Bear Mountain Snow Resort, Big Bear, CA
Growing up in SoCal, it is usual to get a handful of snowstorms during the winter season, but not in November. On Thanksgiving (night before opening), November 28th 2019, Big Bear was blessed by the Gnar Gods with 4 feet of fresh pow. This is way more than the casual winter storm that rolls through Southern California and of the three routes to get to the summit, only one was open. The popular Highway 18 through Running Springs and Highway 38 from Redlands were both closed down due to high snow levels and icing conditions. The very inconvenient “back way” Highway 18 from Lucerne was the only option and still required 4×4 with snow tires or tire chains for all travelers-no exceptions.
Determined to make it to opening day, no matter what, I drove the extra hour to Lucerne and arrived just after sunrise at the Mitsubishi cement plant where the back way to Big Bear begins. At 32 degrees, I put on my snow chains along with the small line of other travelers who had pulled over prior to the CalTrans checkpoint. After slow 20-mile drive up the sketchy and winding mountain highway, I made it to the resort and to my surprise, it was still snowing!
I figured that there would be a massive line and minimal parking available, as to why I left so DAMN early. But, I was able to quickly park, pick up my tickets and head for the lift that was set to open in 5 minutes. With MAYBE 75 people in line, we talked about how epic the day was about to be until the ski lift promptly began at 9am. Within minutes I was among the first chair rides of the winter season at Bear Mtn.
A ten minute chair ride and we got to the top to find gnarly, poor visibility, 20 knot winds at a blistering, 14 degrees. I knew I was going to have to buy a balaclava as my face was going to freeze off after my first run. This is why hardly anyone is here, too cold for most Californians, who prefer mid-70s even on the mountain. Also, most SoCal locals are bound for time and an extra hour of drive seems like a nightmare for many. So me and the few hundred who eventually made it to Bear, enjoyed a mountain virtually to ourselves.
For those of us who didn’t care what the conditions are and just wanted to shred, opening day was prime. After each run, there was hardly any wait time to get back on the lift to the top. I lost count how many runs I made, but I do know my body was done before my lift ticket expired. As it continued to dump fresh snow, each trip felt like an untouched run with built up soft pow. I witnessed a few try to venture off the trails for a more “backcountry” experience, but ended up stuck in waist deep snow which takes every ounce of energy to get out of.
It was a shame, however, that only a few runs were open. This was due to the 4-5 feet of snow that made much of the summit too dangerous to ride. Most of the features were buried and only one jump and a handful of rails were even rideable. But, all in all, it was worth the trip for the first chairs of the winter season with a smaller crowd, epic fresh pow conditions and endless runs.
To find out more about Bear Mountain and other Big Bear Snow Resorts, visit: https://www.bigbearmountainresort.com/winter
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