Snow Business : Historic Family-Run Mt. Waterman Ski Resort Is Up for Sale

Even for Southern California it would make an unusual real estate ad: “Fixer-upper on large lot w/fab views from chairlift. Must see--esp. in summer, when 16 ft. of snow has melted. A bargain at $1 million.”

And did we mention historic?

The Mt. Waterman Ski Resort in the Angeles National Forest is on the block after five decades of operation by the pioneer Newcomb family that settled the rugged mountain area more than a century ago.

The sale could bring big changes to the sleepy, family-run resort 30 miles above La Canada Flintridge and perhaps end the hands-on management style that makes skiers at Waterman feel like they are members of an extended family rather than just fodder for the chairlift.

Family patriarch Lynn Newcomb, 75, has set in motion plans to spruce up the aging ski facility as part of the effort to attract a new owner. Work has begun to add a full-scale snow-making network across the face of the steep mountain slope, and plans have been tentatively approved by the U.S. Forest Service to triple the number of chairlifts and double the number of parking spaces for the increased crowd that the renovation is expected to attract.

At the same time, 160 acres of what is known as the Newcomb Ranch--the largest and one of the last privately owned parcels of land in the giant national forest--is slated to be sold to the Trust for Public Lands and become part of the forest preserve.

U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Terry Ellis said the purchase is an important addition to the forest and is necessary to guarantee that the land is not developed into an inappropriate housing tract or commercial enterprise.

“These are natural resources that ought to be open to the public,” Ellis said.

The Newcombs have owned the property since the reclusive pioneer Louie Newcomb homesteaded the parcel in 1891. Lynn Newcomb, a distant nephew of some sort, he says, grew up in Hollywood but spent the summers of his youth hiking among the pines and lupine flowers that blanket the mountain preserve.

“There’s not a mountain you can see from here that I haven’t climbed,” said Newcomb, looking out over the expanse of the San Gabriel Mountains that run the length of the national forest.

But after spending the better part of his life on Mt. Waterman--through the summer heat, winter cold and fall fires--Newcomb said it is time to kick back a bit.

“It’s too much work for an old man--the blasting, the jackhammering,” said Newcomb, who despite his self-characterization appears every bit as spry and sure-footed in his hobnailed boots as any of the bighorn sheep that crisscross the 8,000-foot summit of Mt. Waterman.

“It’s not that I don’t like the business,” he said while bouncing up the now snowless slopes of Waterman in his truck. “I love it. And I’m proud of what I’ve done. But I’m too old to keep monkeying around. It’s a young man’s business.”

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Indeed, as a young man, Newcomb had a fascination with speed that led to his building and racing hot rods on the High Desert flats, surfing San Onofre on redwood and balsa boards and serving as a fighter pilot in World War II. But among those pursuits, Newcomb, as a student at USC in 1939, developed an interest in the then-emerging sport of skiing.

“My dad said, ‘Let’s build a ski run.’ And I picked it out,” said Newcomb, explaining why Mt. Waterman has the unusual configuration of easy slopes at the top, and more challenging, expert slopes at the bottom where the original rope tow was built.

As World War II was breaking out, Newcomb and his father were dynamiting the mountain face and laying concrete for a more elaborate chairlift. And at 10 cents a ride, it was an immediate hit.

After the war, Newcomb returned to the mountain and decided to try and make a go of the ski resort business.

“I’m just a farmer, but in a different medium,” explained Newcomb, rubbing together his calloused, stubby hands. “I still depend on the weather. And when it’s right, you’ve got to work like hell.”

And like a farmer, Newcomb is happiest when he is out among his fields.

“I love to be out. I try to stay away from the telephone and won’t do any bookkeeping. I hire people to do that,” said Newcomb, whose strong but friendly lined face has the permanent squint of someone who has spent years in the sun.

Over the decades, Newcomb built a steady and dedicated clientele, serving between 35,000 and 50,000 skiers a year.

“People keep coming back here for years. They all know each other and they bring their kids back. That’s the best part for me,” said Newcomb, who is a familiar sight around the mountain and whose voice is on the folksy snow conditions recording. “Now it’s difficult for me to go anyplace without somebody saying hi. And I’ve got no idea who they are.”

Newcomb hopes that some of that charm will stay on with the new owners.

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So far, he’s had a few nibbles, but no bites.

Some of the potential buyers who come by and kick the tires are drawn by the romance of owning their own ski resort. Others, Newcomb said, are wealthy individuals who seem to be looking for something for their unemployed children to run.

“But then I show them the numbers and say, ‘Hey, you’re going to have to work at this,’ ” he said.

Whoever does take over the area will almost certainly have to expand to make it profitable, Newcomb said.

Although skiing is more popular than ever, with record attendance in two of the past three years nationally, ski area ownership is not nearly as robust.

Almost 100 ski areas have ceased operations in the past seven years and more than 200 have closed in the past 15 years, according to the National Ski Areas Assn. That brings the national total to 516 and the California total to 38.

“It’s complex to do business in the 1990s,” said Stacy Gardner of the ski association. The ski industry, she said, is like other businesses these days: “There’s not as many mom-and-pop shops; there’s more 7-Elevens.”

Though the industry is still largely one of independent entrepreneurs, big corporations are taking hold. Three chain operations account for about 13% of annual skier visits nationally, according to ski association figures.

Still, there is a special attraction to the industry. “Those in the business are in it because they love it,” said Gardner. “They’re not just in it to make money.”

Newcomb says he will miss it too, especially the people.

But he is also looking forward to some traveling away from the mountain. “I want to go back to the places I’ve enjoyed so much--Mexico in the winter and Alaska in the summer,” he said.

He is also keeping a toehold on the mountain. Newcomb will continue to own 10 acres of the family homestead on which he has built a house. And the Newcomb Ranch Inn, a favorite stop for hikers, motorcyclists and skiers on California 2 in the heart of the forest, will stay open and be operated by a friend of the family.

But Newcomb said he is happy the bulk of the landholdings will now be kept in their natural state.

“There’s always been a threat that someone would offer us a bundle for the ranch and build condos,” Newcomb said. “But I always said no. I’m too close to the mountain.”