During
the early part of the twentieth century, Big Bear became
a magnet for vacationers. Summertime found the local lodges
filled to capacity, and hundreds of camp sites dotted the
Big Bear Lake shore line. But wintertime was another story.
Dirt roads into the mountains were usually impassable because
of snow and mud.
In the mid 1920's, it was Walter Kruckman of the "Motor Transit Company", who
first seriously promoted winter sports in Big Bear. He sponsored radio spots
on radio stations giving reports on weather, snow, and road conditions in an
attempt to fill his empty buses during the wintertime.
In Big Bear, the Viking Ski Club of Los Angeles began hosting ski jump competitions
on a jump near today’s Elk's Club. Carl Stillwell built a snow slide area near
his main pavilion and even promoted ice skating on Big Bear Lake which is now
illegal and dangerous. But it was Judge Clifford R. Lynn who led the way in an “uphill” battle
to get the first chair lift built in Big Bear.
Clifford formed the Park District in 1934, and immediately built a toboggan snow
play area on the north facing slopes above of Big Bear Village. A "sling lift" was
also built at the snowplay area for skiers in 1938.
Throughout the late 1930's and 40's, Clifford struggled to raise money for a
new chair lift. His work finally paid off, and construction was completed on
a new 3,000' chair lift in 1949, located behind Big Bear village. Tragically,
Judge Clifford Lynn died that same year without ever seeing his new lift in actual
operation.
In addition to the new Clifford Lynn lift, many smaller ski areas, using rope
tows, sprang up all over the north facing slopes of Big Bear Valley. These small
ski areas were spread out from Moonridge on the east, to the Upper Mill Creek
Tow on Skyline Drive near Bluff Lake on the west. There was even a tow in Fawnskin
on the north side of Big Bear Lake for a short while.
However, it was in 1947, during the midst of all this activity, that Tommy Tyndall,
the man most responsible for popularizing skiing in this valley, arrived in Big
Bear. Among his many efforts to promote winter sports, Tommy is primarily remembered
as the man who built "Snow Summit". Organizing a group of investors, he opened
Snow Summit with a one mile long double chair lift, two major ski runs and several
rope tows in 1952. It was the beginning of Big Bear as a major Southern California
ski area.
 But
1952 was also the beginning of many dry winters that would last into
the 1960's. These draught years forced the closure of most all the
smaller ski areas, and seriously threatened the existence of the new
Snow Summit. However in 1958, a man named Chuck Smith began experimenting
with making snow on a small rope tow called "Rebel Ridge" near Big
Bear City. Over the next three years, Smith proved that snowmaking
was an economically viable solution during dry winters. With Snow Summit
on the verge of financial collapse in 1961, Tommy Tyndall decided to
go further into debt to build a major snow making system. The system
was completed in 1964. It was the largest in Southern California. But
the success of this new system was overshadowed by the accidental and
untimely death of Tommy that same year. The leadership of Snow Summit
fell on the shoulders of his wife Jo Tyndal and her son Richard Kun.
The years following Tyndall's death proved that snowmaking was here
to stay. An exceptionally heavy winter in 1969, enabled Snow Summit
to build a second Chair lift.
Snow Summit ski instructors Fred Goldsmith and Bill Strickland purchased the
ski tow area in Moonridge. They built a mile long chair lift to the top of the
mountain, and renamed the area "Goldmine". Goldmine continued to expand with
additional chair lifts and snow making equipment until 1988, when it was sold
to S-K-I LTD, and renamed "Big Bear Mountain"
As a result, Big Bear Lake, which at one time sat almost empty during the winter,
now hosts several million winter vacationers each year.
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