Madness Is About to Return to Slopes

Mountain madness is about to break out again all over the West.

This annual epidemic, which shows up as the days before Christmas dwindle to a precious few, is also known as ski (or snowboard) fever, and at its peak the symptoms include:

--Bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highways to Big Bear, Wrightwood, Mammoth and Tahoe.

--Mountains of ski bags at airport check-in counters.

--No-vacancy signs at lodges, inns, motels and condominium complexes.

--Spur-of-the-moment dinner reservations available only at 5:30 and 10 p.m.

--Lines everywhere: at ticket windows, rental shops, chairlifts and even rest rooms.

So, you still want to go skiing (or boarding) between now and Jan. 5?

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For those who insist on joining the hordes that provide ski areas with as much as 40% of their annual revenue during this holiday fortnight, it can be reported that at least one essential ingredient is also present--snow.

The amounts vary, of course, ranging from adequate in the Southland mountains, to generally plentiful in the Sierra, to terrific in the Rockies, to out of sight in parts of the Cascades. Here’s a brief summary of conditions:

SOUTHLAND--Santa Ana winds are enhancing the snow-making process at the four open resorts, which are reporting depths of 12 to 36 inches.

At Big Bear Lake, Bear Mountain is operating its Big Bear Express, Gold Rush and Inspiration chairs plus a couple of beginner lifts, and Snow Summit is running both the East-Mountain Xpress and All-Mountain Xpress chairs, along with Nos. 3 and 8.

Snow Valley has three lifts going, with more to be added as coverage expands.

Mountain High West also offers skiing and boarding top to bottom, with up to four chairs in operation.

HIGH SIERRA--Mammoth Mountain is in excellent shape with a 48- to 84-inch base and 20 or so lifts on line.

Around Lake Tahoe, Heavenly says it is 90% open; Kirkwood has the deepest snowpack, 64 to 104 inches; Northstar-at-Tahoe and Sugar Bowl are in full operation, and Alpine Meadows is running 10 lifts.

At Squaw Valley, snow is skimpy at the 6,200-foot elevation but nearly 90 inches deep above 8,200 feet, and the resort reports it is 40% open.

ROCKIES--Colorado resorts, from Aspen to Vail and throughout “Ski Country USA,” are in midseason form. Vail/Beaver Creek, for example, is operating 42 of its 45 lifts.

In Utah, the canyons above Salt Lake City figure to be jammed, with Snowbird, Alta, Park City and Deer Valley all virtually 100% open.

Elsewhere, Taos Ski Valley, N.M., has all 11 lifts going; Big Mountain and Big Sky in Montana are completely snow covered; Jackson Hole, Wyo., has opened with a 72-inch base, and Sun Valley, Idaho, is gradually starting up additional lifts as the holidays approach.

CASCADES--Whistler/Blackcomb, B.C., again rated No. 1 in North America by Snow Country magazine, is running 24 lifts to serve 200 runs.

For real bury-the-lodge snow depths, however, head for Oregon, where Mt. Bachelor reports 136 inches, Mt. Hood Meadows 135 inches and Timberline 134 inches.

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American racers turned in respectable showings in the first World Cup men’s downhill of the season Sunday at Val d’Isere, France.

Kyle Rasmussen demonstrated he has regained his form of two years ago, finishing eighth, about a half-second behind the winner, Fritz Strobl, who led an Austrian sweep of the first four places.

AJ Kitt was 12th, also within a second of Strobl’s time, and Tommy Moe showed a brief flash of his 1992 Olympic gold-medal brilliance. Moe had the day’s fastest intermediate times until his run was interrupted because the skier ahead of him had fallen. Forced to restart, he wound up 35th.

Skiing Notes

Italy’s Alberto Tomba, who made his season debut with a second place behind Austria’s Thomas Sykora in Tuesday’s World Cup slalom at Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, probably won’t race again until 1997. Tomba, who turns 30 Thursday, wants to give his injured knee and wrist more time to heal. . . . Sykora moved into second place in the overall standings, 15 points behind countryman Hans Knauss, who leads with 297. . . . Katja Seizinger of Germany is No. 1 among the women with 494 points, 112 more than runner-up Pernilla Wiberg of Sweden.