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Big Bear Mountain Resorts
There
are a small number of things premiere ski and snowboard
resorts share - corduroy groomed slopes, exceptional
terrain and absurdly priced lunches. Beyond that, snow
sport resorts vary greatly from one to the next. And
in Big Bear Lake, home to Bear Mountain and Snow Summit,
this statement rings true.
Despite
each resort sharing the same mountain ridgeline as
it curls its way east along the southern edge of the
Big Bear Valley, both serve up an entirely distinctive
product.
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Closest
to town, Snow Summit's base area has the look
and feel of a miniature Swiss village, replete with
slope-side dining, watering holes and a sports specialty
shop.
Wide-sweeping
trails fall close-by, alluding to Summit's 240
acres and 31 trails for the cruising public.
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A
great place for intermediate riders and skiers to fine
tune carving skills before tackling Snow Summit's
moderately steep section named "The Wall." (No
charge for the heart pounding music piped in over loud-speakers.)
Spend the whole day riding, and on Friday and Saturday,
traverse under the lights and into the evening with Snow
Summit's "night" program.
Just
a few miles east stands Bear Mountain. A bit edgier
from its sister resort, Bear has earned a reputation
as host to one the best all-mountain, open-freestyle
terrain parks in the United States. And rightfully
so!
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Its
vast base area stares straight into the mouth of Southern
California's only Super-pipe. All 580 feet of its
length is visible while comfortably seated deck-side
at the beach-themed bar. While this is impressive, much
of Bear Mountain's upper peaks - 3 to be
exact - are hidden from view. There's Goldmine
Peak (8,440 feet) - farthest to the west and the
most popular.
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A
short ride on the high-speed quad gains you access to
Goldmine's varied terrain, from mogul-ed Rip's
Run to Powder Bowl's Big Hits. Silver Mountain,
in the middle (8,560 feet), always proves fast and firm
top to bottom. Bear Peak, the highest at 8,805 feet,
boasts Geronimo - Bear Mountain's notoriously steep
and toughest run.
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The
good news: Big Bear Mountain Resorts' van shuttles
riders back and forth between the two free of charge
and non-holiday, one lift ticket will gain you access
to both resorts. So next time, maybe mix-it-up: Spend
your morning warming up on Summit's Miracle Mile
or Widow-maker run and end it by carving striking arcs
down Geronimo's face as the sun begins a leisurely
surrender over Big Bear Lake.
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