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Crystal Mountain
With a new season comes new features and amenities to make this season better than the last. This year, Crystal Mountain guests will have quicker access to the slopes, lessons they can take home with them, and simply more reasons to enjoy winter in Benzie County. Here’s what’s new this winter at Crystal Mountain: Increased Snowmaking: With the addition of five new snow guns, Crystal Mountain now boasts a total of 177 snowmaking machines. The new Super Puma Snowmakers, from Michigan-based SMI, are exceptionally efficient, producing even more snow than their predecessors, ensuring optimal skiing and snowboarding con-34- | ExtendedWeekendGetaways ~ February, 2024
ditions throughout the season. “What we love about the Super Pumas is the snow quality and the throw,” said Mike Cutler, director of Mountain Operations. “Our goal is to create more snow, more efficiently, and by investing in these automated, high-tech snow guns, our snowmakers can be strategic about when and where to cover the slopes.”
Enhanced Grooming:
The newest addition to the groomer fleet is the PistenBully 400. This state-of-the-art groomer is not only designed to increase productivity but also has the cleanest exhaust technology, meeting Tier 4 Final emission standards. “Our entire grooming fleet now consists of Tier 4 Final
groomers, which exceed the EPA emission standards,” said Cutler. “These newer machines help reduce our carbon footprint because the Tier 4 groomer releases 20 times less the emissions than an older Tier 1 generation groomer.”
Freedom Pass:
For the very first time, Crystal Mountain is proud to offer the Freedom Pass to Premier Passholders. This special passholder perk unlocks the freedom to explore more than 20 resorts across the country, including nearby Caberfae Peaks, for three days with zero blackout dates. This is in addition to the already established reciprocal deal at Mount Bohemia, plus passholders enjoy discounts on lessons, lodging, retail and Crystal Spa.
