No Big Deal holds a special place in my heart. Not only was it a record setting season for Bear Mountain, but it was also my first year on a snowboard after high school.
There I was working the midnight shift for UPS. At 9am I would punch out, hop in my car and make the hour drive to Bear to relieve some stress; it was the year that started it all.
Bear gave me a copy of their promotional DVD, No Big Deal, on my first visit of the season. It was the first snowboard movie I ever owned, so needless to say I watched it so much I finally wore it out... even the menu skipped, and playing it was impossible.
It remains to this day one of my favorite edits, so I lit a fire under my ass to get my copy playing again. Getting the DVD to you via Vimeo meant buying a Skip Dr, and after that didn't work, sending the disc to Florida for resurfacing. On the way to Florida the disc cracked, but somehow it missed the data, and I was able to get all the files.
Low and behold, here it is: No Big Deal. I'm in the same boat as you, watching this for the first time in years... and I remember the magic that made me continue to blow my UPS check on gas to drive up to Bear three times a week.
With the copious amounts of snow, Bear made the 2004/2005 season the biggest and most creative season I ever experienced there.
From enormous kickers to a plethora of VW Bugs, blazers, and giant rails painted to look like the American flag, it was a really great time to be riding in Southern California. M3 still existed, Mikkel Bang and Zak Hale were still groms with high-pitched voices, and 1080s were still a big deal.
Join me in reminiscing on a season long passed. I hope you all enjoy No Big Deal as much I did when I first saw it, and still do every time I watch it.
Showing posts with label Bear Mountain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bear Mountain. Show all posts
Bear Mountain Presents 'Sunday'
The 2007 season was a rough one for Bear Mountain. While the weather was cool enough the clouds never came, and Bear had to rely on their snow making system if local riders were going to enjoy a season.
One of Bear's biggest investments, where they spend most of the money we bring to the resort, is in snowmaking. Being located in Southern California, dry seasons like the one in 2007 are almost guaranteed, and a strong snowmaking fleet is the only way to know for sure that your resort is going to survive.
Bear can open top to bottom with only two to three days of snowmaking... that's how expansive their system really is. Even though things were looking gloomy, everyone was stoked when the last minute announcement was made, "Bear will kick off the season in a couple of days".
Ironically, even given the fact that most of the snow they had to work with came right out their reservoirs, Bear Mountain managed to make 2006/2007 one of their greatest seasons. After all it only takes a little bit of snow to take advantage of the "best snowboard park in the world", and that year Bear really lived up to the title.
'Sunday' was Bear's promotional video to let everyone know that even with barely any natural snowfall, Bear Mountain still kicked ass!
One of Bear's biggest investments, where they spend most of the money we bring to the resort, is in snowmaking. Being located in Southern California, dry seasons like the one in 2007 are almost guaranteed, and a strong snowmaking fleet is the only way to know for sure that your resort is going to survive.
Bear can open top to bottom with only two to three days of snowmaking... that's how expansive their system really is. Even though things were looking gloomy, everyone was stoked when the last minute announcement was made, "Bear will kick off the season in a couple of days".
Ironically, even given the fact that most of the snow they had to work with came right out their reservoirs, Bear Mountain managed to make 2006/2007 one of their greatest seasons. After all it only takes a little bit of snow to take advantage of the "best snowboard park in the world", and that year Bear really lived up to the title.
'Sunday' was Bear's promotional video to let everyone know that even with barely any natural snowfall, Bear Mountain still kicked ass!
Bear Mountain 4.18.10 - Closing Day
Typing the date almost feels like engraving the death of a fallen comrade on his tombstone. Today Bear Mountain shut down the lifts one final time, and while Mt. High and Snow Summit continue to operate for one more week the flame of the season down here--along with most of the nation--remains barely lit.
Riding my last laps and Bear, I couldn't help but think about all of my experiences this season: New tricks, new friends, old friends, and let's not forget the snowfall of the decade here in Big Bear, CA. So, looking back I asked myself, "What did you learn about snowboarding this year?" And here is what I came up with...
