‘Ski-Daddle’ : Hot Spots for Winter’s Favorite Sport Are the Southern California Mountain Resorts

OK, OK, Mr. Ripley, we believe it! Truth can be stranger than fiction. Yes, some of California’s hottest skiing is--imagine it!--right here at home, at local mountain ski resorts.

“Early in January we were hearing that we had some of the best ski conditions in the state,” said Snow Summit spokeswoman Cathy Boire. “The latest storms have natural snow on top of our man-made base, so conditions are even better now. These are the best conditions we have seen this season.”

The five big Southern California resorts--Bear Mountain and Snow Summit near Big Bear Lake, and Snow Valley 5 miles east of Running Springs in the San Bernardino Mountains, and Mountain High and Ski Sunrise near Wrightwood in the San Gabriel Mountains--are reporting a 2- to 4-foot base of packed powder, inclusive of the natural snowfall this week.

Five other resorts--Mt. Waterman, Kratka Ridge and Mt. Baldy, and Snow Forest (celebrating its 50th year and boasting a lift that handles 1,800 skiers an hour and an 80-degree run) and Ski Green Valley--are also reporting a base of 2 feet or more and powder up to 8 inches.

After an unusually warm, dry fall, early January storms brought nothing less than the winter wonderland that skiers--and resort operators--had prayed for, the realization of their white dreams.

As a few die-hard skiers had already discovered, runs at most local resorts had been covered with snow and skiable since Thanksgiving, thanks to snow-making technology. But real nature-made snow, that fluffy stuff that blankets trees, rocks, peaks and ski lodges as only Mother Nature can, made a psychological difference. The problem, according to Boire, is that with warm weather in the city, people didn’t think about skiing until recently.

“What’s more important,” she said, “are skiers’ ” perceptions of conditions. This new snow is great, but it’s nothing compared to what we’ve been making. We’ve had a good base for weeks, and we’ve logged in 450 hours of snow-making, but it’s the rain--and storms--that motivate people to want to ski.”

According to Boire, the number of skier visits picked up at the end of the year.

“We’ve reached capacity many days since Christmas Day,” she said, making the point that before traveling to the mountains, it’s always important to call ahead to any ski area to be sure it isn’t sold out.

“We think we have the best man-made snow in the area. We were voted fourth in the country by Ski Magazine readers, rated against much bigger resorts,” Boire said.

And there was joy at Mt. Waterman.

“This (latest) storm has put the frosting on the cake,” Mt. Waterman owner Lynn Newcomb’s taped voice told callers checking the early-morning ski report. Newcomb had good reason to be happy, because snow-making equipment won’t be installed there until next year; for the moment, Newcomb still depends on the vagaries of the jet stream.

Snow Summit, with 30 runs on 210 groomed acres and a vertical drop of 1,200 feet, is probably the area’s best known--and often most crowded--ski resort. But, Boire says, “we limit our ticket sales, to help ensure the wait in lift lines to 10 minutes or less.”

While most resorts control ticket sales in some way (Snow Valley gauges crowd size by the number of cars in the parking lot), at Snow Summit the promise of short waits in lift lines isn’t just marketing hype. Oversized clocks at the bottom of the chairlifts encourage skiers to verify the number of minutes spent inching forward in line.

On a recent capacity day with 4,500 skiers competing for the same snow space, only one wait timed out longer--11 minutes. There were moments, though, when it seemed that all the world was in attendance.

Julie and Jill Shumaker and Jennie Lee, high school students from Fountain Valley, came up, rewarded for their faith in Mother Nature. “We made reservations a month ago,” said Julie as she waited to pick up her lift tickets.

And Jim Nickoloff and Frank Moon, senior citizens from Apple Valley, were there, abandoning the golf course for a day in the snow. At noon they stopped for lunch at the View Haus cafeteria at the top of Chair 10, the place to snap photos of the scene below: blue sky framing snow-covered Big Bear Lake and the distant mountains.

And there was Christina Kracht, from Denmark, sporting Day-Glo-green sunglasses. “I’m going home in three days,” she said, “but when I heard the weather report, I knew there was time for one last visit.”

Outside the lodge, Line DeVouassoux, from France, New Caledonia and Laguna Niguel (in that order), sat in the sun with Cagou, her Saint Bernard, and waited for her husband and son. “We’ve rented a house in Green Valley for a week,” she said, adding that they planned to try all the area resorts.

At Snow Valley, lift lines were just as busy. Snow conditions are so good everywhere, in fact, that Southern California slopes are stealing business from the bigger resorts up north.

“Our skiing’s been better than Mammoth,” said Mountain High spokesman Richard Conger early in the month. “We’ve had such a great year that a couple of my friends from there have been coming down here.”

This year isn’t the first time that a dry December has been followed by several months of heavy snow, he says.

