Watch as top freeskiers do battle with some of the most insane tricks imaginable during the third annual “War of the Rails” at Bear Mountain February 24-26.

    The brainchild of former pro skier and born-and-raised Big Bear local Craig Coker (story page 2), “War of the Rails” features a $20,000 cash purse. Riders will tackle a course Coker designs himself in The Scene featuring 15 foot wall and intense rails. The huge purse—$10,000 goes to the winner—ensures a talented field of 30 invited riders from not just California but also Utah and Colorado resorts. It’s a show that’s free to watch from the comfort of Bear’s 13,000 sq. ft. deck with DJ, giveaways and more.

    “War of the Rails is very rider inspired, exactly what riders want,” Coker said. “That’s where the jam format is good. Riders can take the time to get in the tricks they want. And it’s very spectator-friendly, right there at the bottom of Bear.”

    Action gets underway Friday with the new amateur portion of the event. Intermediate and above level riders with the skills to tackle the course compete for prizes plus the winner gets a session at the famous Windells Ski Camp. Heats begin at 12:30 p.m. with the 30-minute final at 2.

    The $80 entry fee includes two-day lift ticket, discount lift tickets for friends and family, plus special edition “War of the Rails” shirt and Under Armor competition-quality jersey. It’s a package valued at over $250, and the top 15 finishers get invited back for Saturday’s invitation-only pro event and a chance at the big bucks.

    Saturday’s big show begins with the first qualifier at 11:30 a.m. followed by finals at 2:15 p.m. In between on the deck there’s music plus the “Mega Mo Moment” as spectators are paired with athletes and the winners score cool gear from sponsors Monster Energy, Under Armor, Skull Candy Audio, Windells, Bern Unlimited, Bear Mountain and Burton Helmets.

    Sunday—barring snow on Saturday—is a free day for photo shoots and exploration of the nation’s only all-mountain freestyle park. Which should be in prime shape despite the lack of significant snow in January, thanks to powerful snowmaking that has left The People’s Park in tip-top shape with mini, standard and Superpipes all open.

    As February arrives there’s 64 jibs spread about the nation’s only all-mountain freestyle park at Bear Mountain plus another 66 snow features. Snow Summit meanwhile has 32 jibs and 32 snow features in the Westridge and Ego Trip Parks with another 25 snow features as the Chair 9 Family Fun Park, itty bitty hitties the whole family can enjoy and learn on. That’s almost a hundred hits at Snow Summit, the resort that isn’t the park specialist!

    At Bear there’s several unique parks, each different from the others. Skill Builder Parks on Chair 6 are for those just getting into freestyle, while on Chair 5 there’s larger features plus the pipes. Chair 9 sees 1-1/3 miles of jibbing bliss with rails and boxes, pyramid box, Analog Batwing, Spaceship and “He Stairs at the Rail” contest winners, and jumps of all sizes.

    Branching off The Park Run is the new Red Bull Plaza, a street inspired park with heavy stack of rails, wall and ledges. Lamp posts, street signs and planter boxes give it a definite urban feel, along with staircases and rails. Kind of like skateboarding in the city, only with snow.

    Bear offers more than just park too with four mountain peaks serving some of the region’s longest groomed runs. Like Exhibition on Silver Mountain with nearly a thousand vertical feet of descent, and Geronimo as it descends from Bear Peak—sixth highest ski peak in the state—for almost 1,200 vertical feet of double black diamond challenge. On the other side of the spectrum, the resort has Southern California’s largest beginner area with several gentle runs descending from the top of the Access Express.

    At Snow Summit virtually all runs are open as well, serviced by two high-speed quads that access the entire mountain. Enjoy local favorites like Jo’s, Tommi’s, Perfect Pitches, Pipe Dream and more on Chair 10 where there’s never a lineup, even on busy days. Adjacent Chair 7 with Timber Ridge and 7-Down is another great hangout. For more challenge head to the Bowl runs on Chair 6, like The Wall, Olympic, Off Chute and Dicky’s.

    Progression Parks have also debuted at Snow Summit including down Zzyzx on Chair 3 where flat boxes and tamer jumps await those just getting into freestyle. Signage shows how each feature should be ridden, kind of like having an instructor at your side.

    Night sessions at Snow Summit are a good way to get a ton of skiing and riding in for less money, and they’re held from 3-9:30 p.m. tFridays, Saturdays and holidays. Get in on the tail end of day session then enjoy Miracle Mile, Summit Run and Westridge under the lights. The latter gets a fresh evening groom to offer corduroy as good as first chair riders got in the morning. Remember a single lift ticket is good at both resorts with a free shuttle running between them every half hour.

    Call (909) 866-5766.