Be As Friendly As Possible; You can learn something you didn't know from anybody you talk to in one five-minute chairlift ride.
If You Really Want It, Wake Up Super Duper Early for Powder; Right after the five foot dump up here, the skies opened to bluebird. Too bad I woke up five minutes before the lifts opened, and after wading through waist deep powder, digging out cars, etc. I rolled up to the hill at just about noon. Guess what? I didn't slash much powder, poor me.
It Pays to Play; I stayed out of the park for the majority of these last few years snowboarding. I spent a lot of time playing around on groomers, testing out what I could get my snowboard to do; ollieing, pressing, buttering, flatground spins, basically having fun. This year I moved to Bear and figured, you know, "When in Rome". I've learned a lot, a lot of tricks this year without any serious injuries and it's all thanks to time spent mastering my snowboard elsewhere.
Patience is A Virtue; don't end up with a downed kid and a broken board. Especially try not to lose your temper over every little thing other people do; they are going to do it all the time, and it's easier just to worry about yourself.
Enjoy It All; A ridiculous amount of time has flown by. Bear Mountain opened in October, and since then each day found me fixated on features I wanted to hit and tricks I wanted to try--you can't blame me, it's hard to do otherwise riding Bear. So, it's not that I didn't have fun but that I rarely stopped to realize it. It really doesn't matter how much snow you get, if you are snowboarding you are someplace incredible doing something amazing; don't forget to drink it all in every now and then.
Riding my last laps and Bear, I couldn't help but think about all of my experiences this season: New tricks, new friends, old friends, and let's not forget the snowfall of the decade here in Big Bear, CA. So, looking back I asked myself, "What did you learn about snowboarding this year?" And here is what I came up with...
Be As Friendly As Possible; You can learn something you didn't know from anybody you talk to in one five-minute chairlift ride.
If You Really Want It, Wake Up Super Duper Early for Powder; Right after the five foot dump up here, the skies opened to bluebird. Too bad I woke up five minutes before the lifts opened, and after wading through waist deep powder, digging out cars, etc. I rolled up to the hill at just about noon. Guess what? I didn't slash much powder, poor me.
It Pays to Play; I stayed out of the park for the majority of these last few years snowboarding. I spent a lot of time playing around on groomers, testing out what I could get my snowboard to do; ollieing, pressing, buttering, flatground spins, basically having fun. This year I moved to Bear and figured, you know, "When in Rome". I've learned a lot, a lot of tricks this year without any serious injuries and it's all thanks to time spent mastering my snowboard elsewhere.
Patience is A Virtue; don't end up with a downed kid and a broken board. Especially try not to lose your temper over every little thing other people do; they are going to do it all the time, and it's easier just to worry about yourself.
Enjoy It All; A ridiculous amount of time has flown by. Bear Mountain opened in October, and since then each day found me fixated on features I wanted to hit and tricks I wanted to try--you can't blame me, it's hard to do otherwise riding Bear. So, it's not that I didn't have fun but that I rarely stopped to realize it. It really doesn't matter how much snow you get, if you are snowboarding you are someplace incredible doing something amazing; don't forget to drink it all in every now and then.
Video Post 2010 - Bear Mountain Edition
Bear Mountain and Snow Summit have always operated on a last-second basis. In other words, they like to announce opening and closing two days before the fact. While they won't set an official date for the end of the 2010 season here in Big Bear Lake just yet, Bear Mountain now operates on weekends only and I predict both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit will close their doors April 25th.
With the California sunshine in full effect and only a few weeks of riding left, everybody seems to be taking full advantage of the leftovers of an abundant winter. Here are some 100%-filmed-here videos to send Bear off into next season with nothing but love.
The first video is a 32 Spot Check at Snow Summit. Snow Summit has gotten the majority of my days this year as Westridge has been off the hook all season; big jumps, perfect lips, all of the rails and Chevy Blazers you can handle, and almost no lines. Chris Bradshaw agrees, and here he shows you that contrary to popular belief Westridge is still alive and kicking.
