SKIING / BOB LOCHNER : Resorts Happy to Add White to Fall Colors

The frost is not only on the pumpkin this Halloween week, it’s also on ski slopes throughout the West.

From Big Bear to Bend and from Mammoth to Aspen, one to three feet of snow has fallen or been produced by machines, creating one of the earliest ski-season openings on record. Of course, not all resorts are operating, but there is enough activity to start the snowball rolling--and it’s downhill all the way, at least until next Easter, which is a relatively late April 19.

Although this is obviously too early to declare an end to California’s five-year drought, it looks as if it may be starting to chill out, at least for skiers. Here’s the picture, mostly white, at the moment:

--In the Southland, Bear Mountain expects to open today on a limited basis with 12 to 30 inches of snow and a lift-ticket priced about one-third below normal. The high-speed quad chairlift, Big Bear Express, was being fine-tuned late Thursday to serve Claim Jumper, a 1 1/4-mile trail that drops 1,300 vertical feet. Skiers may call (714) 585-2519 after 6 a.m. today to find out if Bear Mountain will indeed be open.

Snow Summit, also at Big Bear Lake, had planned to start its season Saturday, but a warming trend developed in midweek and hampered snow making. A final decision is expected today.

--Mammoth Mountain, 325 miles north of Los Angeles in the Eastern Sierra, opened Monday, after a weekend storm dumped 24 to 36 inches of snow. Owner Dave McCoy’s new $5-million snow-making system has been spewing out more powder all week, and about 30% of the mountain is skiable. Chairlift Nos. 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 18 and 26 are running, with more on standby if needed. This was one of Mammoth’s earliest openings but still later than the Oct. 10 starts of both 1973 and ’81.

--Farther north in the Sierra, Boreal, on Donner Summit, began its season Sunday; Kirkwood, south of Lake Tahoe, got under way Tuesday with four chairlifts; Alpine Meadows, north of Tahoe, which didn’t close until last June 2, launched its Weasel and Kangaroo chairlifts Thursday, cutting daily tickets temporarily to $25 from their normal $39 level, and Alpine’s neighbor, Squaw Valley, said it is ready to go Saturday.

Squaw, site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, reported 20 inches at its 8,200-foot elevation and plans to operate the Cable Car and Gondola plus the Shirley Lake Express, Gold Coast, East Broadway, Belmont, Links and Bailey’s Beach chairlifts this weekend at a reduced rate of $25.

--Mt. Bachelor, near Bend, Ore., recorded the fifth October opening in its history, getting six chairlifts airborne Tuesday.

--In Utah, Park City, which plays host to the first World Cup men’s races Nov. 23-24, has a solid base and is on a day-to-day basis.

--Colorado, host to nearly 10 million skier visits in 1990-91, according to its propaganda arm, Colorado Ski Country USA, will offer four resorts on its first weekend of 1991-92. Keystone opened Monday; Vail, reporting a 20-inch base, and Loveland start today, and Aspen Mountain will stage its earliest opening in 45 years Saturday.

Aspen reported a 38-inch base Thursday and estimated that 48 of its 625 acres will be adequately covered, with two chairlifts carrying skiers to the top. Operation will probably be limited to weekends until Thanksgiving, Nov. 28.

Skiing Notes

Mammoth Mountain’s Dave McCoy had said his expanded snow-making capability would enable the resort to guarantee skiing by Nov. 15. Turns out, he was a bit conservative. . . . Bear Mountain claims that today’s start is the earliest ever for a Southern California ski area. . . . Squaw Valley will open its Olympic Ice Pavilion to skating on Nov. 15.

Ski Dazzle, the annual Los Angeles Ski Show, will be held in the L.A. Convention Center’s North Hall Nov. 22-24. . . . The new $1.7-million National Ski Hall of Fame was dedicated at Ishpeming, Mich., last month, when four new members were inducted: Edna Dercum of Dillon, Colo., who helped found Arapahoe Basin, Colo.; Benno Rybizka of St. Anton, Austria, a former ski instructor in the Arlberg Method; Bob Johnstone of Denver, founder of Winter Park, Colo., and George Bauer of Larchmont, N.Y., publisher of Ski magazine. The Hall has 283 members.

“Born to Ski,” latest feature-length film by Warren Miller, will be shown 11 times in the Southland: Nov. 9 at Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 8 p.m.; Nov. 10 at Irvine’s Barclay Theater, 7 and 9:30 p.m.; Nov. 12 at Redondo High School, 8 p.m.; Nov. 14 at Long Beach’s Terrace Theater, 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 15-16-17 at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 8 p.m. except 7:30 on the 17th; Nov. 19 at Universal Amphitheatre, 8 p.m.; Nov. 20 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, 8 p.m., and Nov. 26 at La Mirada’s Theatre for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m.