It’s Spring, but the Slopes Are Still a Great Option

Spring skiing officially arrives in the Southland this week, on the eve of spring break, and yes, there still is some snow for those who want to head for the hills instead of the beach.

Four ski areas are operating daily in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains:

--Bear Mountain is reporting a 24- to 48-inch base with seven lifts serving terrain that is 87% open, and it plans an assortment of activities next week, including a pond-skimming competition and a big-air snowboard contest, plus live music.

--Snow Summit has 12 to 36 inches, with up to 11 lifts going. Springfest ‘97, a weeklong series of fun-in-the-sun events, will start March 31.

--Snow Valley, still 95% open, offers 22 runs covered by 15 to 40 inches.

--Mountain High is 75% open on a base of 24 to 48 inches, with six lifts running on its western side.

Conditions range from machine-groomed hardpack in the mornings to softer snow as the temperatures rise in the afternoons, and of course, sunscreen and shades are essential. Shirts are optional--for men, that is.

SIERRA IS SWINGING

The snowpack is considerably deeper in the High Sierra, which is also swinging into a springtime mode.

Mammoth Mountain, with a 96- to 168-inch base, is in full operation, as are the major Lake Tahoe resorts. A brief flurry added two to four inches of powder in the basin Sunday, but the sun soon returned.

Squaw Valley will play host to the World Pro Ski Championships for men and women Thursday through Sunday. The women’s competition should be especially interesting as former U.S. ski team racer Julie Parisien battles Sweden’s Camilla Lundback and a couple of fast-rising Frenchwomen, Ophelie Racz and Isabelle Fabre, for the overall tour title.

Kirkwood will also be a lively place for the next 12 days, beginning with the North American Mountain Extreme Championships today through Sunday, the Echo Summit-to-Kirkwood Cross-Country Race/Tour Saturday and Jammin’ IV, which it calls “Tahoe’s ultimate spring party,” Saturday through March 30.

Mammoth, meanwhile, is preparing to stage the U.S. Snowboarding Championships next Wednesday through March 29.

WORLD CUP WRAP

American skiers completed the Alpine World Cup season without placing anyone among the top 20 men or women in the overall competition.

Retiring world downhill champion Hilary Lindh of Juneau, Alaska, did manage a ninth place in the downhill standings, but her 271 total points left her 22nd behind champion Pernilla Wiberg of Sweden, who piled up a record 1,960.

Daron Rahlves of Truckee, Calif., came through with his best finish of the winter in last week’s finals at Vail, Colo.--a sixth place--and wound up ninth in the super-giant slalom standings. However, his total of 160 points, all in that discipline, ranked him 47th behind overall titlist Luc Alphand of France, who had 1,130. Matt Grosjean of Aliso Viejo was 49th overall with 144 points, all in the slalom, where he was 17th.

The big question now, aside from whether U.S. downhillers Picabo Street, Tommy Moe, Kyle Rasmussen and AJ Kitt can recover from injuries in time to be contenders in the Olympics next February at Nagano, Japan, is what the future holds for Alberto Tomba.

The charismatic Italian placed third in the slalom at Vail despite his limited racing schedule this season, but at 30, he talks more about making movies than continuing to race.

Asked about his plans during a news conference Friday, Tomba leapfrogged the Olympics and said merely: “I’ll see you in Vail for the world championships in 1999.” Pause. “As a racer or as a spectator.”

QUICK TURNS

U.S. skiers were also buried in the final standings on the Freestyle World Cup circuit, with Ian Edmondson of East Lansing, Mich., who turns 40 next month, the only American among the top three in any event--third in acro-skiing. . . . Former Swiss racer Daniel Mahrer won the three-race MCI Downhill Tour, earning $115,000, which he said was about $70,000 more than his best season’s income in World Cup competition. . . . Martin Fiala of Germany picked up checks totaling $74,000 for winning the four-race Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill Series, but the Commonwealth duo of England’s Martin Bell and Australia’s Steven Lee took the team cup.