I've seen Drayden Gardner cruising around, hitting things that cause my testicles to rescind just looking at them. No surprises that Bear Mountain produces some top-notch groms, actually I think three or four or five of them went to USASA Nationals this year. Anyway, here is a ten year old from Bear Mountain that shreds better than you do.
The KR3W/Ashbury teams put on a little demo a few weeks ago that left "the scene" at Bear Mountain in the most creative layout of the season. No one can deny that the KR3W/Ashbury team absolutely shreds and with such a unique set up to session they got to bring out all of their skills. Enjoy.
With the California sunshine in full effect and only a few weeks of riding left, everybody seems to be taking full advantage of the leftovers of an abundant winter. Here are some 100%-filmed-here videos to send Bear off into next season with nothing but love.
The first video is a 32 Spot Check at Snow Summit. Snow Summit has gotten the majority of my days this year as Westridge has been off the hook all season; big jumps, perfect lips, all of the rails and Chevy Blazers you can handle, and almost no lines. Chris Bradshaw agrees, and here he shows you that contrary to popular belief Westridge is still alive and kicking.
I've seen Drayden Gardner cruising around, hitting things that cause my testicles to rescind just looking at them. No surprises that Bear Mountain produces some top-notch groms, actually I think three or four or five of them went to USASA Nationals this year. Anyway, here is a ten year old from Bear Mountain that shreds better than you do.
The KR3W/Ashbury teams put on a little demo a few weeks ago that left "the scene" at Bear Mountain in the most creative layout of the season. No one can deny that the KR3W/Ashbury team absolutely shreds and with such a unique set up to session they got to bring out all of their skills. Enjoy.
Video Post 2010 #2
Time for another video post already!? Well, when your morning routine consists of sorting through 10+ fresh-out-the-oven shred videos, all of which happen to be bangers, the footage starts piling up. Gotta post the new stuff while it's still hot or some sick videos end up getting lost in the woodwork; so without further ado, video post 2010 numba' two...
TWSNOW has run this Sunday in the Park series out of Bear Mountain for several years now. What keeps it alive are two things: the Bear Mountain terrain park--always changing, never the same--and the Bear Mountain team riders with their insane style and creativity. Lately, Bear has been capitalizing on a long string of bluebird days (likely to last through the season) to film for their next annual promo video. This clip is worth watching for the tandem tail tap alone.
Andy and Miller Switch play around day from andreas gidlund on Vimeo.
When the season makes it this far and things start getting stale, that is when you've got to throw in some switch-only days and put some spice back into life. This video is inspiration for the switch rider in all of us...
We all hate hearing but it's the damn truth! Summer will be here soon and it's never too early to start planning your summer snowboarding trip. Here's a preview of the breathtaking views, stellar terrain parks and excellent coaching found at Windell's up in Mt. Hood, Oregon. Milbery spends the better part of his year passing on knowledge hungry shredders, and I'm sure he's got a few tips to help you out as well.
Meanwhile, somewhere else on the very same mountain. Jed Anderson films an entire part using High Cascade Snowboard Camp's main park. Jed loves rails, which there is no shortage of at camp, but did you see the minipipe, jumps, and skate park? This all took place in only half of High Cascade's facilities! Visit HighCascade.com to find out more.
Last but not least, another location soon to be summer snowboarding headquarters, Whistler, Canada. Take a look at what our neighbors to the North finally get to enjoy now that the games have cleared out. Snow pack actually looks pretty good out there, so if you won't get your chance to shred Whistler during winter season Camp of Champions is sure to be poppin' off this summer.
Video Post 2010 #1
The internet eye candy circulating through my reader has been pretty sweet lately. From Bear to Breck to Germany, everyone and everything is in the best shredding shape of the season and here's your proof:
Take Nike 6.0, two custom rail courses, 20 of the best jibbers worldwide, and $10k; throw them all on an abandoned farm in Munich, Germany and you have our first video.
