Crystal Story

The students at nearby Benzonia High School had been challenged by principal Ward Creech to find the best land in the county for downhill skiing.

Every great story has a starting point — and Crystal Mountain's began with a bold idea and the courage of 96 investors who saw potential in the wooded hills of Benzie County. In 1960, that vision took shape, and a resort was born.

In 1960, Edward Abbey and William Webb from Toledo, Ohio led a group of 96 investors in acquiring Buck Hills land from the state of Michigan. The property, now called “Crystal Mountain,” would help the economy of Benzie County by providing winter employment to local residents. A Swiss-made Brandel 2,300-linear-foot double chairlift —at the time, the longest in the Midwest — provided access to the resort’s 11 slopes, all groomed by a Sno-Cat. A snowmaking system was installed. Keith VanDuzen served as Crystal Mountain’s general manager, and Swiss native Edgar Yaggi was head chef. Crystal’s ski school, with instructors from the U.S., Canada and Austria, held private, group and youth ski schools, and ski weeks.

Along with swimming, warm weather activities included horseback riding, skeet shooting and canoe trips down the Betsie River. In 1963, Harry Martin purchased the resort from the original investors. Soon, a new kitchen and dining room were added to the Lodge.

Crystal’s two expert, five intermediate, and five beginner runs were serviced by the Main Street chair, a Poma lift, and five rope tows.

In 1966, the resort was in foreclosure when ownership changed once again. Local residents George and Althea Petritz, with partners including Harry Calcutt and Richard Lindland, acquired the resort. George intended to sell the business, “but we realized how much we liked the people who worked there.”

An early Crystal Mountain advertisement highlighted the resort’s “bigger cafeteria, refined slopes, enhanced snowmaking capabilities, night skiing, an ice-skating rink, and new snowmobile park.” New general manager George Petritz and wife Althea faced the challenges of running a capital- and labor-intensive seasonal resort that was also very much dependent on the weather. Still, they continued to invest, especially in the quality of service. “Resort guests,” they said, “should be treated as if they were guests in your own home.”

In the 1980s, lodging additions included 38 hotel-style rooms in Hamlet, at the base of the Cheers slope, and 36 units in Pinehurst Condominium, lining today’s hole #9 of the Betsie Valley golf course. In response to the growing demand for vacation real estate, the Village, with 30 homesites, was developed.

In 1981, when George and Althea Petritz bought out the Meyers’ interest. Crystal Mountain became a wholly owned family business.

The charrette began with a tour of other northern Michigan resorts and communities. What made these places feel authentic and special? The group discussed possible scenarios at Crystal, which were sketched out by Johnson and his team. After several hours, the planners dismissed the stakeholders to discuss what they’d heard and formulate a solution. When the full group reconvened, new iterations with more refined sketches were reviewed.

By the end of the charrette, the Crystal team had agreed on a long-term development plan entitled “Emergent Directions” as well as the location of the new pool & fitness center.

An important takeaway from the charrette, says Chris MacInnes, was “it was OK to decide not to decide on certain things.”

The Peak Indoor Pool and Fitness Center, the first result of the Master Plan, opened in 1990 in the heart of the village, and quickly proved to be a popular year-round amenity. The next year, a new entry road provided a grander introduction to the resort. The first nine holes of the Mountain Ridge course opened in 1992. A year later, the 10-acre Golf Learning & Practice Center was added, as was the first section of the primary interior connecting road, Mountain Center Drive, to allow for development outside the village core area.

Throughout the 1990s, Crystal Properties, Inc., developed multiple residential real estate projects that increased the number of beds and helped fund new amenities and facilities, including the final phases of the WinterGreen Condominium, the spacious MountainSide townhome and the first phase of the MountainTop townhomes opened.

By 2006 — Crystal Mountain’s 50th Anniversary — the resort included 50 ski runs, 36 golf holes, a 10-acre golf practice center, indoor pool and fitness center, acre-size outdoor pool and water playground, conference center, four single-family residential neighborhoods, and lodging to accommodate 1,800 guests per night.

In 2011, the Loki double and triple chairlifts were replaced with a new Loki Quad chairlift. In 2013, the original Buck lift was replaced by a new Buck quad chairlift.

In 2016, The Backyard slopes and lift opened on the gently rolling terrain between The Ridge and North Face slopes. Crystal Mountain now had 59 downhill slopes and eight lifts – six chairlifts and two surface lifts.

In the 35 years since Crystal’s Emergent Directions master plan was created, much of it has come to fruition. More than $200 million has been invested in the resort’s amenities, facilities, infrastructure and residential real estate. 

Now, many opportunities for future development on Crystal’s 1,500 acres remain.

In 2026, the focus is on the creation of North Village, situated at the north end of the resort’s core area. Its anchor will be First Tracks, a ski-centric, mixed-use building at the base of the Loki Quad, just beyond Crystal Center. First Tracks will mimic the Inn at the Mountain, with commercial use on the main level (snow sports schools, rental and retail) and additional levels of luxury, multi-key fractional ownership residences. First Tracks will also feature a year-round event plaza, gardens, and outdoor pool. To learn more about North Village, please contact Crystal Mountain Realty.