SKIING : Snow Big Deal : The place to go for cross-country is Mt. Pinos. Unfortunately, nearly everyone in Southern California knows.

Yes, you can live in Ventura County and take up cross-country skiing.

No, you don’t have to pack your family into the car for an all-day trip to Yosemite National Park or some other distant, snowy land.

The snow is right here. Well, almost.

The place to go is Mt. Pinos, an 8,831-foot peak that straddles Ventura and Kern counties. It’s situated west of Frazier Park in Los Padres National Forest. From mid-Ventura County, it’s less than a two-hour drive.

The snow has never been better, the forest rangers report. The rains that drenched us after Christmas also dumped five feet of snow on Mt. Pinos, and after several weeks, nearly four feet remain.

“It’s the best snow we’ve had this early for the past four or five years,” said Don Trammell, recreation officer for the Mt. Pinos area.

Unfortunately, that news has reached much of snow-starved Southern California. For the past few weekends the area has been deluged with crowds hoping to ski or simply play in the snow.

One recent Sunday, California Highway Patrol officers stationed themselves in Frazier Park and began turning visitors away early in the afternoon. The 18-mile trip from Frazier Park to the ski area’s parking lot was already too clogged with cars, they said.

The parking lot can only hold 150 cars, Trammell said. Another 100 to 150 cars can be parked along the road. But as many as 1,500 cars have somehow been crammed into the area. Last March, after a heavy snowfall, more than 3,000 cars a day were being turned back at Frazier Park because of the parking problem, he said.

“We continue to go up in usage every year,” Trammell said. “Now we’re seeing more people skiing on weekdays.”

Mt. Pinos’ popularity began to grow 10 years ago, and it really boomed five years ago. Because of the parking mess, there is talk of charging skiers a day pass to raise money for parking expansion. But if that happens, it won’t be this season.

So, would-be skiers should be forewarned: Arrive early on weekends, preferably before 9 a.m., and bring chains in case the two-lane road up to the mountain from Frazier Park is too slick for ordinary tires. If you don’t have the necessary boots, skis and poles, you can rent them from a ski shop for $10 to $12 a day.

Once you’ve arrived, you’ll find 18 miles of marked wilderness trails that can be used for free. By this weekend, Frazier Ski & Pack, a sports shop, plans to begin grooming another 15 miles and charge skiers $10 a day to use them.

The trails are a quarter-mile to two miles long. They range in difficulty from easy to advanced. A 1 1/2-mile trail of moderate difficulty leads from the parking lot to the summit of Mt. Pinos. There, on a clear day, you can see the ocean and the Channel Islands.

Taking in the view is one thing, but skiing is quite another. If you and your kids need ski lessons, check out The Wilderness Institute in Agoura Hills. Bradley Childs, a former park ranger and founder of the institute, has been providing lessons at Mt. Pinos for five years.

He and his staff offer six-hour introductory classes on Saturdays for adults and children 14 years and older. He also offers special six-hour family classes on Saturdays, beginning this Saturday.

“The family ones are really fun,” Childs said. The sessions are limited to seven families with children 6 years and older.

They begin with stretching, then they learn how to put on the skis. They practice the kick and glide that gives the sport its graceful image. They learn how to turn and how to fall down and get up, as well as uphill and downhill skiing techniques.

Once the families are somewhat comfortable on the skis, they play follow the leader and glide through a simple obstacle course. Parents try giving their kids a ride by pulling them with a ski pole. In the afternoon, the families take what they’ve learned to the trail.

Childs dismisses the idea that the sport is too difficult for young kids.

“If you can walk, you can cross-country ski,” he said.

Whether the kids take to the sport depends on how much fun they have in the beginning, Childs believes. “Hook them on having fun, and they’ll come back.”

Depending on the weather, the ski season on Mt. Pinos runs from Dec. 15 to April 15. If you take to the slopes, don’t expect the services of a luxury ski resort. There are restrooms on the mountain, but no snack shops, restaurants or ski shops. And, regarding trash, as always: You bring it in--you bring it out.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKI INFORMATION

For cross-country ski instruction, call: The Wilderness Institute, 818-991-7327. Introductory class on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is $45; family ski day on Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., $80 per family. The Ventura city Parks and Recreation Department has contracted with the institute for two ski outings: a family outing this Saturday, $80 per family, and an introductory class for kids 8 years and older, $45, call (805) 658-4726.

To rent cross-country ski equipment, call: Frazier Ski & Pack, 805-248-6014, one-day fee for skis, boots and poles, $10; or the Sport Chalet in Oxnard, (805) 485-5222, one-day fee, $12.

Mt. Pinos recreation area is 18 miles west of Frazier Park in Los Padres National Forest.

The directions: Take the Golden State Freeway past the Gorman exit and get off at Frazier Park.

The deal: Skiing on ungroomed trails is free. Skiing on groomed trails is $10 a day.

The details: For recorded information: 805-245-3449. For the ranger station: 805-245-3731.