The winter wonderland in our backyard

The early rains this season sent many of us scrambling to closets in search of umbrellas, others to AutoZone for new windshield wipers and certain adventure-minded outdoor-types to the mountains for the thing they crave most: snow.

Southern California’s ski resorts opened early this year after wintry weather arrived in October. None opened earlier than Mountain High in Wrightwood, which welcomed visitors before Halloween for the first time in its 54 years.

Last month I hit the slopes. Wrightwood hadn’t seen fresh snow in nearly two weeks, and the temperature and humidity were such that Mountain High’s operators couldn’t use their snowmaking equipment. Conditions were far from ideal.

A week later, it was another story. An unexpected storm left more than a foot of fresh powder, and the resort opened about 90% of its lifts and trails. As of the Travel section’s deadline, that number dropped to about 50%, with future access tied to temperatures and snowfall.

Unpredictable weather plays to Mountain High’s greatest strength: location. Set off the Angeles Crest Highway near the border of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, the resort is at most a two-hour drive for most people in Greater L.A. As its cheeky brochure happily notes, “In the time it takes one bad TV show to rot your brain, you could be at Mountain High.”

It may not be able to compete with Big Bear’s resorts in terms of vertical drop or total acreage, and its snow conditions certainly don’t match up to those of Mammoth, but you gotta love the underdog personality of this place, not to mention its convenience.

I took Interstate 15 north past San Bernardino, then Highway 138 just long enough to connect with Angeles Crest Highway (California 2). It was a straight shot up the hill past Wrightwood to Mountain High, which is divided into east and west sections.

Snow was receding so quickly the weekend I visited that the east resort was closed to recreational activities and just the one trail on the west side mountain was open. The upside was negligible crowds. I don’t think I waited more than 45 seconds to board a chairlift.

Prices were lower too. During the early season, Mountain High knocked $10 off lift tickets: An eight-hour ticket was $35; a four-hour ticket, $30. (That discount ended with the latest bounty of snow, but starting in January, Ralphs stores will sell all-day tickets for $7 off the regular $45 price.)

The high-speed Blue Ridge Express quad lift was zooming from the base at 6,400 feet to the 8,000-foot peak in about three minutes.

It had been years since I had gone skiing — one of the things that happens when you have kids. My first trip down turned into more of an adventure than I had expected.

My trusty 15-year-old boots couldn’t take one more season in the cold, and they disintegrated shortly after I hopped off the lift, leaving me to schlep down the mountain, my skis and dignity slung over my shoulder. When I got to the bottom, only the boots’ black rubber liners kept my feet out of frozen slush.

I tried to turn this negative into a positive by trying out the new generation of shaped skis. I rented a pair — and boots — for $25 and was quickly back on the slopes. (It’s possible to rent boots and skis or a snowboard for about $15 in town.)

The shorter skis did make turning easier and were faster. Even with the granular snow caused by repeated freezing, grooming, thawing and refreezing, by the third or fourth trip down the hill, my skiing wasn’t bad. Daredevil snowboarders, who outnumber skiers at least 20 to 1, rocketed by me, but I still had plenty of trail to navigate. I came upon only three or four patches where the snow was so thin that I needed to steer around protruding rocks.

When snow is bountiful and the entire resort is open, Mountain High has a half-dozen bunny hills for beginners. The rest are divided fairly evenly between intermediate (blue) and advanced (black) runs; only two trails are double black diamond. Later in winter, the west resort is open for night skiing and snowboarding.

The Bullwheel Bar & Grill, which had been open a few days earlier, shut down for the weekend as the snow and crowds thinned out. I was happy with a hot dog and chips from a stand outside the resort’s lodge. Others took longer breaks inside the lodge, where the cafeteria offered bowls of chili, pizza slices, hoagies and wraps for about $4 to $7.

That’s where I talked with Misha Garza, 14, of Garden Grove, who was planning to wring every minute out of the eight-hour pass she had bought that morning with her mother, Julie Boswell; her stepfather, Scott Boswell; her brother John, 11; and friends Austin Andrews, 15, and Michael Wilson, 14.

