It was another stellar year for snowfall — but now with spring in full swing and temperatures warming, local mountain resorts are gearing up to close the slopes.
This winter season marked the second snowiest season since Big Bear Mountain Resort started recording statistics 25 years ago – surpassed only by last year’s mega storms – with the dumping fueled mostly by later cold storms like the one expected to roll through this weekend.
Skiers and snowboarders will be taking their last runs at Bear Mountain and Snow Valley on Sunday, April 14, while Snow Summit and Mountain High will be running lifts a bit longer, officials said, through at least April 21, to take advantage of late-season storms that have kept the slopes covered.
Mt. Baldy is expected to stay open through April 28, though slopes are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
“It’s starting to warm up,” Big Bear Mountain Resort spokesman Justin Kanton said. “When we get to this point in the season, it starts to go pretty quick.”
It’s not just the melting, slushy spring snow that goes into the decision to wrap up the season, but also staffing, operation costs and attendance, Kanton said.
“At this point, we’re starting to lose a lot of seasonal staff, they are planning on us not being open this time of year, they have other things lined up,” Kanton said. “From a cost standpoint, it’s not feasible to keep all resorts open.”
Unlike last year, when storms battered the region early in the season and never let up, this year got off to a slow start, with only a couple of inches of snowfall through December.
The winter weather really hit in February, marking the snowiest February in 25 years, with 121 inches of snow falling at Snow Valley and nearly 100 inches at Bear and Snow Summit, Kanton said.
“We almost got our entire season’s worth in February alone,” he said.
Snow kept falling through March and into this month, with resorts marking a season total of nearly 200 inches at Snow Valley and 173 inches at Summit and Bear, well above the season average.
Mountain High’s season extended due to several storms that rolled through in March and the last storms that brought 2- to 3-feet, said spokesman John McColly.
“We have a lot of snow here,” he said. “It was a slow start, but overall it was a very good year, probably equal or similar to last year. Once we hit December, things were rocking and rolling. We had such a great spring, we just kept going and going. A slow start, but a good finish.”
In total, Mountain High got an estimated 121 inches of snow, expecting even more this weekend. The winter weather prompted the resort to postpone its annual “Spring-A-Ma-Jig” to the final weekend on April 20 and 21.
The spring break-style celebration will have games and a pond skim, where skiers and snowboarders attempt to cross a 60-foot pond.
Mammoth Mountain, about six hours from Southern California, will be open through at least Memorial Day. The annual pond skim at Canyon Lodge is scheduled for April 14, and the Village Gondola will run daily through April 21.
After local lifts stop running, it will be time to gear up for summer. Mountain High will set up archery on the mountain, as well as disk golf, camping and scenic chair rides.
At Summit and Snow Valley, snow runs will transform into mountain biking courses, with a base camp at Summit that has an adventure area with a climbing wall, zip line and e-bike course. Scenic lift rides are also available at those resorts.
Local businesses are also preparing for the seasonal transition as well, with workers at LeRoy’s Boardshop busily switching out the snowboards and ski wear for bathing suits and summer gear for the lake enthusiasts.
“We have a decent amount of snow, but it’s deteriorating pretty quick,” said employee Tosh Robinson. “The months before this have been really busy, we haven’t had a laxed day.”
