Snow may not be enough for skiers

A National Weather Service forecast of snow this week in the San Gabriel Mountains — including a prediction of Tuesday snow flurries in Glendale — may have locals wondering where they can go for a snow fix as this holiday season comes to a close.

But while areas like Mt. Waterman and Mountain High are expecting anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of powder to fall this week in elevations as low as 2,000 feet, lift operators aren’t hopeful it will be enough to keep nearby resorts open over the weekend.

Brien Metcalf, a La Cañada High School alum who purchased Mt. Waterman ski resort on Angeles Crest Highway with friends and family in 2006, said Monday that despite nearly 6 inches of snow left over from a post-Thanksgiving storm, the area would most likely remain closed this weekend.

“It appears the strength of the storm isn’t going to be enough for us to open up,” he said. “But you never know when a storm comes how much snow it’s going to bring.”

With daytime mountain temperatures hovering near or below freezing through Friday, any snow that does fall will likely stay on the ground and roadsides through the weekend. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for Los Angeles County’s mountains, in particular the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, through Wednesday.

The climatological outlook gives lift owners like Metcalf a hook to hang their hopes on this season, one that hasn’t existed in the past three snow-less winters.

A ground that stays frozen, he says, is the first ingredient required for deeper and more lasting snow Mt. Waterman will need to sustain a healthy ski season. There, the typical winter peak runs from mid-January through March.

Given that fact, ground already frozen by early December may be an omen of good skiing to come. Metcalf urges locals to check the resort’s website, mtwaterman.org, or call the snow phone at (818) 790-2002 for updated weather conditions.

“And pray for snow,” he adds.