Weekend storms bring fresh snow to Mt. Waterman Ski Lifts
Local skiers and snowboarders can spare themselves the cost of gas to Mammoth or Big Bear this weekend — Mt. Waterman Ski Lifts in the Angeles National Forest will open for business on Saturday morning for the first time this winter.
“We’ve probably got more snow and better conditions than we’ve had in the past six years,” co-owner Brien Metcalf said Monday, reporting snow levels of 4 to 6 feet with heavy powder. “We should be open for at least three or four weeks.”
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After a “disappointing” El Niño weather system last year failed to deliver on its snowy promises, amounting to just 11 days of wintertime operation, Metcalf said he and fellow co-owners weren’t too optimistic about this winter’s prospects.
Since Metcalf purchased the natural snow facility with brother Rick and friends in 2006, few winters have been wet enough to warrant running the site’s three chair lifts. In 2014, Waterman’s hillsides were repurposed to include mountain bike trails and an 18-hole disc golf course to help attract a summertime clientele.
But a series of winter storms that began Friday and lasted through the weekend brought inches of rain to foothill communities and dropped several feet of snow in higher elevations of the Angeles National Forest. Mt. Waterman is located on Angeles Crest Highway, about 35 miles above the La Cañada Flintridge city line.
Metcalf said Caltrans has indicated roads should be all clear by Saturday, as rains recede and temperatures begin a slow climb toward the weekend. With enough snow this year to groom the hillsides, for the first time in seven years, icy conditions shouldn’t be a problem.
“It’ll be the best ski season we’ve had in a long time,” Metcalf said.
Mt. Waterman is open weekends from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, including snow condition updates, visit mtwaterman.org or call the snow phone at (818) 790-2002.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
