get on lift. Eat a smashed PB&J on the lift because there's no way you want to stand in line for an hour to eat a $22 cheeseburger that makes McDonalds seem gourmet and generous. It's 2pm and the crowds are starting to get light but due to skier traffic the entire mountain is small bumps & hardpack. Get a text about a maggot shindig. Think about attending but you know it will be at least a 3 hour drive the wrong direction - if some numbnuts in a Range Rover doesn't get in a head-on with a drunk tap-out Ford Raptor driver. Hang your head in sadness. Walk to the truck, and take your gear off in the snow, soaking wet. Spend the next 45 minutes scraping all the ice and snow off your truck. Go to back out an realize some dimwit in a WRX double parked and its going require you backing in to the soft spot. Soft spot even softer than expected. Barely make it out after shoveling for another 20 minutes. Wait 20 minutes at the road junction. Finally on the road - Just a 6 hour drive home in more freezing fog & wind.

Yeehaw, American skiing was a great success! Epic & Ikonic. MAGA! Praise the lord and pass the ammunition! So glad in the millions of acres of mountains in the Cascades we get 1200 acres to sin by riding a cable rather than sweating for our turns.

This deserves a round of applause. Two thumbs up.

[Buster Highmen]

Fantasy:
Hmm, high speed rail from Spokane to Wenatchee Friday afternoon. Sip beer in an open container along the way. Hop on connector train to Leavenworth. Grab an affordable bed in a small guesthaus hotel, eat a delicious meal served family style. Drink espresso in morning with a reasonable breakfast. Put on gear in warm hotel boot room. Walk 3 blocks to the Icicle Ridge Tram. Spend a few hours lapping the 7000' north facing basin. Ski down to Icicle Creek Valley for lunch, eat at the Mountaineers creek café. Looks like the crest is getting some serious snowfall. Hop on the train west up Icicle Creek, past the Chwiakum Cirque ski area... damn, the snow is really stacking up... but I'll save that for another day. Unload at the Cascade Tunnel. Jump on the Jim Hill Gondola. Grab a few laps in bowl. Snow is great, but it's getting dark. Jump on the high-speed bubble 6 pack and ski down to Mill Valley. Grab dinner in the village in Mill Valley. Sounds like there's a great maggot shindig happening in Seattle. Check ski gear at the ski lodge, jump on the bus down to the Cascade tunnel, grab the 6:05 pm Seattle express, be in downtown by 7:30, party time.

What a bunch of commie euro stuff. How dare they put lifts on mountains to ski and try and reduce carbon footprint through mass transit! John Galt is rolling over in his grave you baguette eating faggot! And the environmental cost! A lift TRAMMELS the mountains! People can access them! How dare they! Did you know a ski lift is only one step away from an open pit strip mine?

Reality:
Drive 4.5 hours to Leavenworth in freezing fog & wind. Stay in a 1970s hotel with kitschy "Bavarian" paint scheme. Spend $300 for a night. Eat dinner for $60, it's not even hot and came off a Sysco truck. Wake up and drink Folgers and a waffle slathered in corn based syrup & corn based "butter" at the breakfast "buffet". Leave Leavenworth by 6:30 am, as you won't get parking after 8am. Drive through a poorly plowed lot and get parked somewhere you know you'll get stuck later. Put on gear standing in the puddle they parked you in. Have your car door get slammed in to by the inconsiderate asshole parked next to you. Walk through an icy parking lot with cars trying to run you over. Stand in line to take a piss. Stand in line to get a ticket. Stand in line to load the lift. Hustle as fast as you can to ski your favorite run because it will be moguls in 30 minutes. Stand in line. Ski a run. Nearly get hit by a drunk Russian snowboarder. Stand in line again. Get on lift. Eat a smashed PB&J on the lift because there's no way you want to stand in line for an hour to eat a $22 cheeseburger that makes McDonalds seem gourmet and generous. It's 2pm and the crowds are starting to get light but due to skier traffic the entire mountain is small bumps & hardpack. Get a text about a maggot shindig. Think about attending but you know it will be at least a 3 hour drive the wrong direction - if some numbnuts in a Range Rover doesn't get in a head-on with a drunk tap-out Ford Raptor driver. Hang your head in sadness. Walk to the truck, and take your gear off in the snow, soaking wet. Spend the next 45 minutes scraping all the ice and snow off your truck. Go to back out and realize some dimwit in a WRX double parked and its going require you backing in to the soft spot. Soft spot even softer than expected. Barely make it out after shoveling for another 20 minutes. Wait 20 minutes at the road junction. Finally on the road - Just a 6 hour drive home in more freezing fog & wind.

Yeehaw, American skiing was a great success! Epic & Ikonic. MAGA! Praise the lord and pass the ammunition! So glad in the millions of acres of mountains in the Cascades we get 1200 acres to sin by riding a cable rather than sweating for our turns.

winning!

[PNWbrit]

Well done LVS skier.

Drunk Russian snowboarder was an exquisite touch.

[2FUNKY]

Ok. That was good. I laft!

