Heavy Snow Boosts Visits to Ski Resorts

After two winters of skimpy storms and warm temperatures, ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada are celebrating heavy snow and hordes of returning skiers.

From Mammoth Mountain north to Donner Pass, ski resort operators say the slopes and cross-country trails are covered by a snow pack 8 to 10 feet deep. In Yosemite Valley--where temperatures are usually warmer and snow melts quickly--rangers report 18 inches.

“It’s beautiful,” said Yosemite National Park Supt. Jack Morehead. “We’re having a near-normal year . . . (and) because it’s so cold, there’s far more snow in the valley than usual.”

“This is the best we’ve seen in four years,” said Pam Murphy, spokeswoman for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in Mono County, 300 miles north of Los Angeles. Mammoth has had 120 inches of snow to date. One day during the Christmas season, a record 18,200 people bought lift tickets, which go for $30 a day.

And it’s not just the resort owners who benefit. Susan Beck, co-owner of the Anything Goes Cafe in Mammoth Lakes, says business is up 30% over last year.

State officials said it is far too early in the rainy season to declare the drought over, however. The Sierra Nevada snowpack is currently 104% of normal, state figures show. And long-range forecasts made in December call for continued abnormally cold temperatures and increased precipitation in the Sierra through March, according to WeatherData Inc., which provides weather forecasts to The Times.

At Squaw Valley Ski Area, marketing director Bill Jensen said the resort was having a record year, but he warned: “The key months are going to be February and March. . . . Last year we were on our way to a record, then the bottom fell out. . . . It stopped snowing.”

Alpine Meadows Ski Resort spokesman Dan Nourse agreed, “Anything can happen, but it sure looks promising.” He said November snows allowed most Sierra resorts to open before Thanksgiving, and the storms have continued.

There are 38 downhill and cross-country ski resorts in California, most in the Sierra, according to Bob Roberts, executive director of the Sierra Ski Assn., a trade group. About 2.1 million skiers spend between $700 million and $900 million a year on ski equipment and lift tickets, he said. Most are downhill skiers.

In good snow years, the state’s resorts log up to 7 million skier days; in dry years that number falls to 5 million, according to Roberts. He added: “The bottom line is that we’re having a great year . . . so far.”