Category Archives: Mountain High

Mountain High extends night skiing in Wrightwood

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Mountain High will continue its night skiing operations seven nights a week through Jan. 27. After that, the Wrightwood resort will decide whether to return to its normal Wednesday through Friday schedule or remain open every night from 5 to 10 p.m.

“I love skiing at night. It’s so peaceful and serene. And with a schedule like mine, evenings are the only time I can get away. Thanks Mountain High,” says Chris McConnel of Fullerton.

Eighty five percent of the West Resort is lit including the terrain park and the beginner area. Ski under the stars after school or work. When finished, head up to the Bullwheel Bar & Grill and take a seat by the fire place where you can warm up with a hot cocktail.

Three to five inches of new snow fell overnight, and both the East and West Resorts are open with good mid-winter conditions.

Mountain High is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. A single Mountain High lift ticket is good at any one of its three areas, and free shuttles are available to take guests back and forth.

Shopping for deals on the slopes

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At Mountain High, the Express Pass opens the way to money savings on the slopes and several special features. (Mountain High photo)

By Jerry Rice

OK, everyone knows that skiing and snowboarding can be expensive – traveling to the resort, lodging, equipment rentals, lift tickets…

But there are many ways to save on costs without cutting cut corners on the fun. Some examples:

> Free rentals for first-timers, ages 8 to adult, when a beginner lesson package is purchased at Bear Mountain and Snow Summit during the month of January. It’s part of a Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month promotion in partnership with the National Ski Areas Association. Information: 909-866-5841, www.snowsummit.com

> Mammoth Mountain’s January midweek pass is $249 – $50 less than last season. With regular adult lift tickets at the resort running $99 per day, the cost of the special midweek pass essentially means it more than pays for itself after three days on the slopes. Other price levels are $179 for youth, $69 for children and $199 for seniors. The pass is valid Monday-Friday through Feb. 1, but must be purchased by Monday. Information: 800-626-6684, www.mammothmountain.com

> At Mountain High, spend $10 on a rechargeable Express Pass, load it with almost any lift ticket and start saving – $10 on all flex ticket options – and enjoying other benefits. Those other benefits include guaranteed reservations in case of a sellout, a free eight-hour non-holiday ticket after every five visits, and the ability to track the number of runs you’ve completed, the total vertical feet and other individual stats. Information: 888-754-7878, www.mthigh.com 

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Mountain High’s East Resort opens more than a mile of Alpine terrain

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After receiving more than 15 inches of snow this season, including 3 inches in the last several days, Mountain High’s East Resort is open for skiing and snowboarding. (Mountain High photo)

Mountain High’s East Resort opened Wednesday, offering 1.6 miles of what many skiers and snowboarders consider to be the best Alpine terrain in Southern California. Goldrush trail is available with great coverage, and all beginner runs at both the top and bottom also are open.

“The East Resort is my favorite resort. You won’t believe how long the runs are,” says John McColly, Mountain High’s chief marketing officer.

East Resort boasts the longest trails served by a single high-speed quad. It is known for its deep powder, gladed tree skiing areas and views of the Mojave Desert. Rising as high as 8,200 feet, the East Resort offers Southern California skiers and snowboarders an Alpine experience without having to travel far from home.

With 1,600 vertical feet of uninterrupted corduroy, it’s one of the best carving mountains in the area, and it also serves up exciting steeps like the Olympic Bowl, Southern California’s longest, steepest bump run.

For new skiers and snowboarders, there are uncrowded beginner trails at the top and bottom, and lessons are available every weekend peak season.

Guests also can relax at the Grand View Bistro, Mountain High’s gourmet mountain-top restaurant, which will start regular service soon.

Mountain High’s East Resort is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and offers a full selection of rentals, repair and retail services, plus warm après ski cocktails at the Snowshoe Saloon. A single Mountain High lift ticket is good at both areas, and free shuttles are available to take guests back and forth.

Santa sightings on the slopes

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By Jerry Rice

Santa Claus has a big job to do come Dec. 24, so if the Big Guy wants to have some fun before the Big Day it’s probably best to cut him some slack — otherwise you may find coal in your stocking on Christmas morning. The Jolly Old Elf has been visiting several ski resorts during the last several days …

Santa offers a helping hand to the snow-making crew at Mountain High. (Mountain High photo)

One cameraman caught him making snow at Mountain High (www.mthigh.com). The Wrightwood getaway was in big need of the white stuff, as there was none of it on the slopes as recently as Dec. 12. That was just before a storm moved through and dumped 6-12 inches of snow, and also brought with it the below-freezing temps that were desperately needed for the resort to turn on its extensive snow-making system.

Santa carves up some fresh powder at Snow Summit. (Snow Summit photo)

Elsewhere in Southern California, Santa parked his sleigh for a fun outing at Snow Summit (www.snowsummit.com), where he pulled off a maneuver that yours truly has never attempted — at least not on purpose.

At that Big Bear Lake resort, St. Nick found favorable conditions — 12-18 inches of snow, with a surface that ranged from machine groomed packed powder to hard pack — to perform all sorts of acrobatics.

