Crystal Mountain Resort, Washington, United States

5Bruce C 5:00 PM Aug 14, 2021

Expert ski terrain among the best in the world. Tough on Beginners
As a native of the region, I grew up on Crystal Mountain. Started skiing there when I was three and was a part-time instructor by the time I was fifteen. By now I've skied all over the US, Europe, and South America. For an expert skier Crystal is among the very best. The"tourist reviews" miss a lot. A "one or two-week" try can give you anything for a result. They tend to mention "ice" where low altitude Crystal is more known for slush. Exceptionally, it even RAINS in mid-winter. The "beginners beware" comment is wholly valid, however. If you are a beginner there are lots of better places in Washington to ski. The beginner slopes are fairly limited, although they ARE groomed. Snowpack is usually heavy so for those who like it steep and deep or mega bumped you'll have a good chance of finding paradise. Tree skiing galore. Another correct observation from a tourist about the difficulty ratings: A "black diamond" at Crystal will rate as a double black pretty much anywhere else. I live in France now and only went back to visit friends.

3Anne T 5:00 PM Mar 3, 2020

Beginners beware
Crystal Mountain is probably fantastic for experienced skiers, but it was my first day. The magic carpet was a good idea, but there was a downhill slope to the beginning of the magic carpet, which is really hard if it is your first hour skiing! You have to snowplow down to the magic carpet, then quickly straighten your skis at just the right moment so they will fit on the narrow magic carpet. If you are too slow to straighten your skis, one ski will get caught off the magic carpet and you will fall. If you are too quick to straighten your skis, you will go onto the carpet too fast, and you will fall. After a few tries I just took off my skis and walked up, bypassing the magic carpet. Once you get onto the beginner slope, it was very nice. The snow is contoured, not just flat, and I think that was helpful. My lift ticket was $59 even though all I wanted to do on my first day was the magic carpet. At other resorts you can buy a "magic carpet only" ticket for something like $15. So Crystal is an expensive first day. I didn't advance to the point of using the Discover lift, but others told me that the hill is quite steep at the beginning of that run, so not super friendly for beginners either. Having listed my complaints, let me also say that the staff were very nice. We went on a Monday, so it wasn't too crowded, and the staff were careful to measure me for the right size boots, skis, and poles. We rode the gondola to the summit, and that was fun even though it was too cloudy to get good views. The restaurant at the top was pricey but the food was very good. In summary, this is probably a fantastic ski resort if you have at least a couple days of ski experience, but not ideal if it's your first day.