Michael pronounced the snow “too slushy” and groused, “My toes are freezing.” Yet within a few minutes of downing a snack, he joined his friends as they headed back to the slope.

Half an hour before my lift ticket was to expire, I felt my legs doing just that, so I called it quits. There was more of Wrightwood I wanted to explore.

The posh, friendly place

My first stop was at the Blue Ridge Inn. A friend who has been coming to Wrightwood for 40 years told me it’s the posh place in town to dine.

Before I could decide whether to ask for a table or sit at the bar, several Blue Ridge regulars invited me to grab the open barstool by them. The man to my left, Jerry, recommended the sand dabs. Another Jerry, on my right, touted the steak bites — nuggets of sirloin in a brandy peppercorn sauce — and even invited me to sample his. I chose the Porterhouse steak and Malaysian shrimp combo at the urging of Lupe, an 85-year-old regular. She was right.

Friday nights, the Yodeler pub two doors down is the place to be, especially after family karaoke night kicks in at 8. Between bites of pizza and sips of beer, patrons belted out a ragged variety of pop, classic rock, alternative rock and country — the Carpenters’ “Close to You,” the Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes,” Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.”

Saturday night, a live band pulled in a young snowboarder crowd. I had a steak sandwich, which proved to be a literal interpretation: an inch-thick steak served on a toasted garlic roll.

From the lodging choices listed on Mountain High’s website, I chose the Mountain View Motel & Cabins, set between downtown Wrightwood and the ski slopes. One advantage I didn’t know at the time: Guests can buy eight-hour Mountain High lift tickets at the motel for only $24 on most dates. Also, new owners took over the motel in June and spruced up the dozen cabins, adding hot tubs to most.

My room ($119 per night plus tax) had a kitchenette, with an emphasis on the “ette.” It consisted of a small microwave atop a refrigerator large enough to stock a couple of six packs and little else.

The rooms with hot tubs can book early, so I could get one only for Friday night. Saturday I had to move to another room, but I didn’t mind. Though it was tubless, it had a full kitchen with a regular refrigerator and stove.

Each room also has a modest but functional fireplace, and the motel office sells bundles of fast-burning pine for $5. I drove down Highway 2 to Jensen’s market, which had hardwood bundles for about the same price.

The rest of town consists of shops selling souvenirs, clothing and myriad odds and ends, plus casual restaurants such as the Grizzly Cafe. Its Grizzly omelet — stuffed with feta cheese, black olives and spinach — was bland, but it was accompanied by crisp hash browns and a fresh biscuit with country gravy.

At the tiny Wrightwood Museum, I learned that Wyatt and Morgan Earp were reputed to have paid regular visits to Clyde Wright, of the town’s founding Wright family. When it was time to head home, I took the scenic route along Lone Pine Canyon Road, which runs in front of Wright’s cabin.

Cruising past the canyon’s sculpted hillsides, I recalled better snow and more challenging terrain in Big Bear, Lake Tahoe, Wyoming’s Jackson Hole and Austria’s Innsbruck.

By comparison, Mountain High isn’t perfect. But it is close.

---

Randy Lewis covers pop music for The Times.*

Budget for one

Expenses for this trip:

Lodging

Mountain View Motel,

two nights with tax $254.66

Lift ticket

Mountain High, half-day

(early season) $30.00

Ski and boot rental $25.00

Dinner

Blue Ridge Inn $43.00

Lunch

Mountain High $4.00

Dinner

Yodeler $15.39

Breakfast

Grizzly Cafe $12.43

Groceries

$26.50

Gas

$26.30

Final tab $437.28

CONTACT:

Mountain View Motel & Cabins, 1054 Highway 2 (P.O. Box 458), Wrightwood, CA 92397; (888) 383-5700 or (760) 249-3553, https://https://www.mountain-view-motel.com .

Mountain High, 24510 Highway 2 (P.O. Box 3010), Wrightwood, CA 92397; (888) 754-7878 or (760) 249-5808, www.mthigh.com.