Skiing : Conditions Excellent Everywhere

Skiing’s biggest week of the season is in full swing, with excellent conditions prevailing throughout California.

All major Southland ski areas are operating on both natural and man-made snow, and High Sierra resorts are virtually wallowing in powder and packed powder, with another storm forecast for Friday.

Base depths in the Sierra, which as recently as 10 days ago were in the neighborhood of 1 to 5 feet, now range from 3 to 9 1/2 feet. Mammoth Mountain, for example, reported 6 1/2 feet Wednesday, plus a couple of new inches on top.

In the San Gabriel Mountains, Mt. Baldy, Kratka Ridge and Mt. Waterman have joined the fun that was already in progress at Mountain High and Ski Sunrise, while over at Big Bear Lake, Snow Summit, Bear Mountain, Snow Valley and Snow Forest continue to swing right along. Depths range from 2 to 4 feet, after about 3 inches fell Tuesday night to go with the layer produced by snow-making.

It’s cold in both the local mountains and farther north, but that’s what keeps the snow nice and fluffy.

The Mahre twins hold third and fourth places in the U.S. Pro Tour standings after the season’s first three events.

Two Swedes, Niklas Lindqvist and Jorgen Sundqvist, are 1-2 with 115 and 100 points respectively, followed by Steve Mahre with 95 and Phil Mahre with 90.

Lindqvist has earned $24,730 so far this season, more than the Mahres combined ($13,400 for Steve, $10,225 for Phil). Sundqvist, a rookie, scored his first pro victory in the slalom at Nashoba Valley, Mass., boosting his total to $8,300.

After two weekends of inactivity, the men pros will resume competition Jan. 5-8 at Heavenly Valley, in conjunction with a freestyle and aerial exhibition.

On the women’s tour, Birgit Hussauf of Austria, with 90 points and $18,879, is 5 points ahead of Catharina Glasser-Bjerner of Sweden, who has picked up $12,600. The women are idle until Jan. 12-15, when they’ll race at Waterville Valley, N.H.

Skiing Notes

The World Cup circuit is on hold until next Tuesday and Wednesday, when Maribor, Yugoslavia, is scheduled to play host to a women’s slalom and giant slalom . . . The next men’s races, on Jan. 6-8, were moved to Laax, Switzerland, after it became apparent that there wouldn’t be enough snow at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany, to hold the two downhills and a super-G.

Skiing on ESPN Sunday will include a women’s pro race at 2 p.m., PST, followed by Bob Beattie’s “Ski World” from Steamboat, Colo., at 2:30 and a World Cup men’s race from St. Anton, Austria, at 3.

Homewood, near Tahoe City, will celebrate the grand opening of its expanded ski area, with a daylong program of festivities on Jan. 21. Homewood acquired the former Tahoe Ski Bowl next door and increased its terrain to 1,100 acres.