This is a great mountain for real skiers. People who want plush lodging, and want to be pampered at a resort somewhere all day Crystal is not for you. Go somewhere else. If you're looking for somewhere to actually do some challenging, big, fall line skiing then Crystal is as good as anywhere. Cliffs, chutes, steeps, whatever you want you can find plenty of it. Head for "Niagaras" after a big snowfall, then you'll see what the place is all about.

I've been skiing at Crystal off and on for about thirty years now. While it may be the biggest area in the state, given the ownership, the area hasn't really improved dramatically over the time I've skied there except for the four high speed lifts.

When or when is Boyne going to rebuild the atrocious base facilities? The High Campbell lodge is a great addition. The four high speed quads are great. I'd even say that the addition of the Northway chair is a good thing. But, Jesus H. Christ, the base lodge, the ski school building, the prehistoric Quick Silver lift, the mostly unused Miner's Basin lift . . . I can't believe that upgrades to any of these would meet much resistance to Forest Service approval since it's rebuilding existing facilities.

It is a fact of modern skiing (who cares about snowboarding?) that big areas survive not on lift ticket sales but on lodging/real estate. So Crystal must build some nice slope side lodging, at least 100 2-bedroom units if it is going to ever make any money.

Finally, Crystal needs to spend more time and money grooming. A lot of blue-black terrain is never groomed, which means on busy days that blue runs get very crowded. If Vail and Sun Valley can winch cats up steeper slopes once a week, so can Crystal.

User Photos (click to enlarge)

Feb. 4th was one of the best days ever at Crystal. Started with a gloriously sunny morning and an empty Rainier Express up to the back side - a brief pause to take in the beauty of Mt. Rainier - and then several runs practically by myself in the light fluffy powder of Green Valley bowl (yes I said "light" and "fluffy" when talking about Western Washington snow... this has really been an incredible year for the white stuff).

Then when the clouds rolled in - I shot over to the front side and ran every run on the Forest Queen lift before lunch. By the time I got out of lunch it was snowing hard. By 1:30 I had boarded more mountain than two or three trips up on the weekend. I was wiped out but exhilarated.

The staff was great - I didn't need them to kiss my ass - and they didn't - but they were helpful and kind. The price - at $58 - felt steep - but when you are out there carving up that incredible snow you realize it is a steal!

Last year I visited in Feb. and it was a good time and great snow. There are very little crowds on weekdays while all of the mountain is open. Crystal has the most skiable acres in the state and the most high-speed lifts. They jus jumped their price up to $58 for a day, while Snoqualmie is $51 for all day and night. The High Cambell lift was closed a lot last year as was the back country. But Green Valley is the best area on the whole mountain because there is great bowls and less crowds.
One lift operator the whole day said "hi" to me and the people on the lifts ignored me. I got the last chair of the day and none of the operators said anything to me, they just stood to the side smokeing.
I wish the employees were nicer but you can't expect everything to be perfect.
- Jeff

Crystal is in my mind the best ski mountain in washington and maybe one of the best Mountains in the northwest. Sure its not to snowboard friendly and does not have a huge freestyle aspect to it, but it does have some very gnarly terrain. This mountian definetly favors the more advanced skier or border. As for night life there isnt really to much to do. There is a fun tavern in Greenwater located not to far away from the mountain itself. There is very little lodging at the mountain and i have had some extremely unfavorable experiences at the Village Inn. They are not very kid friendly. I reccomend staying at Alta Crystal at the base of Crystal Mountian road. All in all the mountain itself is amazing but the resort aspect could use some improving. Look out for Crystal mountain in the future as for they have plans to try to put Crystal on the map.