We’re not sure how Santa landed a second or two after this shot on the right was taken, but we would like to see how it scored with the judges.

We recall last winter when the ski/snowboard season got off to a disappointing start at resorts throughout California. Mammoth Mountain (www.mammothmountain.com), for example, didn’t receive its first significant snowfall until late January. By then, much of the lucrative ski/snowboard season was lost.

Santa jumps for joy at Homewood Mountain Resort. (Homewood Mountain Resort photo)

This winter, thankfully, has been different. Mammoth has a base of 7.5 feet, and since early November it has received nearly 13 feet of snow — with more on the way tonight and Saturday.

Snow also is in the weekend forecast at Lake Tahoe, where Homewood Mountain Resort (www.skihomewood.com) reports as much as 45 inches of it has fallen this winter on the slopes at the higher elevations. That news apparently has Mr. Claus, at left, really excited.

We figure there will be Santas galore at Whistler Blackcomb (www.whistlerblackcomb.com) on Saturday morning. That’s when the resort will be giving a free lift ticket to the first 75 people who arrive at the Garibaldi Lift Company in full Santa or Mrs. Claus attire. They will be invited to ride up the hill at 8 a.m., then board or ski to the bottom of the Emerald Express for a group photo.

At Whistler Blackcomb, lots of Santas will be checking their lists while riding the lifts. (Whistler Blackcomb photo)

It’s an annual tradition at the Canadian resort. A cameraman for the local Pique Newsmagazine captured last year’s festivities, and some of the highlights were edited into a cute 48-second YouTube video. It shows a sea of red suits and bushy white beards moving down the mountain, some more gracefully than others.

With that, we offer Santa this important reminder: There are only three more skiing/snowboarding days left until Christmas.

Out for a morning thrill in the chill on the hill at Mountain High

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Snowboarders take the Blue Ridge Express chairlift to the top of Borderline at Mountain High’s West Resort on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. (Photos by LaFonzo Carter)

By Jerry Rice

Our intrepid photographer, LaFonzo Carter, was out and about this morning riding the slopes at Mountain High, and he reports that it was “crowded, windy and cold.”

Snowboarders jam the Blue Ridge Express liftline.

That last part will continue to be true through the end of the week at the Wrightwood resort, where daytime highs are expected to be in the mid- to low-40s, according to The Weather Channel. Nighttime temps — 24 degrees tonight, 27 on Thursday and 30 on Friday — will be prime for making new snow.

Carter, a team rider for the apparel maker Virus, was getting in a few runs before an afternoon shift at The Sun in San Bernardino.

When it comes to handling a frigid morning on the hill, his advice is similar to what Mom might offer: “When you’re out there, you really have to bundle up — wear a face mask and everything,” he said.

Mountain High helping needy families

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Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood is supporting the needy families of Southern California this holiday season with a toy and canned food drive sponsored by The Society of Saint Vincent De Paul. Any guest who brings an unwrapped toy or 3 non-perishable food items to Mountain High by Dec. 21, will receive $10 off an adult, 8-Hour lift ticket. Ticket must be purchased at the time of donation.

“We are very proud to offer this promotion. Saint Vincent De Paul is a powerful source for good, not only during the holidays but all year long. We are happy to be helping such a worthy cause,” says Cindy Shippy, resort spokeswoman.

Mountain High eager to get back in the snow business

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Snow guns at Mountain High

Cold, dry air is expected to arrive with the incoming storms, and Mountain High has its snow guns all ready to go. (Mountain High photo)

By Jerry Rice

The excitement of little children as Christmas morning nears is often only exceeded by the excitement of skiers and snowboarders as a storm approaches. So, with a potential snow-maker dropping out of the Gulf of Alaska and heading toward California, this might as well be Christmas Eve.

“We’re crossing our fingers, doing the snow dances and praying – whatever we have to do,” said Kim Hermon, Mountain High spokeswoman.

Presents may be delivered by tonight in the form of 6 to 12 inches of the white stuff. Even better, the forecast calls for it to arrive with frigid conditions that will allow the Wrightwood resort to crank up its extensive snowmaking system.

This storm can’t arrive soon enough. After a promising start to the ski and snowboard season, it’s been rough sledding the last few weeks at Southern California mountain resorts.

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Ski, snowboard season ramps up

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By Art Bentley

The 2012-13 ski and snowboard season has begun in Southern California. Barely.

Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, which share ownership at Big Bear Lake, and Mountain High West near Wrightwood are selling lift tickets at sharp discounts, reflecting operations that are severely limited by mild temperatures after the cold snap two weeks ago that enabled them to make enough snow to open a couple of runs apiece.

The result is not extensive, but diehard skiers and snowboarders have long displayed a readiness often bordering on masochism to drive heroic distances at the drop of a man-made snowflake in the local hills to relieve the long withdrawal between spring and late fall.

They don’t demand a lot, just enough space on a surface of reasonable slickness to permit the fast turns that restore meaning to life.

In a perfect world, rocks would be buried sufficiently to prevent damage to expensive equipment — but, hey, we’re sliding again, right? Don’t sweat the small stuff.

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