Skiing / Bob Lochner : Storm Guarantees a White Easter

Just when it seemed as if ski season was winding down and visions of the beach were dancing in skiers’ heads, another winter storm blustered its way through California this week, setting up a very white Easter week, indeed.

Mammoth Mountain and June Mountain each picked up 36 inches of powder by noon Wednesday, with more coming down, and their total depths were reported as 121 inches and 94 inches, respectively.

An avalanche warning has been issued by the U.S. Forest Service for the Eastern slope of the Sierra from Yuba Pass to Bishop, especially above 8,000 feet and on north-facing slopes. The heavy snowfall has created unstable surfaces and extreme danger outside developed ski areas. Back-country travel is discouraged.

The storm also dumped 24 to 48 inches of fresh snow on the Western slope and in the Lake Tahoe basin. High winds caused several resorts to remain closed Wednesday, but all plan to be open once the weather clears, with bases ranging up to 180 inches.

Southland ski areas reported smaller amounts of new snow, and some were closed Wednesday because of the wind. However, Kratka Ridge, Mt. Waterman, Mountain High, Goldmine, Snow Summit and Snow Valley should all be operating today, with 12 to 42 inches on their slopes, plus whatever was added Wednesday night.

Mt. Baldy is closed indefinitely because of the fire earlier this week that destroyed its mountain restaurant, but both Snow Forest and Ski Sunrise could reopen if the storm provides enough cover.

So, it seems that in the Sierra, at least, just about all resorts will be able to offer skiing through the end of April--if they want to. Alpine Meadows looks like a cinch for its usual Memorial Day weekend closing, and Mammoth Mountain should have no trouble making its customary target date, the Fourth of July.

The World Cup competition has ended, but there are several other events on the schedule in the weeks ahead, among them the following:

Today and Friday--The International Winter Special Olympics at Park City, Utah.

Today through Sunday--The Grand Marnier Ski Club Challenge National Finals at Keystone, Colo.

Friday through Sunday--The $15,000 Earth Grains Cup, closing event on the Women’s Pro Ski Racing Tour, at Kirkwood. Cathy Bruce of the United States tops the standings, but five-time champion Toril Forland of Norway should give her a stiff challenge.

Friday through Monday--The North American Telemark Championships at Crested Butte, Colo.

Saturday--The last of four races in the Southern California Telemark Series, at Snow Summit.

Saturday--The 15th annual Badger Pass Winter Carnival at Yosemite, with a variety of Nordic and Alpine races starting at 10 a.m.

Sunday through April 6--The National Handicapped Alpine Championships.

April 4-7--The North American Nordic Championships at Calgary, Canada.

April 6--The Appleton Rum Run Final at Vail, Colo.

April 10-13--The National Freestyle Championships at Winter Park, Colo.

April 11-14--The 10th annual U.S. Ski Team Celebrity Races at Park City, Utah.

April 11-14--The Lite NASTAR Finals for recreational racers at Sun Valley, Ida.

April 17-20--International Speed Skiing SPRINT Series at Kirkwood.

April 27--North American Speed Skiing Championships at Kirkwood.

May 24-27--SPRINT Amateur Speed Skiing Championships at Mount Bachelor, Ore.

Vail and Beaver Creek are up for sale by the Goliad Oil and Gas Co. Trust, but that isn’t stopping the Colorado resort complex from a) bidding for the 1989 World Alpine Ski Championships and b) announcing a $40-million expansion and improvement plan for Vail Mountain.

The plan, in five phases, will achieve the following:

--Major lift replacement that will result in the installation of nine detachable quadruple chairlifts, increasing Vail’s uphill skier capacity by nearly 75%.

--Construction of a mountain restaurant and increasing seating capacity in existing facilities by between 500 and 600 seats.

--Addition of more than 800 acres of ski terrain, including 630 acres for intermediate and advanced skiers in the area of China Bowl, near the Sun Up and Sun Down bowls.

--Replacement of the Lions Head gondola with a faster, more efficient means of transporting skiers to Eagle’s Nest.

The bid for the ’89 championships will be considered by the International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress at Vancouver, Canada, in late May and early June. Vail’s rivals are resorts in three Eastern Bloc countries, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.

Crans-Montana, Switzerland, will be the site of the next world championships in early 1987. Under the new rotation, there will be none in 1986 or in 1988, when the Winter Olympics will be held at Calgary, Canada.