Closer to home, Knife Show has been doing a short video series dubbed Butter Knife in and around Bear/Southern California all season long. This is just one more fun edit in the bank, check out the rest...here!
32 Boots has been running a video series call Spot Check, cruising from mountain to mountain and filming their team riders. The Mammoth feature is choice because of one Tyler Flanagan, who dominates pretty much the whole clip with pure park decimation. The kid is on fire this year.
Some Special Blend teamsters head out to Breck. Found this video while trying to get a peek into Breck's park setup without paying for a plane ticket. Definitely not as fun, but these guys sure got to enjoy it.
Last but not least, Eric Willett. This guys name is popping up in all kinds of places, most recently as European X-Games slopestyle champion. If you want to grow up to be a hucker you should put this video on repeat and stare at it for a few hours, maybe some of the steez will stick to you.
Take Nike 6.0, two custom rail courses, 20 of the best jibbers worldwide, and $10k; throw them all on an abandoned farm in Munich, Germany and you have our first video.
Closer to home, Knife Show has been doing a short video series dubbed Butter Knife in and around Bear/Southern California all season long. This is just one more fun edit in the bank, check out the rest...here!
32 Boots has been running a video series call Spot Check, cruising from mountain to mountain and filming their team riders. The Mammoth feature is choice because of one Tyler Flanagan, who dominates pretty much the whole clip with pure park decimation. The kid is on fire this year.
Some Special Blend teamsters head out to Breck. Found this video while trying to get a peek into Breck's park setup without paying for a plane ticket. Definitely not as fun, but these guys sure got to enjoy it.
Last but not least, Eric Willett. This guys name is popping up in all kinds of places, most recently as European X-Games slopestyle champion. If you want to grow up to be a hucker you should put this video on repeat and stare at it for a few hours, maybe some of the steez will stick to you.
Bear Mountain, Is It Time for Change?
It's been almost 60 years since Snow Summit paved it first trails. In that time the resort has seen its share of difficulties; from an endless struggle against sparse precipitation to holding onto and building on an already small customer base as resorts like Mountain High entered the competitive ring, Snow Summit and Big Bear Mountain Resorts have always managed to serve Southern California the best riding conditions the area has to offer.
In the 1990s, Snow Summit recognized snowboarding as their most promising investment and the company began putting in hours to innovate and pave the way for terrain parks as we know them today.
It worked!
Bear Mountain has built its reputation on its parks, enticing riders from some of the snowiest areas in the world to come to sunny, dry Southern California. They are the only all-mountain terrain park, meaning from the tippie top to the very bottom you can shred everything from jumps, to rails, to pipes in one smooth run.
And the park sure has gotten busy! Everyone wants to get out there and start doing those sick tricks they see in movies and magazines, and Bear has always prided itself on having something in the park for everyone. So now there is a new problem:
If you've ever had the opportunity, you know how fun it can be to flow through Bear's park--and also how dangerous. Not dangerous as in, "snowboarding is inherently dangerous", though.
As more and more unskilled--or at least uneducated--riders make their way into the park the dangers of snowboarding at Bear Mountain have escalated to new heights
It definitely isn't a bad thing to encourage progression, but nowadays a lap at Bear or Snow Summit is almost guaranteed to include riders climbing all over jumps, weaving in and out of rails like it was a slalom course, or sneaking up to rest on landings (perhaps the most dangerous thing you can do in a park).
The other day I was forced to pull out of a kicker line when a skier and his son parked themselves right behind the lip. Where they were, the ramp hid them almost completely. I knew there were riders lined up behind me and the situation was set up to turn fatal, so I approached the dad to get him off the lip.
"Hey man, what are you doing? People come flying off these things, you can't just stop on the landing like that." I explained.
"Fuck you! I can stop wherever the fuck I want!" was his reply.
I absolutely love Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. Nothing beats the feeling of a clean lap through their parks, hitting feature, after feature, after feature, after feature. That's why I hate having to say this, but things are simply getting too dangerous, and I think it might be time for a change.
