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!