Snow’s the Star this Spring

Perhaps we should petition to change the calendars in the Northwest, moving winter’s end from the March 21^st to mid-May, or June even, given the snow levels at Crystal remain plenty skiable as we move toward summer. To this end, the resort has made it official, extending the season with weekend skiing until at least May 28^th. If you haven’t skied in your bikini lately, I highly recommend it.

Spring aprés romance blooms

As a (more) brash youth, I used to love California skiing in shorts, seduced by the spring sunshine and the opportunity to ski at a nice discounted lift ticket on the remaining snow. Besides my two decades of age, the big difference between skiing in the Sierras and the Cascades is that Crystal’s snow is so deep, our so-called “remaining” snow is deeper than other regions of the country experienced during their peak season this winter.

Spring skiing isn’t just about the snow, however. Aprés was made for the late season, when the sun remains high above The King and the Glacier Express patio feels more like Venice Beach than the Pacific Northwest. I can’t promise you’ll see Robert Wagner as I did during those vernal California ski days in the 90’s, but everyone feels like a celebrity under the sun’s bright light when cruising at Crystal in spring.  www.FlowingStreamWriting.net @CraiSBower

Weekend stay “Crystallizes” perspective, future vacation plans

"Will take our own chair, thank you very much."

It’s early February and families all over Washington are gearing up for mid-winter break, aka “ski week,” when we pile into the car and drive off for a week of skiing bliss, as sacred a tradition as the summer sojourn to the grandparents. Unfortunately, many of the state’s school systems plan to abolish midwinter break in 2013, in an effort to match national testing schedules.  But don’t panic, I just spent a long weekend at Crystal Mountain with my two boys plus another family and couldn’t have been happier. Suddenly, those back-to-back three-day weekends aren’t looking so bad.

Crystal looks different when you stay over for the weekend. We linger longer at the Bullwheel, make time for the Snorting Elk and don’t worry when the sun descends behind High Campbell, our journey home requiring no more than careful steps across the snow to our hotel room. But staying on mountain really shines when you have the kids in tow. Gone is the early “wakeup, out the door” drill, the bane of every ‘tween or teen.

Kids also ski harder with more sleep, the back-to-back days also engender a certain ownership. Kids bond swiftly when sharing the ski hill for a few days, exemplified by our gaggle, four kids ages 7 to 11, who announced they were going to scoot up Gold Hills for a few more runs, as we parents settled into sunny après on the deck.

Decktop view in Crystal Mountain sunshine

So if you still consider a weekend spent at Crystal a glorified  “staycation,” book some rooms this season and see how the mountain changes. Your kids will thank you for it, if you can ever get them off the hill!

Weather Lesson Learned (Again!)

Sunrise enroute to Crystal Mountain

The kids’ gear is strewn everywhere. The house needs cleaning. “Can we just relax today?” “It’s supposed to rain at Crystal.” There are so many excuses to skip a day of skiing and remain home, but no excuse resonates like the threat of bad weather. And no weather term puts fear in the skier like “inversion,” when lower elevations and cool and temperatures swell above. This was how I was feeling a couple of weeks ago when starting out for Crystal. Friends had already bailed, and if I wasn’t locked into a commitment to drive a good friend and her son I may have done the same. Will I never learn?

The sunrise (see image) driving to the resort was the first sign that we might not be skiing in rain as predicted, the gorgeous flag of vibrant hues wrapping the Mountain. On slope, the sky remained dry, a few flakes sauntered down and the sun popped out for awhile, revealing Rainier and Adams. The warm temperatures softened the snow just right and the I-word stayed away until late in the afternoon, within an hour of last runs.

Of course all this inversion talk is so old news as I write, when the powder alert announced cool temps and another 5 inches of fresh stuff, i.e. POWDER! And while it’s too early to declare the 2011 sequel is showing in the NW theater again, signs are looking up for a great season.

As for finding excuses to skip a ski day? Consider them as full of holes as the weather report.