Whether that change comes in a more structured park layout or a serious campaign to enlighten their customers about park safety and etiquette, right now we have a company with an all-mountain terrain park telling everyone to come ride it but not how to do so safely.
Bear Mountain, I sincerely hope you will make park safety your biggest focus going into 2010/2011.
In the 1990s, Snow Summit recognized snowboarding as their most promising investment and the company began putting in hours to innovate and pave the way for terrain parks as we know them today.
It worked!
Bear Mountain has built its reputation on its parks, enticing riders from some of the snowiest areas in the world to come to sunny, dry Southern California. They are the only all-mountain terrain park, meaning from the tippie top to the very bottom you can shred everything from jumps, to rails, to pipes in one smooth run.
And the park sure has gotten busy! Everyone wants to get out there and start doing those sick tricks they see in movies and magazines, and Bear has always prided itself on having something in the park for everyone. So now there is a new problem:
If you've ever had the opportunity, you know how fun it can be to flow through Bear's park--and also how dangerous. Not dangerous as in, "snowboarding is inherently dangerous", though.
As more and more unskilled--or at least uneducated--riders make their way into the park the dangers of snowboarding at Bear Mountain have escalated to new heights
It definitely isn't a bad thing to encourage progression, but nowadays a lap at Bear or Snow Summit is almost guaranteed to include riders climbing all over jumps, weaving in and out of rails like it was a slalom course, or sneaking up to rest on landings (perhaps the most dangerous thing you can do in a park).
The other day I was forced to pull out of a kicker line when a skier and his son parked themselves right behind the lip. Where they were, the ramp hid them almost completely. I knew there were riders lined up behind me and the situation was set up to turn fatal, so I approached the dad to get him off the lip.
"Hey man, what are you doing? People come flying off these things, you can't just stop on the landing like that." I explained.
"Fuck you! I can stop wherever the fuck I want!" was his reply.
I absolutely love Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. Nothing beats the feeling of a clean lap through their parks, hitting feature, after feature, after feature, after feature. That's why I hate having to say this, but things are simply getting too dangerous, and I think it might be time for a change.
Whether that change comes in a more structured park layout or a serious campaign to enlighten their customers about park safety and etiquette, right now we have a company with an all-mountain terrain park telling everyone to come ride it but not how to do so safely.
Bear Mountain, I sincerely hope you will make park safety your biggest focus going into 2010/2011.
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!
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 picturedBear 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!
Bear Mountain 2009 Hot Dawgz and Handrails Feature Preview
For a little over half a decade Bear Mountain has hosted it's annual pre-season contest, Hot Dawgz and Handrails, to serve several purposes. First, the contest offers Southern California--often the last folks to get snow--a chance to see the white stuff before that final month-and-a-half push to the season; second, it gives everyone one last chance to buy their Bear Mountain season passes at a discounted rate; and last but not least, Hot Dawgz and Handrails is the official unveiling of new features coming to the mountain. This year the park crew has posted up several preview shots of the Hot Dawgz and Handrails, jibs and all; you may have heard about Bear Mountain and Analog's Design Unlikely Features contest... I have a feeling it was inspired by the course design thought up for the 2009 HDHR:
Imagine a horseshoe shaped course lined with haystacks and trashbags, then covered with snow shaved from giant blocks of ice. This format gives the riders their choice of around 10 features not usually seen in competition. Forget your standard rails, boxes and staircases; drop to the left of the course and hit a curved kink rail to giant pyramid box, or drop to right where you can hit a granite ledge and either take on the wallride to the left or the C-rail to the right, then end your run on the doghouse.
