Shhh! The Secret of Mt. Waterman

Listen up, all you skiers with a sudden, irrepressible urge to hit the slopes. There’s a quick fix at hand that requires no packing, no planning and no schussing to Ticketron to reserve your slot in a giant parking lot.

Instead, you can test the slopes at 115-acre Mt. Waterman Ski Resort. On a bright sunny afternoon last week, when the sky was blue and the snow on Mt. Baldy shone like a 1920s post card, a reporter playing hooky discovered with joy that fewer than 100 paying customers had come out to play on Waterman’s four to six feet of clean, real, nature-made snow.

Needless to say, lift lines at the three double chairlifts were non-existent, as was the usual blood pressure-elevating stress induced by the problem of pursuing an essentially solitary sport in the company of thousands.

As a result, a sense of freedom, even smugness, was in evidence. Waterman skiers are faithful regulars, and they think of themselves as members of a club with a secret worth keeping.

‘I Want My Money Back’

“This is a pleasure, a real pleasure,” a lady wearing pink ski pants and brand-new Rossignol skis said. “I want my money back,” her partner chortled mockingly, skiing between the ropes and straight onto the chairlift.

Mike Smith, a Pacific Bell employee and a former Mt. Waterman ski patrol member, was paying his regular visit.

“Practice,” he replied when asked about his faultless form. “Like everything else, it takes lots and lots of practice.” Then he glided away, skis together and parallel, each turn apparently effortless.

If Waterman is so special, why is the place still a secret? Probably because the heart of the ski resort, the warming hut and the rental shop, are near the top of the mountain, at 8,000 feet. From the road below, passers-by see little that attracts them.

“We drove by,” said Nik Wheeler, a professional photographer who came up for the day with a novice, “because all we could see was a little shack and the bottom of the lift on a very steep hill.”

From the warming hut above, however, the only view is strictly alpine--mountains, pines and snow--and the only sounds are skiers calling, the wind in the trees and music--when they turn it on.

Though Waterman doesn’t pretend to emulate Mammoth Mountain’s size and variety, owner Lynn Newcomb grooms about 20 runs that are rated for all skill levels.

A third are for experts, most of them on the face. Another third are for intermediates and the remaining for beginners with some experience. First-timers are advised to come with a competent skier, because Waterman has few short, almost flat “bunny” slopes.

Should you decide to visit on a weekend, lift lines will become a reality. But, says Newcomb, whose great-grandfather Lewis Newcomb homesteaded a ranch just west of here in 1888, the mountain can absorb more people quite comfortably.

“Right after the big snowfall we had our biggest day of the year,” he said. “We’ve never sold more than 1 , 400 on one day, and then it was crowded. Most weekdays are like today, though.

“As long as we have cold nights the snow will last. That’s what really makes the difference,” he added, “not how warm it gets in the daytime. It was down to 15 degrees last night.”

Mt. Waterman first opened in 1939 with a rope tow at the bottom. The response was so promising that in 1941 Newcomb installed a single chairlift like the one at Sun Valley. The present double chairlift up the face, 2,000 feet long, was installed in 1975.

Because Mt. Waterman’s slopes face north, a good snow pack like the one that’s fallen this winter can last into spring, even when south-facing slopes across the highway are bone-dry. And a late spring snowfall can extend skiing into May.

On the steep face of the mountain, where the mile-long runs are rated for experts only, a sign at the top warns the inexperienced to stay away. And they aren’t kidding. The face is steep, and accidents happen each year.

As a result, a limited number of top-notch skiers usually have the trails to themselves. Last week, half a dozen people were skiing the moguls on a run called “Wallbanger,” while the rest disappeared into the trees heading for “Gene’s Gulch,” and “Robyn’s Run.”

On the edge of “Bottleneck,” Marc Ramirez of La Canada, dressed in psychedelic colors and orange sunglasses, and his friend Steve Miller, in a T-shirt and slacks, had gotten shovels and were building a jump off to the side.

“We’re skateboarders and surfers gone mad,” Miller announced, while Ramirez explained they were practicing flips for a commercial photography shoot.

Rentals Available

Beginners without equipment can rent skis, boots and poles at the Ski Shop on top for $15. Buy your lift ticket at the booth near the highway and ride the lift to the top. A quick wax job is $5, a complete ski tune-up is $15.

Don’t bother to bring lunch. The food counter sells hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, chips, coffee, beer and pop.

Lift tickets are $26 for adults. Half-day tickets, from 12:30 p.m. on, are, $16. Kids under 12 are free (two per paying adult), and seniors (65 and older)are free. Call (818) 790-2002 for a daily ski report.

From Interstate 210 (Foothill Freeway), take the Angeles Crest Highway (California 2) exit . Go through La Canada and continue up the mountain for about 30 miles beyond the entrance to Angeles National Forest. The resort is on the right.