Some of Big Bear’s best soup, pasta and hot sandwiches aren’t served in town but high above it...over 1,200 feet above it, in fact.

    At an elevation of 8,200 feet, Snow Summit’s View Haus at the top of the mountain serves upscale cuisine and panoramic views way up, up there. Mountaintop restaurants are a relative rarity in the ski business and Snow Summit’s ranks way up the ladder. With large sprawling deck out and huge windows to let views of Mt. San Gorgonio and its surrounding wilderness in, the View Haus is a top notch facility as nice as anything at most destination resorts, only right here in sunny Southern California.

    Step inside for a winter warm-up that features the niceties demanding skiers and snowboarders want, from fine food and cocktails to ski videos and heated bathrooms. All at the top of the mountain, in a setting that’s a cozy refuge when winter howls outside, or a view-filled treat for the eyes when it’s nice. The 20-foot high window wall on the south side tells the weather story, plus there’s a weather station with temperature, wind and barometer.

    Mountaintop restaurants may be rare, but Snow Summit has had at least a form of View Haus for over 50 years. View Haus sprang from tragedy and has gone on to serve countless thousands of both winter and summer guests and host many weddings in Southern California’s most unique setting, over a mile-and-a-half above sea level, high in the sky...

    Originally View Haus’s western portion housed the top terminal and engine drive room for Snow Summit’s first chairlift. Actually the world’s first detachable chair, though hardly high-speed, it featured 50-foot A-frame wooden towers and was a rickety thing, as skiers exited the chairlift inside the building and an attendant manually swung the chair around so it could go back downhill. When a chair fell off killing a summer sightseer in 1952, the lift never ran again, leaving the upper station building empty as the resort operated only rope tows on its lower slopes.

    Two years later when Snow Summit installed a fixed grip chair back to the top of the mountain, a stove was put inside the building, a little food and drink was served, and View Haus was born. Just a shack really, a small-scale warming hut, but hey...this was the mid-1950’s.

    Not that many people were able to visit it anyway. Natural snow was an infrequent visitor and this was the era before snowmaking. Some years, the majority of View Haus guests enjoyed the 180-degree views in summer, not winter, during sightseeing chairlift rides that are still popular today during the warmer months.

    Though the 1960’s were a major scramble at Summit, the resort did manage to enlarge View Haus a little. The mountaintop facility became what it is today in 1985, during a major expansion designed by Steve Trainer that saw the addition of the building’s east side, expansive decks, restrooms and storage, more than doubling View Haus’ size.

    “The kitchen was supposed to be on the east side, instead of guest seating, and there would be a dumb waiter that would haul supplies up from downstairs storage,” said the resort’s Brent Tregaskis. “But doing that took away too much from the seating and window views, so it was switched.”

    Views combine with quality food to create a classy setting for guests who expect something better. “View Haus is our upscale food service outlet, not a basic cafeteria,” said resort president Dick Kun.

    As evidence, the menu features delights like lasagna, tri-tip carved before your eyes, the tastiest barbecue pork sandwiches, even jambalaya—hardly the stuff found at most ski areas. Plus there’s fresh chili that’s tangy or yummy clam chowder, both available in a bowl or, for a little extra money, the resort’s famous bread bowls. A full bar satiates any thirst—Alaskan winter ale is definitely upscale.

    Getting food, beverages, paper goods and such up the mountain poses the biggest logistical challenge in operating a restaurant at the top. Summit solves it by sending two four wheel drive, refrigerated trucks loaded down with supplies twice weekly up Skyline Drive (2N10), where an old connector road leads from the ridgetop route to View Haus.

    “The road to the top we have to keep clean (of snow) for delivery,” Kun said. “We used snowcats originally but there was no way (they) could keep up.”

    With a huge storage area downstairs and large walk-ins, View Haus has more storage capacity than any other Summit restaurant facility, including those in Bear Bottom Lodge and Summit Inn. Too bad it’s a mountain top away!

    As nice as View Haus is, it’s going to get even better during an imminent expansion that could come as early as next summer. Snow Summit is actively planning to enlarge the kitchen and food service areas, adding some additional seating for those super busy days when there’s scarcely a table to be had.

    “One of the reasons is we’re continuing to target Snow Summit to mainstream skiers and older boarders,” Kun said. “It will require even more uphill transport.”

    Interestingly, even an expanded View Haus may not end up as Summit’s largest mountaintop facility. The adjoining Summit Haus at the top of Chairs 3, 9 and the All-Mountain Express is only occasionally used with just outdoor seating, but it was designed with the idea of eventually enclosing two outdoor seating areas and creating a place that’s even bigger than View Haus. But that’s a few years down the road. Bear Mountain also has plans on the table for a mountaintop restaurant, though Kun said it’s doubtful that will ever happen.

    In the meantime Big Bear gets to enjoy an upscale View Haus that ranks right there with some of the nicest midmountain and higher chalets around!

    Call Snow Summit (909-866-5766) or Bear Mountain (909-585-2519).