Ski Season Is Still Probably One Week Away in Southland

Despite a dusting early in the week and light to moderate snow Wednesday night and Thursday, skiers probably will have to wait another week to kick off the season locally.

The Southland’s four major ski resorts--Bear Mountain and Snow Summit in Big Bear, Snow Valley in nearby Running Springs, and Mountain High in Wrightwood--will not be open this weekend but are hoping to open by Nov. 22.

Slopes in the Big Bear area had received up to two inches of snow by 10 a.m. Thursday and snow continued to fall much of the day.

Snow-making at all four resorts has either begun or will begin this weekend, weather permitting, to help bring about a successful opener.

Mammoth Mountain remains the only game around, with one chair and four trails open with a little more than a foot of man-made snow. Nearby June Mountain, owned by Mammoth, has scheduled a Dec. 17 opener.

In the Lake Tahoe area, Heavenly Valley and Boreal hope to open this weekend. Actually, Heavenly already has experienced its earliest opening ever--Oct. 26, after a cold snap enabled crews to make enough snow to open a couple of runs--but it has been closed since Nov. 2.

“It’s snowing now and we will be making snow tonight,” Monica Bandows, a spokeswoman for Heavenly, said Thursday. “But I can’t tell you how much we’ll have or what runs will be open. It all depends on Mother Nature. A lot can happen in 24 hours.”

Northstar at Tahoe is anticipating a Nov. 22 opener.