Watch: Skier Sends Massive Cliff at Crystal Mountain, Washington
Sometimes, you just gotta let them run.
That’s exactly what skier Inti Fernandez did during a freeride competition at Washington’s Crystal Mountain (this wasn't, by the way, recent—the resort's upper mountain was closed on Tuesday, March 19, due to increased avalanche hazard).
In the event, which was held on the towering Silver King, Fernandez kicked off his run with a Crystal Mountain classic: Brain Damage. The couloir winds from the top of the King into a network of rocks and chutes.
Then, Fernandez turned to another classic, L-Tree, a big cliff that, if you land it, can become a crucial part of a winning freeride run. Or, at least, that’s what it looks like from the video. Spotting lines from POV footage isn’t easy.
Either way, Fernandez went big, hanging out in the air for a second or more. Check out the huck below.
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The King is one of Crystal Mountain’s best-known areas, particularly among expert skiers. To get there, you ride the two-person Chair 6 before hiking and traversing to reach the peak.
From the top, there are relatively gentle options. You can venture down the ridge to score wide-open turns in A-Basin. Or, you can hit the backside, sliding into Silver Basin, a big bowl that tends to hold snow longer than other parts of the resort.
Those more accessible options are joined by sterner lines with fearsome names, like Brain Damage, Lobotomy, and Pinball.
Photo: Jason Hummel, Courtesy of Crystal Mountain Resort
This clutch of big mountain terrain is well-suited for freeride, making it a regular competition stop for years.
I know it pretty well, mainly because the slopes bruised my teenage ego. During a junior event there, I bit off way more than I could chew, trying a double stager near the bottom of the venue. Unlike the video you just watched, I didn’t stay on my feet, rolling down the venue after a hard landing.
That might be why I have back problems more than a decade later, but I think it was worth it. Putting it on the line in a competition, casual or not, is one of the most fun parts of skiing.