Mountain resort operators are gearing up to start running lifts to welcome skiers, snowboarders and sledders – and with El Niño on the horizon, hopes are high for another stellar season on the slopes.
Machines this week took advantage of the low temps that allowed for snow making and while there’s not much powder on the slopes, there’s enough for Big Bear resorts to get the winter fun started this coming weekend, with Bear Mountain opening for season pass holders Saturday, Nov. 25, and Snow Summit and Bear Mountain opening to the general public Sunday, Nov. 26.
The big buzz this year is the new ownership and $5.5 million in recent upgrades for Snow Valley, acquired by the same Colorado company, Alterra, which bought Snow Summit and Bear Mountain in 2017.
“Everything down there is just so in need of an overhaul and just really needed some love, it was well overdue,” Justin Kanton, spokesman for Big Bear Mountain Resort, said. “It’s great to see it getting back to its original luster, hopefully people who have been going there for years or newcomers will notice it, with a lot more to come as well.”
With the purchase of Snow Valley earlier this year, workers have been busy throughout the summer and fall upgrading the resort, as well as the other Big Bear Mountain Resort properties, investing a total $12.7 million at all three properties, Kanton said.
The major upgrade at Bear Mountain can be seen at the base area with the completion of the deck expansion project.
The first phase of the project a few years ago expanded the sundeck to the length a football field and now it is the size of three fields stretching across the entire base area, a better set up for parents watching kids take lessons with grab-and-go food options, additional seating and fire pits near the bar area for a prime place for people watching.
“Bear has the reputation as all-day après ski, they want to have their spot on the deck and enjoy the sunshine,” Kanton said.
The biggest piece of the puzzle for upgrades will be noticeable at Snow Valley, and while many of the changes were infrastructure necessities, they will make for a better user experience, he said.
Among the changes visitors can expect: A revised check-in process with a ticket kiosk and wireless payments, parking lot re-pavement and repairs to fill potholes, new walkways and new roofs on both of the main lodge buildings.
“There’s a lot of work going on the past five, six months that people probably won’t recognize, or appreciate off the bat, such as new electrical wiring or fixing the roof,” Kanton said. “It’s not exciting, unless you don’t like having water dripping on your head when you go into the lodge. Those are the things you have to do first before you get to the fun stuff, which will be in the mix as well.”
The rental shop has been spruced up with a new floor plan and will offer updated gear. The dining area at Deer Meadow Grill has also been fully remodeled and the restrooms and locker areas have been renovated.
On the slopes, two new “magic carpet” conveyor belts will help beginners get up the mountain, and the beginner lift, Chair 2, has been remodeled to be shorter with the beginner area expanded, so new skiers and snowboarders don’t have to intertwine as much with intermediate riders flying down the hill.
“A lot of people have apprehension about getting on a lift, having that option to give people a magic carpet, which is less intimidating, is definitely the way to go,” Kanton said.
Gates that scan tickets at the lifts have been installed and new high-efficiency snow guns were also installed to improve snow coverage throughout the season.
“The place has been so under-served for so long, it definitely needed a lot of love,” Kanton said.
While some people voluntarily opted to leave the resort or retired, there were no layoffs with the purchase, he said.
And, the first action the new owners took was to give raises to the staff, he said. “We want to make sure people who are working on this mountain want to keep working on the mountain and pay is a piece of that puzzle.”
The other piece of the puzzle to get resorts ready to go: Snow.
By this time last year, early-season storms had allowed the resort to be up and running. But this year, it’s been a warm, slow start and operators are making snow every chance they get leading up to opening day.
A trifecta of conditions make for prime snow creation: overnight temps need to drop, ideally between the 20s and low 30s; offshore winds help to blow it around; and humidity levels need to be low.
“At this point, we are taking it day-by-day and week-by-week, depending on what the temps want to do for us,” Kanton said. “A lot of people think, ‘Flip on the guns and get it going.’ The ground has to be cold enough to hold it, with a heavier base so lighter stuff doesn’t melt off and so we can get (equipment in) to groom it, so it’s safe to ride.”
What is the hope for the forecasted El Niño bringing another epic season?
“We’ve gotten out of the prediction game a long time ago. We take the conditions as they come,” Kanton said. “We’ll just keep our eyes on it, either way we should be good to go when temps and humidity get low enough. Last year, they said it was going to be high and dry and we got plenty of snow.”
Last year brought 244 inches to Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, while Snow Valley got even more snowfall at 277 inches.
National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy said the forecast is indicating Central and Northern California will be hit the hardest with storms this winter, unlike last year when the primary pathway was through Central and Southern California.
While the Southern California region won’t be as wet as last year, Tardy said, it should still be an above average winter.
Last year’s snowpack was the highest ever for the state and set record after record with an estimated 700 inches of snow at Mammoth Resort, well above the average 300 inches in a typical year. The slow, long melt allowed the resort to stay open into August and cool temps and a few storms have already opened slopes there for the season.
Big Bear resorts usually get around 100 inches of snow, but last year saw double that amount, much of it in one storm cycle in late February, Tardy said. “That doesn’t sound like much, but we’ve had years when they’ve only had 25 inches during the drought.”
Though snowboarders and skiers enjoyed the resulting snow-covered slopes, the relentless storms caused havoc for local towns, cutting off roads and causing businesses to suffer as tourists stayed clear when wild winter weather hit.
Local resorts stayed open into May.
This season will see a lot of storms from the south that will bring tropical moisture, similar to the storm in the middle of this month, Tardy said, meaning snow could be out of reach of area resorts.
“You don’t want too much tropical moisture, then snow levels get really high. Our Southern California mountains could really suffer,” he said.
Regardless of what this season holds, snowboarders and skiers are eagerly awaiting the lifts to start running.
Costa Mesa snowboarder Susan Inong Janechek visited Snow Valley for the first time late last season following the purchase, using her Ikon pass that gives her access to Bear Mountain, Snow Summit and now Snow Valley, which is about 30 minutes shorter a drive for her.
She said she’s “super stoked’ that Big Bear Mountain Resort purchased the “once sleepy resort.”
“I had so much fun and look forward to this upcoming season for more snow days at Snow Valley being the closest resort on our Ikon pass,” she said. “Here’s hoping the snow angels bless us with snow at these lower elevations for more snow days.”