Lake at Crystal Mountain in the summer
Lake at Crystal Mountain in the summer
WHAT ECO-RESPONSIBILITY MEANS TO US
Crystal Mountain is a recreational area and our number one asset is the environment. Being eco-responsible means being good stewards of the land and preserving the beautiful mountain environment. Taking measurable steps will ensure generations of families will enjoy cold winters and clean, natural summers for years to come. Below we've outlined what initiatives we are undertaking and their impact.

Climate Advocacy and Education
America is All In is a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030. This agreement is the “most expansive coalition of leaders ever assembled in support of climate action in the United States”; coming from thousands of U.S cities, states, tribal nations, businesses, schools, and institutions of faith, health, and culture. Alterra Mountain Company and the State of Washington have also signed this agreement.
Crystal Mountain and Enumclaw High School are partnering to offer a climate focused experiential education program. Agriculture students at EHS study climate science and the ways the climate crisis impacts the Enumclaw area. Then students work to measure and reduce emissions from an institution in their community while also learning to advocate for smart climate policies.
Crystal Mountain is part of the Climate Challenge program sponsored by the National Ski Area Association (NSAA, our industry trade association). We have also signed on to the NSAA’s Sustainable Slopes charter and are committed to acting on climate change.

Climate Challengers commit to taking five steps each year:
1. Measuring our carbon emissions.
2. Setting emission reduction goals.
3. Implementing at least one emissions reduction project annually.
4. Conducting political advocacy in support of climate policy.
5. Reporting our emissions and progress annually.

Stay tuned for our sustainability updates.
Crystal Mountain is partnering with Protect Our Winters (POW) to save skiing and riding. POW is the non-profit for winter sports enthusiasts focusing on political advocacy and education to solve climate change. We are proud to support them! Visit their website to learn about all the important work they are doing.
Utilities in Washington State must now produce all their electricity from clean sources by 2045! As a large electricity user and a business that relies on snow, we love to see our state government and utility companies working to ensure the future of our business. Washington Clean Energy Bill 5116


Emissions Reductions
Crystal Mountain has partnered with a luxury coach provider named Starline to introduce the Crystal Mountain Express. We also created a dedicated preferred priority parking for carpooling guests with 4+ people in their car. Plus, carpoolers get free parking! Our goal is to reduce traffic on the road and provide you with a VIP experience. With the Crystal Mountain Express, we give you that luxury coach experience to the mountain while you sit back and relax. No need to fuss with parking in your future as the Crystal Mountain Express drops you off right up front. These new transportation offerings are part of the next steps in our continued efforts to create a sustainable transportation model.
Electric vehicle drivers, you can now charge your car on the mountain! As you drive up the Crystal Mountain Boulevard, you will find 8 new universal charging stations located on the left-hand side just past upper C lot. Each charging station is a level 2 Flo CoRe+ and has the capacity for two vehicles to be plugged in at one time, with a charging range of 1.2kW to 7.2kW. These chargers are free of cost and easy to use; encouraging electric vehicle drivers and other environmental methods of transportation as we continue our efforts to lower our carbon footprint.
Crystal Mountain was the first ski area in North America to take delivery of not one, but two 600E+ diesel/electric snow groomers. The PistenBully 600E+ is powdered by a diesel electric drive that boasts significantly lower ecological impacts than standard snowcats. The 600E+ uses a diesel engine to drive two electric generators, which, in turn, power electric motors that turn the tracks and snow tiller that provides a high quality groom for skiers and snowboarders. Overall the technology reduces CO₂ greenhouse gas and NOX emissions by 20%. When traveling downhill the engine idles and the electric energy created from the braking effect of the electric motors is used to power the snow tiller. The machine operates at lower RPMs and is therefore significantly quieter than standard groomers.



Reducing Waste
When food waste ends up in the landfill, microbes break it down without oxygen, releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting in an aerobic environment minimizes this methane release, which is good news for the climate. Composting allows us to reuse the nutrients from our food waste. This summer, we are expected to receive a composting machine from BioCoTech Americas, an on-site composting technology that will allow us to develop a “full circle” waste solution. All organic waste that we produce on-mountain will be placed in the composting machine and turned into fertilizer. Four community farms based in Seattle will use the compost we produce as fertilizer for their crops, which we will then purchase for use on-mountain.
We’ve also ditched plastic straws and moved to multi-use tableware, biodegradable to-go boxes and paper bags mountain-wide, in retail and restaurants. Instead of plastic straws, we are now serving drinks with the option to use a paper straw that will biodegrade and have less impact on our environment.
In 2013, Crystal Mountain Resort stopped selling single-use plastic bottles. As a result, we are preventing single-use plastic water bottles from ending up in landfills and the ocean. Plastic bottle production uses over 17 million gallons of oil each year, wasting enough electricity to power over 190,000 homes. We encourage you to carry a reusable water bottle with you that can be refilled for free with fresh mountain waterat any of the refill stations around Crystal.

