SKIING / BOB LOCHNER : Colder Weather Makes the Conditions Bearable
California ski areas made it into the new year despite spotty conditions, saved mainly by cold temperatures that enabled them to make snow.
Big Bear probably offered some of the best skiing in the state, with both Snow Summit and Bear Mountain maintaining bases of 24 to 48 inches throughout the period. Snow Valley, near Running Springs, and Mountain High, at Wrightwood, are also continuing to operate daily, while Mt. Baldy is running one lift on a limited basis.
Thursday’s storm should add a thin layer of powder to slopes at the higher elevations of the Sierra, where all major resorts remain open.
Mammoth Mountain, which was down to about 12 inches, started receiving “big, wet flakes” in mid-morning, according to spokeswoman Pam Murphy, who said crowds ranged between 3,000 and 9,000 daily during the holidays. “We were able to run 14 lifts throughout the period,” she added.
The Northwest and several scattered sectors of the Rocky Mountains seem to be in the best shape at the moment.
Utah and Colorado generally have adequate cover, but the deepest snowpacks are in Montana, where Big Mountain is reporting 117 inches; New Mexico, where Santa Fe and Taos Ski Valley have 80 to 97 inches, and Oregon, where Mt. Bachelor lists 61 inches.
A Western Canadian sampling includes British Columbia’s Whistler/Blackcomb with 79 inches and Alberta’s Lake Louise and Sunshine with 68 to 70 inches.
Alberto Tomba of Italy, who leads the World Cup Alpine men’s overall standings, will skip the downhill and super-giant slalom races this weekend at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany.
The slalom/giant slalom specialist has always avoided the high-speed downhill but has occasionally tried the more subdued super-G. However, he told the Associated Press: “I am not going to take undue risks prior to the World Championships. I would enter super-G races after the world competition if the courses fit my technique.”
Tomba, whose 97 points put him nine ahead of second-place Ole Christian Furuseth of Norway, broke his collarbone in a super-G spill last season.
The World Alpine Ski Championships will be held Jan. 21-Feb. 3 at Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.
World Cup women’s downhill and slalom races (with combined scoring) scheduled for Bizau and Mellau, Austria, Sunday and Monday have been moved to Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, because of poor snow conditions at the original sites. Another slalom is set for Bergen, Germany, on Tuesday.
Petra Kronberger of Austria, who has scored 140 points this season for an 83-point margin over runner-up Chantal Bournissen of Swtizerland, is expected to race despite tearing ligaments in her right hand on Dec. 22 at Morzine, France.
Skiing Notes
The U.S. Pro Tour resumes at Heavenly Valley, on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, with a giant slalom Saturday and a slalom Sunday. Bernhard Knauss of Austria holds a commanding lead in the standings after winning four of the five races held thus far. The Austrian has earned $45,300 while compiling 155 points, 60 more than his closest challenger, Tomaz Cerkovnik of Yugoslavia. Phil Mahre of Yakima, Wash., who won the other race, is tied for ninth place with 65 points and has $10,800 in earnings.
Taped highlights of the World Cup ski jumping competition at Lake Placid, N.Y., will be shown on ESPN today at 5 p.m., PST, after Bob Beattie’s “Ski World” at 4:30. . . . Jens Weissflog of Germany leads the annual four-hill jumping competition with 408.2 points after two events. Andreas Felder of Austria, who tied Weissflog for first place at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Tuesday is second with 406.3. Felder tops the World Cup standings with 132 points, 32 more than Andre Kiesewetter of Germany. Weissflog is eighth with 50.
Snow Summit, at Big Bear Lake, welcomes snowboarders but has initiated a program “to educate snowboarders and control those who continue to be reckless and rude.” Snowboarders are given a blue card at the base area advising them that they must follow the same safety and courtesy rules as skiers; signs on lift towers reinforce the message, and a newly formed Snowboard Patrol enforces it. . . . More than 250 participants are expected at Bear Mountain next Thursday through Jan. 13 for the Ski Challenge for Disabled Skiers, sponsored by National Handicapped Sports.
Billy Kidd, silver medalist in the 1964 Olympic slalom at Innsbruck, Austria, and 1970 World combined gold medalist, is again offering his two-day and three-day racing camps at Steamboat, Colo., with sessions scheduled every week through April 5. Details: (303) 879-6111, ext. 543. . . . Elissa Slanger, who has conducted her Woman’s Way Ski Seminars at Squaw Valley since 1975, has set the following dates for her three-day, women-only ski instruction programs this season: Jan. 16-18, Feb. 8-10, March 8-10, March 13-15 and March 22-29. Two five-day courses are also scheduled, Jan. 27-Feb. 1 and Feb. 24-March 1. Details: (916) 587-0887.