Bear Mountain, Snow Summit are getting ready to call it a season

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Jerry Rice

Earlier today, skiers were getting in a few last runs for the season at Snow Summit. (Big Bear Mountain Resorts photo)

On Sunday, Bear Mountain and Snow Summit will be marking the end of the 2012-13 ski and snowboard season at the two resorts.

After receiving only 75 to 90 inches of natural snowfall this season, extensive snowmaking systems at each property allowed the slopes to remain open a week into April.

“Even in a season like this, where natural snowfall was well below average, we were able to make great snow and host big events right up to the end,” said Chris Riddle, vice president of marketing. “Being the only Southern California ski and snowboard resort open this late in the season, we have truly shown dominance in our snowmaking capabilities.”

Mountain High also boasts about its extensive snowmaking system, and the winter sports season at the Wrightwood resort just recently wrapped up. Mountain High closed March 31 after the annual Spring-A-Ma-Jig celebration.

For Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, being situated next to Big Bear Lake has its benefits. The lake acts as a reservoir for snowmaking, providing a nearly inexhaustible supply of water during the winter months. Regardless of natural snowfall, Bear Mountain and Snow Summit can cover nearly 100 percent of their slopes with manmade snow.

“A big ‘thank you’ goes out to all guests who came out this season to enjoy our new additions, and made this a fun season for everyone,” Riddle said.

It was a season that included a milestone, as Snow Summit celebrated its 60th anniversary.

“We look forward to many more decades of hosting happy skiers and snowboarders,” Riddle said.

Already, officials at Bear and Snow Summit are looking forward to next winter, selling passes that they say will offer skiers and snowboarders the biggest savings for the 2013-14 season. But the passes must be purchased by May 31. Click here for information.

Bear Mountain, Snow Summit filling Easter baskets with ‘snow’ much fun

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Jerry Rice

At Bear Mountain, peeps are playing board games for Easter weekend. (Bear Mountain photo)

Bear Mountain and Snow Summit have lots planned for Easter weekend and into next week, as spring break festivities continue at both resorts. Here’s a sampling:

Bear Mountain
Saturday
Neff Beach Bash; highlights from last year’s events may be found here.

Sunday
Social Media Easter Egg Hunt

Monday through Friday
Snowboarder Magazine’s “The Launch”

Wednesday and Thursday
Uniform Days (discounts for law enforcement, EMS, firefighters and active military)

Saturday, April 6
Ashbury Demo

Information: www.bearmountain.com

Snow Summit
Saturday
60 Grit Blues Band at Slopeside Pub, 1-5 p.m.
D-Team Race

Sunday
Social Media Easter Egg Hunt

Wednesday-Thursday
Uniform Days

Information: www.snowsummit.com

#freshpow day on the slopes at Bear, Snow Summit and Mountain High

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Jerry Rice

Snow Summit is a winter wonderland in March, thanks to productive cold-weather systems that went through Southern California on Thursday and this morning. This photo has attracted a lot of reaction since it was posted on Facebook earlier today. (Snow Summit photo)

By Jerry Rice

Fresh powder days in March are rare in Southern California – especially ones with storms that leave behind more than a foot of snow – so it may not be surprising that social media is burning up today with the latest reports from Bear Mountain, Snow Summit and Mountain High.

The photo of snow-covered tables and chairs at Snow Summit (above) has received more than 950 “likes” and 139 “shares” since it was posted this morning. Because a photo really is worth a thousand words, many of the comments have been appropriately brief: “Wonderland!” (from Freddie Merz), “Yes!!!” (Kelsey Elizabeth Stern) and “Wooooo Hoooooo” (Snuggle Bear Cabin).

Others said they were on their way up the hill (presumably after they called the boss to say they suddenly came down with some “ailment”), or that they would be there during the weekend.

With 12-14 inches of new snow at Bear Mountain, it appears to be time for some fresh-powder runs at the resort. (Bear Mountain photo)

Snow Summit reported 12 to 14 inches of fresh powder in the last couple days – about the same amount that fell at the resort’s corporate sibling, Bear Mountain, where the photo on the right was taken. Since being posted on Facebook today at about 10 a.m., the shot has received nearly 400 “likes” and 25 “shares.”

