A Playground Made for Powder Hounds

As snowfall totals continue to mount--400 inches at Mammoth and throughout much of the Lake Tahoe area, and about half that locally--there are no longer any doubts that this will go down as one of the best powder seasons in years, if not decades.

At the New Mountain High resort in Wrightwood, which has one of the deepest base depths locally at nearly 10 feet on the upper slopes, they jokingly suggested during Monday’s storm that skiers bring a snorkel because the snow is so deep.

At nearby Mt. Waterman, which was closed Monday because of soggy and snowy conditions, the storm brought rain first, then two feet of wet snow, and then, during the night and morning hours, three feet of fluffy, light powder.

“We’re talking Jackson Hole [Wyoming]now,” said Tom Moriarty, general manager at the small but fun ski area alongside Angeles Crest Highway. “We had a five- to six-foot base before the storm. Now we have 10 feet.

“Remember the 1982-83 El Nino? Well, this weather pattern is following that one exactly, and we were open until Mother’s Day that winter.”

Maybe they’ll make it to Father’s Day this season. The resort, which began operating the first chairlift in Southern California in 1942, can use the business, having been open for a not-so-grand total of 10 days over the previous two seasons.

At the other end of the San Gabriel Mountains, Mt. Baldy was closed Monday and employees spent much of Tuesday digging out, then basked in the bright sun as skiers and boarders enjoyed far and away the best conditions this season, with waist-deep powder all the way from the top of the mountain at 8,600 feet to the bottom at 6,500 feet.

“There was snow all the way down to the village at 4,000 feet,” spokesman John Koulouris said. “We got 4 1/2 feet--overnight [Monday].”

In Northern California, the storms have packed an even bigger wallop, and it has been “pow day after pow day” in the Lake Tahoe region, according to Circe Wallace, one of Ride Snowboard’s top female boarders and a resident of the area. “The only problem is the back country is at an all-time avalanche danger,” she said, still mourning the death of Jamil Khan, a fellow pro boarder who perished in an avalanche in the back country near Donner Summit two weeks ago.

Donner Summit, which gets the brunt of winter storms, has been blanketed with about 400 inches of snow this season, about the same as during the El Nino winter of 1982-83.

“A periscope would be more appropriate than a snorkel at this point,” said Judy Daniels, a spokeswoman for Northstar-at- Tahoe, which has had more than 400 inches and enjoys a base of 10-15 feet. “It’s all been snow, and light, dry powder at that. I think you’ll be able to bring your snow and water skis to Tahoe in July.”

One Tahoe publication recently led a story with this sentence: “Eat your heart out, Colorado,” pointing out that most resorts in that state are lucky to have seen 100 inches of snow fall on their slopes, and the same is true throughout much of Idaho and Wyoming.

Meanwhile, across the Sierra Nevada at Mammoth Mountain, where only eight days went by in February with no snow and where 20 inches fell during Monday’s storm alone, a 15- to 21-foot base pretty much guarantees one thing.

“We will be skiing well into July,” said Jennifer Renner, a spokeswoman for the mountain.

PLUGGING AWAY

Spectators: The inaugural Ski Bike Invitational--featuring mountain bikes with ski attachments--will be held Saturday at Mountain High. Internationally ranked mountain bikers will compete in head-to-head competition on a giant slalom course at the east resort beginning at 11 a.m. Promoters promise “high speeds and huge crashes.” . . . Participants: There is a USSA Southland Series Super-G event Saturday at Mountain High, open to racers age 9-12, with registration from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and competition at 11 a.m. Cost is $17, plus a one-time USSA membership fee of $50. . . . Bill Johnson, who won a gold medal in the downhill at the 1984 Olympics at Sarajevo, will lead clinics at Mt. Baldy tours of the backside of the mountain--site of future expansion--March 14-15, beginning at 9 a.m. each day. Cost is $100, which includes a lift ticket, the clinic and back-country tour. Details: (714) 297-2891.