 Poster: A snowHead
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Powder seekers at Crystal Mountain (USA) will have about 1,000 new acres of backcountry open to them next season. A new chairlift, the Northway lift, is being built at the resort in Mount Rainier National Park southeast of Seattle. It will increase the resort’s terrain by 77%. The lift will run from 4,900ft at the bottom to 6,770ft at the top of Northway Peak, and will be able to carry about 1,200 people an hour. The journey will take about 10 minutes. The new lift will give access to several bowls, including Snorting Elk Bowl, Northway Bowl, Paradise Bowl and Bruce’s Bowl....From Right Angle Ridge, it will also be possible to ski a variety of expert glades and chutes or head further north to drop into places like Morning Glory Bowl and Brand X.
For more info: http://www.skicrystal.com/1733.html
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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This lift does NOT actually expand the resort's skiable area. It increases the lift-served skiable terrain (and thus saying that it opens up 1,000 new acres of "backcountry" is misleading.
What this does is put a lift in an area that used to be inbounds "backcountry." The top entrance was always lift served, but you had to walk/get a shuttle bus out at the bottem. Now you will be able to get a lift out.
The resort is also not in the Mount Rainier National Park. It borders right up against it (a point that has made expansion difficult).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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It is interesting that ist is a fixed twin - I didnt think anyone would install anything with this spec in Europe or N.America any more. Was it bought in second hand from another resort ?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Many locals are against this because it is accessing formerly backcountry terrain. The fixed twin is a compromise to keep the area from getting tracked out too quickly and keeping the crowds down. Crystal has a very 'old school' feel to it. While they could have easily put in a HSQ, putting in a fixed twin is an attempt to improve but not to ruin the place.
I don't know if it was bought second hand or not, but cost was not the rationale (they have put a lot of money into upgrades in recent years and are planning a cable car), rather it was a deliberate decision to limit capacity.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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That's a strange compromise to me.
The lift gets the skier OUT of the bottom. It does NOT slow the skiers COMING down from the top, which is accessed from the front side with fast lifts. Seems all it will do is create a huge line at the lift!
Much the same way Vail's back bowl is like. While I'm the first to say Vail has great terrain, I don't go there as my first choice. You get one decent run, that's all. By the time you get through the line and back up to the top, the bowls were totally tracked out.
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