[wordbird]

Might be a dumb idea but Alpine lakes off from middle fork of the snoqualmie? Piss off a lot of backcountry skiers. A four season road and buildings would never get approved.


While a bit low and shallow there is already a four season highway approved (and never funded) between greenwater and Naches along the current FS 70

Wait why?? And the rez would be easier to work with, it's a % of the profit to bribe the council vs unknown upfront investment to get past the legalese.

Nice short story @Leavenworth!

[PNWbrit]

Wait why?? And the rez would be easier to work with

offer them The Chamonix at Snoqualmie



It'll be real classy.

[Ted Striker]

Bravo LVS

lotta truth in that.

[Mofro261]

Avoiding weekends seems to work ok for crowd management.

[Toadman]

It brings back fond memories of my first time skiing in Chamonix way back when. What a revelation. Then some dude named Greg Stump went an ruined it for everyone...

While we are fantasizing; time to put a Tram up to the top of Rainier, or maybe just up to 10k feet from Paradise. A nice cable car from the White River up to about 10k, or maybe 12k feet. A few chairs or a gondola off the North face for good measure. Add a few day lodges and maybe one or two Italian style Refugio ala https://www.sanlorenzolodges.com/en/lodges/white-deer/ .

Maybe something a bit chic for the money'd crowd to feel all self important like Chez Vrony for a nice lunch time meal. Go sit on the fur lined chaise lounges, sipping $250 bottles of Dom in your $1,500 Kjus jackets.

After a day on the slopes, head down to either the Sunrise base or Paradise base villages, grab a stool at the Bar Mowich or Chez Liberty for a swanky $20 bourbon cocktail, and regale your ski buddies about the face shots off the Goat Island chair or the Winthrop Gondy. Then have a dinner of locally sourced elk and veggies with a $200 bottle of 2015 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley. Finish the night off with a nice glass of 21 YO Suntory Hibiki.

Next morning take the cog rail from Sunrise down to White River, transfer to the bus to take you to the base of Crystal West. Take the tram up to the top of the Summit at Crystal. Then ski the 5k vert of Buster's run back to the Crystal Tram. And repeat until your legs are toast. Head back to your hotel at Sunrise and soak in the hot tub while drinking a local WA micro brew.

[shroom]

POTY LVS

[oftpiste]

Similar to my experience yesterday at Dweebus.

Avoiding weekends seems to work ok for crowd management.

[primate]

Fantasy:
Hmm, high speed rail from Spokane to Wenatchee Friday afternoon. Sip beer in an open container along the way....

I seriously believe we could develop rail-served skiing in WA. Dig tunnels (as has been done before over Snoq. and Stevens, which still carries trains) through the passes (Stevens, Snoq., White, maybe even Chinook). Close the roads in the winter, except I90. Get enviros on board with the significant carbon savings. Sell the rail development as one facet of removing the de facto need to own a single-occupancy car to live in WA and have anything resembling an enjoyable lifestyle (no offense to the carless, I lived that way for a long time). Get our corporate ski-area overlords on board by 1) getting the enviros to allow some trams (e.g. Jim Hill at Stevens, maybe something on the N side of road) and 2) providing a stress-free, elegant way for New Jersey Jerry to get his family from Seatac to the slopes. It can happen.

[ptavv]

SR530/Mountain Loop Highway is underused, easy access from Puget Sound and would be an awesome access if only there were more 6k+ mountains developable from it.

The wilderness designations and their proximity to Snoqualmie Pass and Mountain Loop Highway (as well as Mount Rainier being a National Park…) make it nearly impossible to imagine a development that wouldn't get ensnared in legal nonsense for a decade.

The privately owned forest land way up along the North Fork would be a potential site as I think there's enough elevation and terrain there, but it would take a massive development to build a suitable road up that far, and the existing FS roads already traverse a bunch of public land, which would lead back to environmental review nightmare land.

[XavierD]

You can charter a flight from Spokane to Wenatchee for around $4500 a person.... totally the same thing.

[ptavv]

…

JFC how depressing was that. Bravo.

[MakersTeleMark]

Solid post start to the year.

Those fuckin euros have their heads up their derrieres.

[subtle plague]

But you have the snow. I'd happily drive 4 hours with Zurich morons in front of me if there was any place with decent snow...
But hey I generally applaud any communist dream in the US

Sent from my BLA-L29 using TGR Forums mobile app

[neutrinoone]

keeps getting earlier! 706 in enumclaw or bust!

[oftpiste]

readers, take note of the time that was delivered.

[snojones]

LWS. You sound like you could have a great future working for Icon and the rest of corpriate amerika. Brilliant synopsis.

[XavierD]

Given the cascade wide fuckshow of today, I’m gonna blame SEA growth as equally complicit as Altera.

Folks were parked into their driveways on snoqualmie today.

[optics]

For the lucky folks in the non-existent line when they popped 6 (10 minutes after I took this) - nice work.

[PNWbrit]

Yep. No walk up ticket sales helped a little. Traffic was heavier even earlier.

Really, really good skiing though.