While I tend to favor states like Utah and Colorado when it comes to skiing (and I’ll throw Mammoth Mountain in there as well), wen the fluffy white stuff falls heavy in the Northwest, I think fondly of a little resort called Crystal Mountain. Crystal is plopped down right there in the Cascades and is within view of Mount Rainier. The terrain there is excellent. And as I say, when the snow falls big, as it just did, Crystal rocks. The recent series of snowstorm have apparently dropped deeper November snow than ski areas have seen in years, drawing crowds to the slopes earlier than usual. Among some of the other areas that got a taste of the dump, Mount Baker got some 70 inches of snow in four days, boosting its base depth to 94 inches – the deepest at any ski area in North America. This bodes well for a fine ski season.