Snow Summit is 100 percent open, and only Bow, Deer and Goldmine canyons are closed at Bear, according to information on their websites. Also, skiers and snowboarders should note that Snow Summit will be holding its final night session of the 2012-13 season on Saturday.

With fresh powder at Mountain High, the snow depth on the slopes is 12-24 inches. (Mountain High photo)

At Mountain High in Wrightwood, they’re also excited about the conditions after receiving 6 to 8 inches of new snow. “We love fresh pow,” said the Facebook entry that was posted with the action shot on the left. “Share this photo if you love new snow as much as we do!”

The last time we checked, 61 of the resort’s Facebook fans followed through on that request.

Snow Valley, once a haven for experts, now caters to a different crowd

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Jerry Rice

While not the resort it once was, Snow Valley still has much to offer – especially if you’re a beginner or intermediate skier. (Snow Valley photo)

By Art Bentley

The slogan on the cover of the trail map at the Snow Valley ski area near Running Springs reads, “More than you realize.” Management, which runs the resort for an absentee owner who lives in Wisconsin, could have added, “Though less than you may recall.”

A skier with a good memory who last visited the resort in the early to mid-1990s would have good reason today to be a bit perplexed. Back then, the resort operated 13 chairlifts, including two, a triple and a double, that scaled its signature expert hill, Slide Peak, where snowmaking equipment was installed at about the same time.

Slide, the incline of which ranges from 30 to 35 degrees on about 400 to 500 vertical feet, is the feature that makes Snow Valley entertaining for skiers and snowboarders who like steep, bumpy terrain. When it’s closed, as it has been for most of this season, Snow Valley appeals primarily to those of marginal to limited ability or who enjoy the obstacles of the freestyle park.

Two decades ago, an equally precipitate run on the western flank of the area plunged beneath chair 5 to a parking lot that seems big enough to swallow Rhode Island. Chair 7 climbed a slope that has since been incorporated into the freestyle area. Chairs 4 and 10 were thriving.

Continue reading →

$299 season pass good for this year and next at Mountain High

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Richard Irwin

Beginning Friday, March 1, skiers and snowboarders at Mountain High can get an adult Anytime Season Pass good for the remainder of this season and all of next for just $299.

That’s a savings of 57% over a traditional single-year pass. Plus anyone who renews their existing 2012/13 Season Pass by March 10 will receive a FREE Buddy ticket worth $69.

Mountain High’s Anytime Season Pass is good any day or night the resort is open with no restrictions. At just $299 it pays for itself in just 5 visits.

Benefits include free skiing at Stevens Pass, WA, China Peak, CA, and Sierra At Tahoe, free tubing at the North Pole Tubing Park http://www.mthigh.com/mountain/north-pole-tubing-park , $10 Off Adult Ski/Snowboard Lessons, 10% Off non-sale retail apparel, monthly discounts for family and friends, early “ups” on select days, and the ability to TRACK your days ridden, runs per day, and vertical feet.

Prices are just $299 for adults ages 13 and up. Children’s Passes for ages 7 to 12 are also available for just $199 with the purchase of an adult season pass and $249 without. Children six and under ski FREE when accompanied by a paying adult.

Mountain High’s Spring Season Pass offer is available March 1to April 15 or when the resort closes (whichever is later). Guestsamay purchase their passes online at mthigh.com; however, passes can also be purchased at the resort and by phone at 888 754 7878. Please note there is a $10 processing for all new passes purchased.

Three resorts in one, Mountain High is a SoCal winter wonderland

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Jerry Rice

Mountain High is popular with skiers and snowboarders from throughout Southern California, including the Inland Empire. They tend to make a day of it at the resort, instead of coming for an extended visit.

By Trevor Summons

The first time I went to a ski resort, I was entranced. I was only passing through but the atmosphere was truly wonderful. The ultraviolet light bouncing off the snow, the warm sunshine, the excitement of the skiers and the clump of their boots all added up to something magical.

Unfortunately, at the time I was very engaged in business and feared the sport for its injuries. Back then we were quite used to seeing returning winter sports enthusiasts with a foot and lower leg encased in plaster of Paris, and trying to maneuver crutches around. We didn’t have the quick-release bindings and other scientific advancements of today. I left it well alone.

Many decades later I did try, and perhaps it was too late by then, as after a few attempts I had two broken ribs, a lack of dignity and the decision to literally walk away from it all.

