Snow Summit

[llamborghinii]

Not east coast, but it was a good warm up for when I actually do ski the east again. I would recommend to anyone who is stuck in southern cali and wants to ski

Date(s) Skied: 1/27-28/07

Resort or Ski Area: Snow Summit

Conditions: Well groomed, 4 foot base, 99% of the snow was man made

Trip Report:
2nd time to big bear (big bear has 2 resorts under one ticket; snow summit and bear mountain) On Saturday it was crowded since all the skiers and boarders from san diego and los angeles made the day trip.

We got there early, around 7am, so we didn't have to park into the overflow parking lot.

We were the first ones in line, so we were the first ones to go down all the freshly groomed trails. This resort is not like any of the other resorts in the west. There was only 1200 feet of vertical to ski, which left me getting to the bottom of the mountain way to fast. There wasn't any above treeline skiing or bowls either. And there were ice spots that would develop at the end of the day (sound familiar?) When I reached the bottom of the hill, I'd have to wait in line up the 30 minutes for the HSQ since they were loading the lift from both sides of the terminal.

I found that I could avoid the long lines at the HSQ's if I didn't ski to the bottom and took the lifts that loaded from the mid mountain.

I ate an early lunch around 10am, the hot dog was good, but 4.50, even though expected, is steep (maybe pack my lunch next time)

At that time I decided to give the over mountain a try. I took the free shuttle to bear mountain. It was just as crowded as snow summit, although it seemed like it had more vert. Almost every trail on here had a terrain park here. This made for a lot of snowboarders. I tried a few of the parks but left after I was frustrated with the crowded trails. I went back to snow summit. The lines were still long. I got to the stop and decided to not go back to the base unless I absolutely had to. The skiing was decent, with less skiers on the harder trails.

The pros: It was sunny and warm. I only had on my base warming layer and jacket. I didn't had to use gloves half of the time, and i didn't need a beanie or neckwarmer. The trails that weren't crowded were enjoyable to ski down. Due to the fact that southern california doesn't get much precipitation, they didn't have much natural snow. But since they make snow as much as possible, over 90% of the trails were open, with excellent coverage. And they did have this cool thing called a "trash target" under the HSQ. If have trash and you are on the lift, you try to throw it into a barrel as you whiz by

The Cons: Crowded, very crowded, on the lifts and the trails. Even though I have only skiied once (other than last week) in the last 4 years, I didn't find it very challenging. There were no glades or mogul trails.

Yet despite all this, I would go back again. Why? Cuz they have almost all their trails open, and the other 2 resorts somewhat close by have less than half there trails open, and less trails as well. And I really like to ski, so i got to suck it up.

Go here for pictures http://travel.webshots.com/album/557355493PufPlR

[Angus]

I'm in LA all the time and it always cracks me up to listen to radio ads about this place. it doesn't look half bad - I want to stop at one of those ski and paddle chalet places some time...what is it about 2 1/2 hours from LA?

[llamborghinii]

well i came from oceanside, which is 2 and a half hours. If you are in L.A. all you'd have to really do is get on the 10 and go east, so you are probably about 2 hours away