Bear Mountain 11.19.09

Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, and Mountain High are often the victims of an inversion, an unusual rise in temperature at increased elevation. This is why for the past couple of weeks it has a been a crisp 20ºF nightly at my house but a wopping 40ºF on the hill, far above snowmaking temperatures (especially with humidity, but that's another post).

Last night there was finally a break, and good one at that: Bear Mountain cranked the guns at just about 8pm and ran until early morning...

If new snow wasn't reason enough to head out there, today is day three of Bear's complete overhaul of their park. Everything is now completely different, and the best part is these changes supposedly came from rider feedback. Thanks Bear Mountain!

The first phase of the park change-up was the addition of a rail area. There were no surprises with this decision; Bear is notorious for having the best rail riders in attendance, and with the likes of Joe Sexton, Jake O.E., Jed Anderson, Gabby Maiden, Chris Bradshaw, Zak Hale and others shredding up here today was not any different. Now we all have a thin rail, fat down rail, ledge/shotgun rail, and a double-barrell down rail to play on.


Along with the rail park, Bear put rider progression in mind and expanded the line of boxes, starting thin and going as wide as the dance floor box. The down tube that once lay where the rail park is now was a popular feature, so the park crew switched out the corrguated tube with the down tube to create a tube-wall ride combination. I managed to snap this awesomely amateur shot of the infamous TOBY on said feature.

A pretty neat addition to the park in preparation of the Ashbury team and some Bear team riders coming out to visit is the up-flat box paired with the ledge box, officially dubbed the "Up Flat Box- Side Car with a 30-foot Press Box" via Bear Mountain's website. Only at Bear Mountain I guess...

All in all it was another excellent day on the slopes. If you live locally and haven't visited Bear because one run doesn't seem that fun, do reconsider. Tickets are still discounted, the snow is fresh-like, the features are fun and if those reasons aren't enough than how about getting your riding legs back so you aren't all rubber-legged when the good stuff does open?

Bear Mountain 10.30.09

Recently the Santa Ana winds brought a cold front to Southern California, which for us is the equivalent of the snowstorms everybody else got. Bear started snowmaking late October 27th, and stacked a fleet of up to 70 guns to make the Central Park run off Chair 5 completely rideable.

Bear seems to be playing a different strategy this year, maybe because of the December opening last season. Usually they wait to open the main run from Bear's summit to the bottom, but this year they have minimized to the much smaller Central Park run.

Concentrating their efforts got a thick baselayer of snow over a run with under 50 hours of snowmaking, and has Bear opening before November for the first time in years. Regardless, Southern California must have gotten the memo about Bear opting not to open the main run, because for an opening day lines were pretty tolerable.

Snow conditions were hardpacked manmade snow at around 60ºF, so slightly wet and heavy. I think a lot of folks, myself included, were impressed with the quality and coverage of the snow, all things considered.

Of course, you really don't ride Bear Mountain for the snow; you ride it for the park...

Down tube not pictured

Bear Mountain hauled some fun features up the hill for all skill levels to enjoy. On the left you had two beginner/dance floor boxes (by the end of the day everyone had box spins and switch-ups, newbies included--that's Bear progression right there); on the right you might pursue the line from down tube, to narrow flat box, to flat-down box, to a corrugated tube to wallride transfer--a Bear signature feature and my hands-down favorite for the day.


Bear keeps an area of hikeable features, dubbed the Scene, at the base of Central Park. Today the Scene was sporting one last beginner-friendly flat box or a C-box to finish out your run.

All in all, I had a pretty sweet opening day; here's to a kickass season, and see you all on the slopes!