Our Sustainability Team has spent countless hours and dedication to hand-sorting waste, producing impressive results and significantly reducing the amount of trash that ends up in landfills. This process involves carefully separating different types of materials such as plastics, metals, paper, and food scraps from the general waste stream so they can be recycled or disposed of in a more environmentally friendly way. By taking this approach, our sustainability team is currently able to divert 63% of waste away from landfills, helping to conserve valuable resources and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere.
Recycling lowers carbon emissions by lowering new resource extraction and production. Removing recycling and compost from our trash stream also keeps our landfills smaller. For years, all departments at Crystal Mountain have participated in the collection and processing of cardboard, which is transported to a Pierce County recycling facility. We also recycle aluminum, glass, hard plastics, water bottles, 5-gallon buckets, metal, and tires that come off the chair lifts at the end of their life span. We are excited to continue broadening our recycling program on-mountain.


DIGITAL TRAIL MAPS

We have stopped printing physical trail maps to eliminate the amount of waste we produce and the resources we use. We encourage guests to utilize our mobile app for any trail map needs.
In 2021, Crystal introduced TerraCycle to the mountain. The company, TerraCycle, started in 2001 and works to develop global solutions for recycling waste that is not typically curbside recyclable. We have TerraCycle bins located in each of our lodges where we encourage guests to recycle their chip bags, cookie & candy wrappers, and hand warmers. These wrappers are then shipped to TerraCycle for repurposing and recycling. We currently have four Adirondack chairs on the mountain that are made from old snack wrappers. This upcoming winter, we will have a couple of different types of TerraCycle boxes including a rubber glove box and a packaging waste box. All rubber gloves used in kitchens and maintenance shops will be put into their own containers and recycled into furniture, along with Food & Beverage and retail packaging. We are also going out of our way to reduce the amount of packaging we receive from retailers and are working towards packaging items with string or hemp. Thanks to the help from our guests to properly dispose of waste and the TerraCycle program, we can save mountains of waste from landfills.

Ecosystem Protection
In partnership with the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and Mount Rainier National Parks, Crystal Mountain is moving toward an ever-growing level of stewardship that will protect and enhance these valuable and sensitive public lands for generations to enjoy.
When upgrading the old Green Valley chairlift to a high speed Doppelmayr Quad, the base area terminal was relocated out of a marshy area to a less sensitive, drier area.
Crystal Mountain strives to preserve fish habitat and a healthy stream ecosystem through the management of the Silver Creek watershed and maintenance of the sewage treatment facility. Staff members work on a year-round basis to ensure the proper amount and conditions of water quality that runs through the permit area is up to Washington State standards. In 1997 Crystal Mountain received the Silver Eagle Award for excellence in Fish and Wildlife Habitat Protection.

Crystal’s runoff settlement ponds protect Silver Creek from sediment and pollution running off our parking lots. We installed these ponds in summer 2018.

The all new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant was completed summer of 2013. This facility replaces a 1965 treatment plant. The treated water is discharged to drain fields. Water quality is increased to meet standards set for today and into the future. At a cost of $2.5 million, Crystal is making a major investment in the best infrastructure.

Crystal Mountain fully implemented a liquid deicing program for Crystal Mountain Boulevard. The process included applying the deicing liquid (calcium chloride) and reducing the use of salt brine sand on the boulevard and parking lots to less than 20 yards from a potential 7,000 yards. This environmentally sensitive program dramatically curtailed the effects on stream sedimentation. The reduction of snow and ice buildup on the boulevard has also drastically reduced the number of vehicle accidents


One of the program’s primary goals is to maintain the maximum forest cover that is compatible with safe skiing and snowboarding. Operating plans and training manuals emphasize the protection of trees from the possibility of mechanical damage by snow grooming equipment and other machinery.

When it is necessary for ground disruption such as re-contouring, Crystal Mountain crews immediately mulch and seed, with Forest Service approved sterile grass seed mixes to protect against short-term soil erosion. These efforts take place each year along with native seed collection and area management of roads and guidance of all erosion areas. Over a period of a few years native grass seeds and plants re-enter these sites. Transplanting of native plants is also done in specific areas of the mountain.


Sustainable Slopes