One of sub-topics in snowboarding I have an affinity for is feature design and production. Just like Jeff King and his show Built to Shred, I love seeing or thinking of something that you wouldn't normally ride or consider fun and moving from conceptualization to realization; hell, put me in any snowy patch with a shovel and some random object and I'll have something shreddable in an hour. I thought that last years HDHR was very centralized and while all of the proper precautions were taken, the course didn't seem very fun to ride and the threat of colliding with another rider loomed at every corner. I imagine using lanes will make it easier to single out riders as well as much safer, since only one rider will be able to take their run at a time; the lane design also means this contest will be as much about full lines as it is about tricks. Finally, the horseshoe shape not only doubles the variety of features, but also spreads out the contestants to two lanes to keep the hits coming. It will be fun to see what the riders do with this unique course.
New features out this season are the down-flat-down curve rail, a huge ledge-pyramid box, and a 30 ft. granite ledge. Most appealing to me would have to be the granite ledge, I've never seen anything like it on any resort; it's definitely a surface you would have to venture into specific urbanities to ride... and now it will be right here at Bear Mountain!
The contest goes down...tomorrow, actually! So tomorrow, Saturday, September 19th if you are in the area with nothing better to do, head up to Bear Mountain and catch the festivities. Invitational contest means no riding for the little folk, but from games, company booths, discounted passes, a couple of movie screenings, a full bar and a party there's plenty to do to make it worth your while. If you can't catch the contest, make sure you catch this video tour of the 2009 Hot Dawgs & Handrails setup because the pictures really don't do it justice.
Snow in Southern California
I managed to get out to Snow Summit yesterday and what a treat/surprise when it started to snow around midday.
Funny thing about resorts in Southern California is they are so quick to post "New Snow: Yes, a sprinkling." I wonder if this marketing strategy works and if some people in LA shit their pants, quit their job, pack their gear and head up when they read it? Probably...
The result wasn't spectacular... an inch or two at most. I would say this is the SoCal equivalent to Colorado's recent late season dump (pretty sad right?). It was still refreshing to be in the mix while the fresh stuff fell and now at least I am guaranteed one more week of local shred.
Lately I've been spending all of my free cash on gas up to the mountain. When it gets to this point in the season a lot of people find themselves falling off:
"It's too slushy," "I kept getting stuck," "The snow is too slow," "It's all dirt."
I've been there. I've made the decision to call the season prematurely due to resort conditions. Then I realized that only one condition really mattered: Snow!
As the season draws to a close, now is the most important time to get in as much snowboarding as you can because we have a long wait coming up. While it is possible to snowboard year round if you have the means; most of us get until April and then that's it until December. That's almost eight months, more than half a year!
The end of the season is a great time to brush up on your jibbing and enjoy an activity generally associated with freezing cold in your T shirt. Take advantage, make the best of the situation!
I'm sorry to report that tomorrow is the last day of operation for Bear Mountain and The Park but Snow Summit is promising until the 18th... then it's off to Mammoth... then it's off to Hood.
Funny thing about resorts in Southern California is they are so quick to post "New Snow: Yes, a sprinkling." I wonder if this marketing strategy works and if some people in LA shit their pants, quit their job, pack their gear and head up when they read it? Probably...
The result wasn't spectacular... an inch or two at most. I would say this is the SoCal equivalent to Colorado's recent late season dump (pretty sad right?). It was still refreshing to be in the mix while the fresh stuff fell and now at least I am guaranteed one more week of local shred.
Lately I've been spending all of my free cash on gas up to the mountain. When it gets to this point in the season a lot of people find themselves falling off:
"It's too slushy," "I kept getting stuck," "The snow is too slow," "It's all dirt."
I've been there. I've made the decision to call the season prematurely due to resort conditions. Then I realized that only one condition really mattered: Snow!
As the season draws to a close, now is the most important time to get in as much snowboarding as you can because we have a long wait coming up. While it is possible to snowboard year round if you have the means; most of us get until April and then that's it until December. That's almost eight months, more than half a year!
The end of the season is a great time to brush up on your jibbing and enjoy an activity generally associated with freezing cold in your T shirt. Take advantage, make the best of the situation!
I'm sorry to report that tomorrow is the last day of operation for Bear Mountain and The Park but Snow Summit is promising until the 18th... then it's off to Mammoth... then it's off to Hood.
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