“A classic case was the first few months of 1979. After a dry December, we had 26 inches of rain in January and February. That worked out to about 15 feet of groomed snow, with a 7- to 8-foot base.”

Mountain High is the first local resort to install the latest in chairlift technology, a detachable quad. Called the “Mountain High Express,” it parallels existing Chair 7 (a 15-minute ride up) and carries 2,000 skiers each hour to the top of the mountain in just six minutes.

Together, Mountain High’s 12 chairlifts--three two-quads, three triples and six doubles--are spread over two peaks facing east and west, providing access to 19 miles of ski runs on about 205 groomed acres.

Although facilities are somewhat limited or smaller compared to some of the high-elevation Sierra ski resorts, such as Mammoth, Squaw Valley or Kirkwood, Southern California resorts hold their own in attracting skiers who don’t want to travel to the northern ski areas as well as families, parents with toddlers, beginners who need ski and boot rentals and lessons, and the average skier who hopes to stay fit with a single day of skiing now and then.

To meet these needs, the resorts provide rental shops, ski schools for all ages and low-priced beginners’ packages. The beginner runs--so-called “bunny slopes”--are in an area separated from experienced skiers.

Recognizing that many young adults are career couples with younger children, Snow Summit offers a complete child-care program for ages 6 months to 8 years.

Toddlers spend the day in the Little Bear Care Center, where instructors offer ski lessons to 3- and 4-year-olds. Children 5 to 8 can enroll in the Little Bear Ski School.

Another popular offering for those who’d like to be ski bums but can’t afford it is night skiing. Snow Valley, Snow Summit and Mountain High light their major runs and sell lots of lift tickets, though temperatures drop when the sun sets.

Recent snowfalls notwithstanding, the secret of success in Southern California has always been snow-making. The recipe is simple: ordinary water and compressed air shot into the air by portable guns attached to water hoses. As billions of tiny droplets hit the cold air they turn to snow. And when an expert has his finger on the trigger, the results are indistinguishable from natural snow.

According to Bear Mountain spokeswoman Monica Bandows, the ideal snow-making conditions are 20-degree temperatures and 30% humidity. “In 12 hours,” she says, “we could cover a one-mile stretch of the San Diego Freeway with 5 1/2 feet of snow.”

But snow isn’t all that skiers want, and local resorts have obliged with the expected amenities: comfortable lodges; large and efficient cafeterias; cozy bars with windows that look out over the slopes; ski shops selling the newest clothes, goggles, skis and boots; a rental and lesson shop; electronic game rooms, and, in some places, a traditional fireplace for warming cold toes.

Skiers heading up to Big Bear Lake can stay overnight to avoid the one- to three-hour drive up the mountain. The town has dozens of hotels, motels, cottages, lodges and bed-and-breakfast inns. The Big Bear Chamber of Commerce, (714) 866-4607, has information about a $79 midweek hotel room and lift-ticket package; or make a reservation directly by calling (714) 866-5878. Snow Forest is in Big Bear; Ski Green Valley is about 6 miles east of Running Springs on Green Valley Lake Road.

Mountain High and Ski Sunrise attract mostly day skiers, but for overnighters there are accommodations in nearby Wrightwood. Mt. Baldy, Mt. Waterman and Kratka Ridge are in the national forest and are for day skiing only. Mt. Waterman and Kratka Ridge are on Route 2 halfway between Wrightwood and La Canada; Mt. Baldy is 15 miles north of Upland and Interstate 10.

Most resorts sell tickets through ticket agencies and on the premises. However, weekends sell out fast and in advance, so don’t drive up without reservations. At the height of the season, midweek and weekend lift tickets are the same price.

Occasionally, resorts offer special prices for teen-agers, children and senior citizens, and learn-to-ski packages for beginners. Seniors 65 and older ski free at Kratka Ridge and Ski Sunrise.

Although lift tickets for some resorts can only be purchased at the site, most of the resorts offer lift tickets through Ticketron, (213) 642-4242 or Ticketmaster (213) 480-3232). Prices vary quite a lot; adult tickets range from about $15 to $35; children’s tickets from about $12 to $18.

For additional information call: Snow Summit (714) 866-5841 (reservations) or for ski conditions (213) 613-0612 or (714) 972-0601; Snow Valley (714) 867-5151; Bear Mountain (714) 585-2519; Mountain High (619) 249-5821; Ski Sunrise (619) 249-6150; Mt. Waterman (818) 790-2002; Kratka Ridge (818) 440-9749; Mt. Baldy (714) 981-3344; Ski Green Valley (714) 867-2338 or (714) 777-1783 and Snow Forest (714) 866-8891

For road information, call (213) 626-7231. Always carry tire chains; snow tires do not eliminate the requirement for chains.