Senior ski / snowboard programs held on Wednesdays

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Mountain High Ski Resort now offers a Senior Ski / Snowboard Program with STARS Clinics every Wednesday through March.

This
program is designed for more experienced skiers and snowboarders 50 years of age and older with skill levels ranging from beginner to advanced. 

The program was
created for seniors interested in the new movement patterns associated
with shaped skis, and/or improving their skiing/snowboard techniques.

The program includes a two-hour clinics
for only $20. The STARS clinics are run by Senior Certified Instructors. Senior skiers will leave
with new skills, new friends and new confidence.

Seniors begin with a continental breakfast at Angeles Crest Cafe at the East Resort from 9 to 10 a.m. The lesson follows from 10 a.m. to noon.

Lift tickets are $10, over 70 is free. Shaped ski rentals are available for $15. A minimum of three students are needed for the class.

For more information, call the Winter Sports School at (760) 316-7861 or email Bill Teague at bill_teague@mthigh.com for a reservation.

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Sugar Bowl opens at Mountain High, sweet!

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Sugar Bowl is now open at Mountain High Ski Resort in Wrightwood. Boarders will find 80 new acres to the West of Inferno
Ridge with wide open powder fields. The area provides a fun way to access Easy Street
and the back of the Bullwheel Bar & Grill.

Skiers will find the
entrance to this new area a quarter of the way down Inferno Ridge on
the left, roughly across from the top of O2.  The resort says several paths have been
groomed so feel free to follow them or make your own tracks. 

Watch out, however, the bottom of Sugar Bowl is marked by a service road
that winds back into the resort.  If snowboarders drop below the road, there is
no problem.  They’ll end up on Highway 2 for a nice little hike back.

Mountain High notes that Sugar Bowl offers a great alternative to
traditional trails. It’s expected to remain open for the rest of
the season thanks the deep snow pack.

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Mt. Baldy beckons to skiers

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Looking up into the mountains ringing the San Gabriel Valley, the peaks are capped with snow. Hard to believe it’s 80 down here, but frosty up there. Very pretty.

Makes me think about our closest ski resort, Mt. Baldy. The little resort offers all levels of skiing and boarding, with more than two dozen trails over three mountains. It covers more than 800 acres
with 2,100 feet of vertical.

The resort is reporting all lifts and runs in operation. The runs are machine groomed with pack powder base of three to five feet.

From wide open slopes to glade skiing, Mt. Baldy offers groomed runs as well as bowls and moguls. It has
been developing its own terrain park.

Mt. Baldy is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

It’s fairly easy to get to, follow Mt. Baldy Road for 7 miles to the Village
and another 3 miles up to ski resort. The road ends at
the ski area parking lot, where parking is free for skiers.

The ticket office and rest rooms are
the only facilities at the parking lot. Skiers have to ride
the first chair to the main part of the ski area, where they will find the rental equipment, lessons, rest rooms,
restaurant, basket check, first aid and tubing park

Remember to fill your gas tank before driving up, there are no
gas stations in Mt Baldy.

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Sierra at Tahoe boasts tons of snow

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(Photo by Jeff Hehlen, Courtesy of Sierra at Tahoe Ski Resort)

By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer

El Nino means snow, and lots of it, for local skiers. We’re talking snowfall measured in feet rather than inches.
If Big Bear received more than three feet of the pure white stuff in one weekend, just think what the mountains in the northern part of the state are getting.
And as it turns out, parts of the Sierra Nevada range did indeed get more than seven feet of snow just a couple weeks ago.
So it was with some trepidation that we took a weeklong ski vacation to Lake Tahoe. Call it luck, or call it great planning, but there were tons of snow at the ski resorts ringing this beautiful alpine lake.
Indeed, Lake Tahoe offers many different ski options within a short drive of each other. From the biggies like Heavenly and Squaw Valley to smaller areas such as Northstar and Sierra at Tahoe, there’s lots of skiable terrain to enjoy.
I like to start small and work my way up. It gives me the chance to me to brush up on my ski techniques as well as build my stamina.
Sierra at Tahoe is a great place to strap on the boards. It offers lots of tree skiing as well as wide-open slopes.