Had I waited until now, and joined the “Learn to Turn” course being offered by Mountain High Ski Resort, the outcome might well have been different.

“We offer a day’s course, on Tuesdays,” said Kim Hermon, the marketing manager of the resort. “For $39 we provide the equipment, the lift tickets and the instruction to get you started.”

I think that would have been just what I needed.
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Mountain High’s fresh powder prompts a cool video production

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Jerry Rice

At Mountain High, they must be excited about the 8 to 10 inches of new snow the resort received on Wednesday, given this video that was posted on Vimeo…

Conditions at the Wrightwood resort should be wonderful for skiing and snowboarding all weekend long. Daytime highs through Sunday are expected to be in the upper 40s, and lows will dip into the 20s, according to weather.com.

Go East, young skiers and snowboarders at Mountain High

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Jerry Rice

Skiers and snowboarders tend to get more out of those banner days on the slopes at Mountain High when they visit the less-crowded East resort. (Mountain High photo)

By Art Bentley

You know who you are.

Evidently, 1,600 vertical feet with a consistent pitch doesn’t appeal to you. Perhaps speed on skis or a snowboard isn’t an attraction. Maybe your legs (or your nerve) aren’t up to the challenge.

Or it could be that you simply don’t do well in your own company. You need to be surrounded by masses of humanity, often with a slightly maniacal streak, a perverse taste for short runs, and an insane fondness for lift lines that can border on anarchy.

Or maybe you’re simply not the sharpest ski on the slope.

Whatever your shortcomings, you’re a Mountain High skier or snowboarder with an irrational preference for the crowded West resort, where any minute, especially on a weekend, you can be run down from behind or sideswiped by an out-of-control snowboarder. Meanwhile, you display an unfathomable disdain for the tranquil, unhurried East. Are you masochistic? How else to explain why you avoid it in droves?

Clearly, you need help. Even those who run Mountain High can’t figure you out.

“It’s always a challenge getting people to go over there,” says John McColly, chief marketing office and an unabashed fan of East.

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Step aside Gangnam Style, it’s time for the Harlem Shake

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Jerry Rice

By Jerry Rice

Sorry, Psy, but Gangnam Style is so 2012. The dance of this moment is the Harlem Shake.

With tens of thousands of Harlem Shake videos on YouTube — including nearly 9,000 uploaded today alone — it’s safe to call it the latest craze that’s sweeping the nation. Students at campuses around the country, office workers, firefighters, grandmas, and a unit of the Norwegian Army are all busting a move to the techno beat.

Anderson Cooper (inset) watches a video of his staff doing the Harlem Shake.

One video asks whether Wolf Blitzer would do it. His CNN colleague, Anderson Cooper, apparently wouldn’t. When the “Anderson Live” crew interrupted a morning meeting to shake it, they couldn’t get Cooper to join in.

“I gotta say, I was horrified. It made me so uncomfortable,” he said on Tuesday’s show.

Many of the videos are called “original.” Perhaps the one with the best stake to that claim was posted by five bored Australian teens who were stuck indoors during a storm. Their version, “The Harlem Shake v1 (TSCS original),” has 6.3 million views (and counting) in its first week on YouTube. Their story was told by The Courier-Mail in Brisbane.

A quick search came up with several Harlem Shakers in the Inland Empire, so we featured them in a Daily Bulletin story.

Skiers and snowboarders at Mountain High also have gotten in on the act. Here’s their version:

Bear Mountain, Snow Summit have plans for the weekend

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Jerry Rice

Here’s what’s on tap during the next few days at two Big Bear Lake mountain resorts:

Bear Mountain

Today and Thursday — Uniform Days (Law enforcement, EMS, firefighters and active military may purchase an area use ticket for $38.) Click here for more information.
Friday — KROQ-FM on the Bear Stage
Saturday — Power 106 Snow In with Kid Ink and T-Mills
Sunday — USASA Slopestyle (registration 8-9:30 a.m.); and DJ Jason Newman on the Bear Stage, noon to 4 p.m.

Information: www.bearmountain.com

Snow Summit

Today and Thursday — Uniform Days
Saturday — KIIS-FM on the Slopeside Stage, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Jimmy Blaze Band at the Bullwheel Bar, 3:30-7 p.m.
Sunday — Goldsmith Race No. 3