Sleeping in Seattle

Presidents' Day Weekend. The plan was perfect. Alison and the kids would go to New York and I would go to Colorado or Utah and ski. One catch. I couldn't find anyone to go to Colorado or Utah. So when my college friend, Peter, said he couldn't fly out of town, he invited me to Seattle...to ski. News to me.

Turns out it was excellent. Crystal Mountain is approximately two hours East of Seattle and in the same range as Mount Ranier, which could be seen from the summit (see left). As another Seattle-ite told me, Crystal is a place you will ski, and then ask yourself, "why have I never heard of this place before." That was accurate.

Not only was there are terrific view of Ranier, but one could see the Olympic Mountains one way and Mount St. Helens the other. Pretty unbelievable.

Peter and I with Ranier in the background

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Look closely and Mt. St. Helens behind me (and in need of a comb)

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Although it was raining in Seattle - SHOCK - the mountain was above the snow line and it snowed for each of Saturday and Sunday. Although it made for great snow, the visibilty was tough. However, by Monday, the skies were blue and the skiing remained great.

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Crystal had every type of skiing you could ask for. Greens, Blues, Blacks, and Double Diamonds. There were great bowls and great verticals. In fact, my favorite run was my last.

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The Powder Bowl called all weekend. A straight down verticle run, the Powder bowl hovers over the South side of the resort.

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It looks steep, and isn't easy to get to. And when you get there, it looks even steeper.

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The first step is a doosey. I skied a number of challenging trails. I even took a small leap off a rock into a bowl. But standing on the edge, it was my only "oh s***" moment.

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