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Even better, beginning skiers (or skiers just beginning to ski this season) can ride all the way to the top of the mountain for an easy cruise back to the bottom. In fact, the Sugar and Spice is a two-and-a-half-mile run down the hill. The well-groomed green offers beginners a chance to practice all the techniques they learn in a ski lesson.
Located just 12 miles west of South Lake Tahoe, Sierra at Tahoe catches the winter storms as they come in off the Pacific and hit the 10,000 foot peaks around the lake.
The resort averages 480 inches of snow every year, but during an El Nino it’s much, much more. The last El Nino winters in 2005-06 and 1997-98 dumped more than 650 inches of snow.
Sierra grooms all its beginners’ runs every night, so youngsters or young-at-heart but old-in-the-legs have smooth, carvable surfaces to enjoy every morning.
In fact, Sierra tries to groom 70 percent of the trails every night, including two black diamond trails.
Soon my ski buddies were scattered all over the mountain. Some liked to ski through the old-growth Red Fir, while others dropped into the steep and deep in Jack’s Bowl and Avalanche Bowl.
Didn’t get there myself, but I understand the new experts only Huckleberry Canyon offers lots of cornice drops, rock chutes and gladed runs.
Sierra at Tahoe boasts 2,000 acres with a vertical of 2,212 feet. The resort tops out at 8,852 feet, starting at a base elevation of 7,300 feet.
The resort offers 46 trails, with 25 percent marked easy, 50 percent more difficult and the remaining quarter most difficult.
Servicing the slopes are three express quads, a triple chairlift, five doubles and three surface lifts.
The laid-back resort has six terrain parks scattered around the mountain. It also has a 17-foot Zaugg Superpipe, the only one on the south shore. A full-time crew keeps the rail lines fresh and the take-offs and landings manicured.
After a great day on the slopes, skiers can enjoy the new 1,800-square-foot deck at the Baja Bar and Grill in West Bowl. Kick back in the Adirondack chairs with a Mexican lunch and a cold beer.
If you’re staying in South Lake Tahoe, the resort’s shuttle offers daily service from three hubs. Lift and lodging packages are available through www.SierraAtTahoe.com.
Lift tickets are $69 for adults, 23 years old and up, $59 for young adults, 13-22, and $17 for children 5-12 years old.
So while the rest of Los Angeles may be grumbling about El Nino and all the rain, area skiers will be grinning from ear to ear as they make their way down the powdery slopes.

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Local mountains get ANOTHER foot of new snow

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Mountain High Ski Resort in Wrightwood reports 12 to 16 Inches of fresh snow, with lots of trails with untouched powder. Light, scattered snow showers expected throughout the day. All roads open with chains or 4WD required.

El Nino has been good to Big Bear bringing 8 to 10 inches of powder
last night.  Bear Mountain’s Web site notes that the tree runs will be amazing today. Snow Summit is also looking forward to another great day of skiing.

All roads into Big Bear are open with chains required on all vehicles except 4WD and AWD with snow tires on: Hwy 330/18 the front way through Running Springs, Hwy 38 from Redlands and Hwy 18 from the High Desert through Lucerne Valley.

All vehicles must always carry chains in the
mountains in the winter months. Although it may take a little extra
time getting here, the conditions are well worth the drive.

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Snow Valley reporting lots of snow

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Slide Peak is now open at Snow Valley in Running Springs. When mother nature dumps lots of snow in our mountains, this backcountry area comes to life. Lift 9
also accesses a lot of backcountry terrain hidden from the
base of the resort.

The snow just keeps on falling in the San Bernardino Mountains. Snow Valley got a
dusting to 1/2″ of new snow overnight and several more inches of snow
are in the forecast today.

Because of low visibility and potentially heavy snow, Slide Peak & the backcountry (lifts 9 & 11) will be on
Weather Hold today. But it should be in great shape for the rest of the week.

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Souper Bowl set at Mountain High in Wrightwood

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These events include a complimentary breakfast and lunch, prize pools, raffles, and awards ceremonies.

Registration: (7:00am-9:00am) Big Pines Lodge

Event Starts: 10 a.m.

Venue:  The Playground

Entry Fee: $25 (USASA Membership Required)

Lift Ticket: $25

USASA Information
USASA Membership for 09/10: $75
USASA Non-Points Gathering Day Membership: $25

First Time Competitor Fee:  FREE

  For more information regarding the United States of America Snowboard Association please check out www.usasa.org

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