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A narrow steep chute for experienced experts that requires mandatory air
Chutes and Cliffs on Crystal Mountain’s Gnarliest Lines
Expert-only freeride lines at Washington's renowned Crystal Mountain.
Images
Description
If you live in Seattle, Crystal Mountain is likely your go-to ski resort. Boasting over 2,600 acres of skiable terrain and a whopping 486 inches of snow per year, this massive resort not only serves the local Seattle population but draws in visitors from around the world.
While any skier or snowboarded can head to Crystal Mountain and enjoy a fantastic day filled with cruise-y groomers and wide-open powder bowls, this mountain is renowned as the “freeride capitol of the Pacific Northwest,” according to SnowBrains.com. Crystal’s abundance of gnarly big mountain freeride terrain attracts numerous freeride competitions, including “the Northwest’s only Freeride World Qualifier 4-star competition,” according to SnowBrains.
In this guidebook we’ve collected the absolute gnarliest freeride lines that Crystal Mountain has to offer. You can expect chutes so narrow that you can’t turn your skis, massive cliff bands, mandatory airs both in and out of the lines, poor snowpack, high avalanche danger, and so much more. Many of these lines require the conditions to be absolutely perfect before they can be attempted. Some lines take all season to fill in and bury the boulders, and others require a perfect combination of weather and avalanche conditions to not instantly turn into an avalanche. But for the expert freerider, this insane level of challenge makes Crystal Mountain a mecca that you have to visit at least once in your lifetime!
Sources:
https://snowbrains.com/crystal-mountain-resort-wa-the-freeride-capitol-of-the-pacific-northwest/
https://www.crystalmountainresort.com/
https://rootsrated.com/stories/insiders-guide-crystal-mountain-resort
https://www.crystalmountainresort.com/the-mountain/trail-maps
Adventures
A deep gully/couloir for experienced backcountry experts
A narrow chute guarded by a cliff requiring mandatory air.
A steep rocky face directly under the Northway Chair
A steep, extremely narrow chute with high exposure
A series of steep cliff bands for experienced experts only.
A steep, narrow couloir requiring mandatory air.
A challenging narrow chute above an open bowl
A steep rocky face on the north side of the King for experienced experts only.
A steep, rocky face for experienced experts
This narrow, no-turns couloir, along with the steep face to the left, is not for the faint of heart.
A steep, rocky face reserved for experienced experts
A steep cliff requiring mandatory air.
This rarely explored, deep couloir is too narrow for most experts. Usually this gully is jumped in competitions.
This narrow chute is one of the most challenging runs in the Crystal backcountry
This north-facing chute starts in the open and doglegs through the trees.